Vote YES to Preserve Fall Creek Parkland

On May 3, you will be asked: Shall the qualified voters of the Town of Dryden approve the purchase of tax parcel 44.-1-2.323 (15 acres on Pinckney Road) as provided for in Resolution #40 of 2016? Here is what your YES vote will mean. Yes means that funds for the purchase will come from the Recreation Reserve fund and will have no effect on your taxes or the budget. Yes means that the town can preserve a parcel of land to establish a public park that will eventually link to our hiking and bike trails. Yes means adding parkland to a part of town where little parkland or public green space currently exists. Yes means protection for a unique area along Fall Creek that could otherwise suffer from unrestricted building. Yes means that that Tompkins County will contribute $15,000 toward the purchase, reducing the town’s expense to $56,800. Yes means taking the $56,800 from a $306,000 capital fund that was established to be used for opportunities of this kind. Yes means that the increased value of nearby land will more than make up for the $84.48 loss in town revenues. VOTE TUESDAY, MAY 3, BETWEEN NOON AND 8 PM THERE WILL BE JUST TWO POLLING PLACES. If you usually vote at the Freeville or Dryden Fire Station, vote at the DRYDEN FIRE STATION. If you usually vote at the Etna Fire Station, Bethel Grove Church or the Varna Community Center, vote at the VARNA COMMUNITY CENTER.

Dryden Ahead of the Game on Gas Drilling

No matter where you stand on the issue, it's pretty clear that Supervisor Sumner and the Town Board are moving ahead rapidly with all of the potential protections the town needs.

Sumner said they have been hard at work on the issue, finishing their own work on their town's critical environmental areas and hiring an engineering firm to perform road assessments and help them draft road protection laws. They're also considering an aquifer protection ordinance and have added an industrial noise ordinance to their proposed new zoning code.

"I feel like we're doing pretty well, we've benefited from the experience of Pennsylvania (where gas drilling is currently going on)," she said. "We have some breathing space until gas companies move further north, but we're not resting."