4/27/07 - South Main property deal is off

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

After four months of back and forth, the county Legislature officially laid to rest Thursday any plans to purchase property along south Main Street.
Now only a judicial ruling against the county can revive the deal.
A resolution to purchase the two commercial properties involved in the controversial land deal for a public health facility — the Moose Lodge property for $250,000 and the Robbins Vending property for $300,000 — failed to receive the required two-thirds majority vote, with 10 legislators voting for the purchase, and eight voting against it.
The bid to purchase the two commercial properties, excluding four residential properties originally involved in the $894,000 deal, had been touted as a way to both cut the county’s losses in a looming legal challenge regarding the aborted purchases, and to keep the county’s options open as it seeks to fill numerous space needs.
Thursday’s vote was a victory for legislators who felt that, at this point, the county should simply let a lawsuit regarding the Legislature’s decision to overturn its original purchase of the properties run its course, rather than purchase properties without a declared purpose.
“I’m satisfied because I just don’t think you purchase property without knowing what you’re going to do with it,” said Legislator Kay Breed (R-Cortlandville), who has been a critic of the proposal since it was first announced. “If we end up having to buy it (due to the lawsuit), we’ll have to take it from there, but right now I hope this is over and done with so we can move forward.”
Legislator Carol Tytler (D-3rd Ward), who chaired the ad hoc committee that has been looking at the land deal for the past three months, voted in favor of the purchases, but ultimately she agreed the county needed to move forward.
“I think the majority of people felt that the best thing to do is wait to see what happens with the court case and I can understand that,” Tytler said. “I hope we can take this time to regroup, take a close look at all of our space needs and work out a true plan for how we’re going to address them.”
A master plan for dealing with the county’s space needs — including new space for the Health and Mental Health departments, for which the property was originally intended, new space for a county jail and space for a motor vehicles office — has been a buzzword in recent weeks as a number of legislators have called for prioritizing the county’s space needs.
“I don’t think it necessarily has to be the jail first, but we have to look at all the possibilities available and really discuss how we want to do it all,” said Legislator Merwin Armstrong (Cuyler, Solon, Truxton). “This thing has been kind of an albatross hanging over this Legislature for too long now.”
With a lawsuit from the Moose Lodge and the potential for other lawsuits from other property owners looming, some legislators questioned how the county can move forward with addressing its needs before the suit is decided.
“It’s going to be hard to do anything until we know what it’s going to cost us,” said Legislator Dan Tagliente (D-7th Ward).
Speaking during the meeting in favor of purchasing the properties, Tagliente suggested that the county could face significant costs from its pending legal battles, noting the county’s original two-third vote to purchase the properties had been overturned by a simple majority vote to reconsider those purchases.
“That’s the first thing a judge is going to look at,” Tagliente said.

Fodder for Tomorrow's Meeting...

From the Budget and Finance Committee Minutes of 4/19/07

Ms. Tytler explained that the Ad Hoc Committee made two recommendations regarding the property acquisitions. She expressed that the recommendations were not unanimous but were the majorities recommendations. She pointed out that the Ad Hoc Committee was in agreement regarding not tearing down the residential property and added that this would leave a smaller amount of property for a project. Ms. Tytler expressed that the proposed Health Facility would be too large for the land, which has been recommended to be purchased. She added that the Committee was directed to only discuss the property currently involved. She added that she is aware of other Legislators looking into other properties but added that the Ad Hoc Committee has not.

Ms. Tytler expressed that she has requested information from the County Attorney regarding the possible settlement costs the County could incur. She explained that the Ad Hoc Committee has discussed other options to use the property for. She has also had discussions with Mr. Schrader regarding the cost savings in a shared Public Health and Mental Health facility. Mr. Van Donsel expressed that he had been in contact with some of the attorneys representing property owners involved in the property acquisitions of South Main Street. He explained discussions he has had with Mr. Ruthig regarding the Moose property and expressed that there has been an offer made on that property for $200,000; the difference and damage being approximately $50,000.

Mr. Van Donsel also explained that he had contacted Mr. Lissberger and Mr. Lissberger has not contacted him yet regarding figures. Mr. Van Donsel additionally explained that Robbins Tobacco/Wood property has not yet filed a lawsuit but he has discussed a settlement offer of $120,000. Mr. Van Donsel also contacted Mr. Knickerbocker, attorney for the Abeteillo property, and he has been out of town but expects Mr. Knickerbocker to contact him when he returns.

