Childcare

I will assist families with the “Daycare Dilemma” in Tompkins County.    There is a massive shortage of daycare options available in Tompkins County.   Most of the local daycare centers have waitlists up to a year before there is space.    

Many of the local daycares have rates that exceed $1,900 per month for infant care!   For most people in Tompkins County this is not affordable.   

Family and Home daycares are few in our area and they also have waitlists.

If elected I will work to provide access to more daycare options at an affordable cost to residents.    The County should work with the Child Development Council to support their work in recruiting more individuals to become home and family daycare providers and expanding existing childcare operations in Ithaca or assisting with a new center in the area.  

  

Housing

We have a housing crisis in our area.   The shortage is especially critical for low-moderate income level families. Middle class residents are also priced out, unable to find homes for sale that they can afford.   

Senior housing is also in high demand in Tompkins County and very low supply.   Typically, seniors can be on wait lists for a year or more.   

There are no options in Tompkins County for Medicaid-eligible assisted living.   This option would allow seniors to live as independently as possible in a senior apartment with the option of healthcare services as needed.

 

Transportation

TCAT provides excellent service for a rural community like ours, but funding is always a struggle.  The TCAT bus fleet has aging buses that need repair and replacement that are not covered under FTA grants.  We should work with the biggest employers in our area to provide more funding for creative solutions, such as targeted shuttle services, and park-and-ride lots. Cornell University employees and students make up 70% of the TCAT ridership.