Ulysses developing plan to transform town’s future

Elected leaders and volunteering residents of Ulysses are preparing a plan to draw public input and develop a culture of engagement with local issues set to transform the medium-term future of the town. 

The strategy devised by the town’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee (CPSC), dubbed the Public Involvement Plan (PIP), is part of the town’s larger 20-year comprehensive plan. Town board members say the PIP will be crucial as Ulysses seeks to garner input on a cohesive vision and goals for the community to achieve.

The PIP document can be found here: https://townofulyssesny.gov/__cms/docs/2024-09-24-Comp-Plan-PIP-DRAFT.pdf.

Town board member Elizabeth Weatherby presented the PIP to the town board at its Sept. 24 meeting. Weatherby is the vice chair of the Steering Committee. 

“The whole point is to engage the public as much as we can, because that is what this document is about. It’s about how the community sees the vision for the town in the next [20 years],” Weatherby said. “We can’t do that without the community.”

The town board unanimously approved the PIP as a guiding document on how to gather feedback and how to incorporate it into the final 2025-2045 comprehensive plan. The PIP lists the following strategies: 

• Website: The Planning Department will maintain a calendar of events, project updates, committee meeting information and project documents on the website. The website is available at https://Townofulyssesny.gov/boards/comprehensive-plan-committee/.
  
• Stakeholder list: Staff will maintain a list of interested members of the public and stakeholders, who will be notified of meetings and other information related to the planning process. That list can be found on pages 5 and 6 of the PIP: https://townofulyssesny.gov/__cms/docs/2024-09-24-Comp-Plan-PIP-DRAFT.pdf.
  
• Listserv: An electronic mailing list will be used to provide updates to interested parties regarding meetings, events and new products. Hard-copy notices of important events, such as public hearings, will be mailed to interested parties. Utility mailings or other community newsletters may be used to disseminate information to a broader audience, which includes tenants as well as property owners.
  
• Media and press releases: Announcements for key events, surveys and document releases will be distributed to local media outlets, including Tompkins weekly and others.
  
• Social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) will be used to announce project news and promote and document events. Social media will also be used to make connections to similar efforts, organizations and individuals in Ulysses.
  
• Fliers: Fliers advertising the survey and public meetings will be posted in strategic locations throughout the town.

The committee and town staff will start an initial outreach and assessment phase with a consultant to review visions, goals and policies in existing plans, as well as to compile data to introduce to the public. This period will last from September to December.

Then, the committee will incorporate feedback received through a survey, mailers, Facebook engagement posts and website traffic to the plan’s draft. That draft will then be presented to relevant town boards, advisory committees and commissions, as well as to focus groups. This draft phase is expected around next January through May.

The committee, staff and consultants will try to have a final draft by June 2025. They plan to host an open house to provide the public and stakeholders with a chance to submit feedback on the final draft. 

A final version of the plan should be expected by October next year, according to a timeline outlined in the PIP. The steering committee will recommend that finalized version to the town board for its adoption. The town board will then host a public hearing on the master document. 

Residents interested in being notified of upcoming Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee meetings and process updates can email CompPlanSteeringCommittee@Townofulyssesny.gov. Comments on drafts of the comprehensive plan can also be emailed to that address. 

All documents related to the 2025-2045 comprehensive plan can be found here:

www.Townofulyssesny.gov/pages/document-library.

Ulysses Connection 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 town of Ulysses will hold a public information meeting to discuss the proposed replacement of the Curry Road Culvert over Trumansburg Creek. The meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the Ulysses Town Hall on Elm Street.

The project is being funded by a BridgeNY grant. At present, the project is in the preliminary design phase. Representatives from the town of Ulysses, Town of Ulysses Highway Department, NYSDOT and Barton & Loguidice, DPC will be available at the meeting to answer questions on the proposed project from individuals, groups, officials and local agencies.

Questions can be directed to Town Supervisor Katelin Olson at supervisor@townofulyssesny.gov or by calling 607-387-5767.