Mr. Tagliente expressed that there is a resolution that was prepared for the Budget & Finance Committee to consider. Mr. Schrader expressed that the General Services Committee approved this resolution earlier this morning and has been sent to this Committee for your consideration. Mr. Van Dee explained that that the resolution was not on the agenda and he, as Chairman of Budget & Finance Committee has the ability to allow it to be added or to deny it. He further expressed that he was not going to allow it because he had not had the opportunity to review it in advance or to speak with residents from his district. He briefly expressed that Ms. Gebhart was here in attendance today and he has briefly discussed it with her. He added that Ms. Gebhart expressed to him that there is a chance that the residents may accept this. Mr. Van Dee explained that the Committee may override his decision not to consider this resolution.

Mr. Schrader informed the Committee that even without the approval or consideration of the Budget & Finance Committee, this resolution would still be on the agenda for the Legislative Session with a notation regarding the Budget & Finance Committee not considering it, if that was what the Committee chose to do.

Mr. Tagliente made a motion to add the resolution, Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Properties and Authorizing the County Attorney to Negotiate the Settlement of Options with the Other Property Owner, as recommended by the General Services Committee, to the agenda for the Budget & Finance Committees consideration; seconded by Mr. Clark.

Mr. Clark, Mr. Daniels, Mr. Tagliente and Chairman Brown voted in favor; Mr. Ross, Mr. Troy, Mr. Van Dee and Mr. Willcox were opposed; motion failed.

Ms. Tytler expressed that she was not aware of how this action was useful. Mr. Van Dee expressed that he was not given enough time to review the resolution. Chairman Brown requested that Mr. Van Dee allow Ms. Tytler to speak. Ms. Tytler expressed that there is a committee process in place to consider this. Mr. Van Dee interrupted and stated that the Committee used the process and expressed that he was sorry if Ms. Tytler did not like it.

Here's the revised site...

Crossed out properties are residential types not being considered for purchase (at this time) by the County.

Not much parking, eh? I count less than 100 (90+/-) when just eliminating the 4 residential properties. I am sure this wouldn't be the final configuration, I just wanted to give an idea of the scale.

So working backwards and just assuming that you can provide 150 square feet of building area for every parking space to meet City Code, take 90x150 = 13,500... Both Mental Health (currently 14,400 sq.ft.) and Health (currently 18,000 sq.ft.) have indicated both a lack of space and parking. Sorry, neither one will fit nor should have ever been considered for this site!

Here's the glossy beginning...

As I like to say, "it looks good on paper..."

Math for Legislature - 4/24/07

I worked out the revised site area for the Legislators to ponder prior to the meeting on 4/26...

Tax Parcel ID	Address							Lot Dims (feet)																Area (acres)
Moose $250,000
86.74-02-36.000	6,8,10 Randall							120													141			0.388
86.74-02-42.000	157 Main							200													57			0.262
86.74-02-43.000	151 Main							200													80.75			0.371
Charles E. Wood & Michael C. Wood
$300,000
86.74-02-37.000	7 William (rear)							123													100			0.282
86.74-02-41.000	159 Main							200													34			0.156
																					Total			1.46 Acres

So, this revised site is less than 60% the originally published 2.46 acres as rolled out in December 2006. Check out this picture of the Tax ID's. I called out the parcels no longer in question, and highlighted those "remaining" with red outline and hatch. Think ANYTHING will fit in this space???

And oh, not to get picky, but THE MATH WAS WRONG ON THE COUNTY'S ORIGINAL CALCULATION (go figure, right?) Need to use 43,560 sq.ft. per acre - changes the numbers slightly... for reference -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre

So- Continuing the calculation -

	Address	Lot	Dims (feet)	Area (acres)
Residential	9 William	66	150	0.227
Properties	11 William	60	250	0.344
No Longer	6 Randall	42.5	120	0.117
Considered	8 Randall	49.25	120	0.136
			Old (Correct) Total	2.284 Acres

4/24/07 - Agenda Item #21 for April Legislature mtg

**ON MOTION OF MR. TAGLIENTE AGENDA NO. 21

Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Properties
And Authorizing the County Attorney to Negotiate
the Settlement of Options with the Other Property Owners

