The C&S Companies donated $1,000 to the Tompkins County SPCA with a check presentation at the agency’s shelter on Hanshaw Road on Tuesday, January 5. C&S gave the donation as part of their work on a sustainable airport master plan for the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. As part of the project, the firm conducted passenger, business, and pilot surveys in the local community. As an incentive for people to participate, a donation was made to the SPCA for each completed survey. With more than 550 survey responses, C&S was able to make a substantial donation to an organization that makes a huge difference in the local community. Charlie McDermott, C&S’s airport planning manager commented, “this was an exciting opportunity for us to both increase participation in a valuable survey that will help us develop a more sustainable and valuable airport for the community as well as support a wonderful organization like the SPCA.” Airport manager Robert Nicholas added that “the SPCA was a natural choice for this donation because of their proximity to the airport and their commitment to sustainability, which is demonstrated by their achievement of being the first green animal shelter in the country.”

The Tompkins County SPCA adopts out more than 1, 500 cats, dogs, and other animals every year and has been recognized nationally for its achievement of being a no-kill shelter. Additionally, the SPCA’s Dorothy Park Pet Adoption Center on Hanshaw Road is the nation’s first animal shelter certified by the U.S. Green Building Council under its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines, achieving a certification level of silver. The building emphasizes sustainable site planning, safeguarding water and water efficiency, energy efficiency and use of renewable energy, conservation of materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. Learn more about the Tompkins County SPCA at www.spcaonline.com.

Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport is undertaking a new dimension of airport planning by becoming the first airport in the country to develop a “green” master plan. The “sustainable master plan” being undertaken at Ithaca proactively addresses environmental issues in a manner that goes beyond the minimum standards and embraces sustainability as an important achievement. Through smart planning decisions that concentrate on environmental impacts, a sustainable master plan will achieve all of the Federal Aviation Administration’s required elements of a standard master plan, but with enhancements that will benefit the airport and the surrounding community.

While many airports have invested in sustainability projects and developed sustainability guidelines, the concept has never been integrated fully into the master planning process. Ithaca’s hope is that by tying these principles directly into the master plan, a roadmap will be created toward helping the airport reduce its carbon footprint. Additionally, sustainable features will be evaluated as part of each development alternative shown in the master plan. The culmination of the study is the preparation of a sustainable airport master plan report and a set of airport layout plan drawings that document the 20-year plan for airport development in a more sustainable manner.

 

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