Lansing Town Board talks funding for new emergency response program, appoints new councilmember

The Lansing Town Board got some good news at its Jan. 17 board meeting regarding the proposed rapid medical response program that would help slash the amount of time it takes emergency medical personnel to arrive on scene. The board also unanimously agreed to appoint a new council member on a temporary basis.

The new program will cut medical response time for emergency situations, such as heart attacks and strokes, in the town of Lansing from 14 minutes and 30 seconds to about 7 minutes, town board members and county officials say. The pilot program is set to stretch out over two years, dispatching trained emergency medical technicians all over the county, and will  primarily consist of three units. One will mostly serve the Lansing area, another will serve the town of Caroline and a third will be stationed in either Enfield or Newfield.

The rapid response team would not use traditional ambulances or transport individuals for medical attention, but would offer speedy, on-site, elementary life support services to address an immediate issue or to support someone while they await additional resources. 

At the Jan. 17 meeting, Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler, R-Town of Lansing, said that the program had received a significant influx of new state funding. 

“For this year, we did get a big grant,” he said. “We were going to move ahead with the program anyway, but that grant puts us on great footing.”

Sigler said the county received around $630,000 from the state to cover the first year of the two-year pilot. Tompkins County Administrator Lisa Holmes announced that the county had been awarded the grant at the County Legislature meeting on Jan. 16. Holmes noted that $630,000 amounts to about 90% of the project’s first-year costs. She added that the county would still have to pay 10% of the remaining costs as part of a local share obligation of the grant award.

The grant comes via the state’s Local Government Efficiency (LGE) program, which provides technical assistance and grants for intermunicipal projects targeting shared opportunities, cost savings and delivery of efficient, quality services, the state’s website indicates.

Actions sanctioned under LGE include merging, reorganizing or sharing municipal functions with local government partners or at a regional level, and consolidation or dissolution of municipal structures. The program’s main goal is to modernize local government operations for the 21st century.

Holmes said the county was not expecting to receive an award of this size, as the state’s LGE application contained a typo, erroneously indicating that entities would be awarded only up to 10%. 

“We rooted out the typo in the state’s application materials. We were the first ones to catch it,” Holmes said.”We like this math a whole lot better.”

Holmes also commented on a pending grant application the county made for a shared services grant. She noted that she is unsure of how state agencies will communicate about the award that has already been made through LGE and the pending application for the shared services money.

“I thought we weren’t going to hear about the grants until at least mid year,” said Democrat Rich John, D-Ithaca, who has been a vocal supporter of the emergency medical response program. “So we are way ahead of schedule.” 

Because funding for the 2024 portion of the pilot program has been allocated in the county budget, Sigler said he will fight to move the state money from the LGE award to a contingency account.

“We already allocated [funding for the program in the county budget], so why reinvent the wheel?” Sigler said. 

Lansing Deputy Town Supervisor Joseph Wetmore asked Sigler when the emergency medical response pilot would start operating.

“I am looking forward to getting this set up,” Wetmore said.

Sigler said the county is already looking to staff the program.

“We are looking for emergency medical technicians. The pay is really good. It is county work,” Sigler noted.

At itsJan. 17 meeting, the board also unanimously voted to approve the appointment of Judy Drake as a new member of the board. Drake, human resources manager for the town of Ithaca, will occupy the post until 2025. She is filling the seat vacated by Town Supervisor Ruth Groff, who previously sat on the board as a councilmember.

“This is an appointed position for 2024, so I will need to run this fall to continue for 2025,” Drake said in a Facebook post. “This has been a long time goal of mine. I am happy to have the opportunity to work for the Lansing community.”

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

The Lansing Lions Club has a new eyeglass donation box right outside the Lansing Community Center at 27 Auburn Rd. The Lions Club thanks Duthie Painting, Cayuga Signs and Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 81 for their contributions.