Lansing residents approve BOBCAT project by 1 vote

 

 

In an election decided by the thinnest margin possible, residents approved the Lansing Central School District’s (LCSD) Building Opportunities for Branding, Capital Improvements, Athletics & Teaching (BOBCAT) capital project on Jan. 24.

The vote passed 447-446 after two recounts. It was approved Election Inspectors Diane Moore and Mary Helen Castles. They were appointed at LCSD’s Jan. 9 Board of Election’s meeting.

The project that was approved was a scaled-back version of BOBCAT, which was voted down as a proposition last November by a count of 634-368.

During the most recent election, 109 fewer people voted. In November, 1,002 votes were cast compared to 893 in the most recent election.

Previously, the BOBCAT project was set to cost $23 million, which would be rolled out in two phases. The project that was approved is set to cost nearly $17 million.

According to LCSD, the district plans for capital improvement projects every two years. Construction was halted in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed the BOBCAT project, which was originally designed in 2019.

The BOBCAT project is split into two categories: Infrastructure and Safety Upgrades, and Physical Education, Athletics and Community. According to LCSD’s website, the project is estimated to cost $16,858,166.

Infrastructure and Safety Upgrades will include replacing roofs on all three schools in the district, replacing the padding and basketball hoops in the middle school gymnasium, improvements to the high school courtyard and the natatorium’s windows and HVAC systems in all three schools.

That phase will cost $10,212,294, which makes up 61% of the total project and includes an update to the public address system and generator at the elementary school, large interior doors at the middle school and parking/drop-off improvements.

The Physical Education, Athletics and Community portion of the project will cost an estimated $6,645,872, 39% of the project, and features large-scale changes to the athletic facilities in Lansing.

A new track and turf field will be installed at Sobus Field, and restrooms will be built at the baseball field on campus. 

Leading up to the vote, LCSD put together a video l addressing specific components of the project, with interviews of staff and students regarding why the proposed changes were needed.

In that video, Physical Education Teacher and Track and Field Coach Matt Scheffler spoke about what a new track and turf field would mean for Lansing.

“It would be great if we could marry having a turf field and new track, bringing [the track] out to eight lanes,” he said in the video. “It would be a great benefit, not only to our track athletes and Phys. Ed. classes as well as the community. It’s a communitywide thing as well as school and interscholastic.

In the same video, Lansing Middle School Principal Melissa Chalupsky said that having an outdoor bathroom by the baseball field will help students receive more instructional time during physical education classes.

“When students need to use the restroom during P.E., there is a loss of instructional time when I have to send them back into the building to use the restroom,” she said. “When we’re looking at extracurricular activities, such as games, there’s a safety concern. It’s not feasible for us to have our buildings open after hours, during summer, to provide that need for a restroom while also maintaining the safety and security of our buildings and grounds.”

Portions of BOBCAT will be funded by taxpayers. In the 2025-26 school year, the district estimates that for a $100,000 home, the school district tax total would increase by $47. For a $200,000 home, that amount jumps to $94; $141 for a $300,000 home; $188 for a $400,000 home and $235 for a $500,000 home.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Email story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com

In brief:

Special Town Board meeting scheduled for Feb. 15

The Lansing Town Board will hold a special meeting Feb. 15 at 2:30 p.m. to interview applicants to the Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals.

The meeting will take place at Lansing Town Hall, located at 29 Auburn Rd.

All residents are invited to attend this public meeting.

On the same day, the public is invited to attend a regular town board meeting, which will also take place at the Town Hall and starts at 6:30 p.m.

Spring Hockey Program gears up at Community Recreation Center

Beginning April 14, spring hockey programs will start at the Community Recreation Center (CRC).

Parents can sign up their kids born from 2011 to 2013 for the program. Practices are Fridays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with games and scrimmages happening Sundays from 10 to 11:15 a.m.

Practice days are April 14 and 21, as well as May 7, 14 and 21. Games will be April 16, 23, 30 and May 7, 14 and 21.

Kids who were born from 2008 to 2010 can also sign up, with practices starting on the same days and going from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Games are also on the same days, starting at 11:45 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m.

The cost for the program is $195. CRC is located at 1767 East Shore Dr.