WHEREAS, the Ad Hoc Committee, appointed by the Chairman of the Legislature, has considered six options for the Cortland County Legislature to take regarding the property purchases for a Public Health Facility, AND

WHEREAS, the Ad Hoc Committee has made two recommendations to the General Services Committee to consider to resolve the direction of the Legislature for action at their April 26, 2007 meeting, AND

WHEREAS, the General Services Committee recommends that the County complete the purchase of the Moose properties and the Woods properties and not consummate the purchase of the residential properties NOW THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the Chairman of the County Legislature is hereby authorized and directed to execute any and all documents, subject to the County Attorney’s approval as to legal sufficiency, necessary to acquire the following properties:

Loyal Order of Moose in an amount of $250,000

86.74-02-36.000 6, 8, 10 Randall Street
86.74-02-42.000 157 Main Street
86.74-02-43.000 151 Main Street

Charles E. Wood & Michael C. Wood in an amount of $300,000
86.74-02-37.000 7 William Street Rear
86.74-02-41.000 159 Main Street

AND, BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED, that the County Attorney is hereby authorized and directed to obtain a negotiated settlement of any and all outstanding and potential claims by the remaining sellers, and present these settlements to the County Legislature for approval, AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED, that all payments and other closing costs for the purchases be taken from General Fund Fund Balance and the 2007 Budget be amended accordingly.

** Budget & Finance Committee failed to consider the above resolution.

4/20/07 - Legislature to vote on land purchases

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

A resolution to purchase the two commercial properties involved in Cortland County’s controversial land deal will go before the full county Legislature at its meeting on Thursday.
Whether the plan to purchase will receive the needed two-thirds majority vote remains to be seen.

The General Services Committee, in a special meeting Thursday, voted 3-2 to forward a resolution to the full Legislature calling for the purchase of the Moose Lodge and Robbins Vending properties on south Main Street.
The committee was hopeful the county could negotiate its way out of contracts for the remaining properties involved in the deal, all of which are residential properties.
The Moose Lodge property at 151 and 157 Main St., along with a parcel behind 6, 8 and 10 Randall St., would cost the county $250,000, while the Robbins Vending property at 159 Main St. and a parcel behind 7 Williams St. would cost $300,000.
Those were the agreed-upon prices prior to the county’s reversal of an initial decision in December to purchase the properties.
Those voting in favor of the purchases — committee Vice-chairman Dan Tagliente (D-7th Ward), Tom Hartnett (D-4th Ward) and John Daniels (D-Cortlandville) — supported the decision as a way to leave the county with options, while also saving the county from a costly settlement or lawsuit with the possibility of nothing in return.
“We can’t move forward with the different projects we need to do if we’re stuck in litigation,” Daniels said. “I just think we should get the properties purchased and hopefully we can do something positive with them.”

Honestly, is this the way that government should be run??? I have a hard time allowing the Legislature to spend $550K on properties in the 'hope' that something positive can be done with them. Still no plan for anything in there, and I sure don't want the County to spend another $10K on sketches for a revised site.

The two committee members opposed to the resolution — Kay Breed (R-Cortlandville) and Newell Willcox (R-Homer) — countered by saying they had no interest in purchasing the properties without knowing how they would be used.
“I’m just not hearing what our alternatives are — if these properties are bought, what are we going to use them for?” Breed said.

Another item of note - Steve DaFoe, Chairman of this Committee was absent AGAIN!!! He has been all but absent since the initial vote in December. And John Steger (R-D15) could have played an important part in this vote, but was absent as well.

Are you Kidding Me?

In case no one read the minutes from the Legislature meeting, see below for the link. Rather than bore you with a paste up of the minutes, I decided to just include my email to those of the Concerned Citizens for Neighborhood Preservation (area residents who are keeping an eye on the happenings of the CC Health facilities):

We should not give the Legislature AN INCH on this matter. Without any plans for a facility at that location, why buy the properties? Still taking over a half million dollars off the tax rolls, and without any idea what would go there are how that affects the rest of the County facilities? The Legislature (John Daniels) also mentioned that The McNeils are interested in the Moose property - BUT STILL MADE THE MOTION AND VOTED TO PURCHASE THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ANYWAY.

This is not over, folks. Ric Van Donsel said that the County could win the lawsuit. It would be July before the Moose lawsuit would be settled. This is ridiculous. No one mentioned what they expected would fit, no one appears to have had dialog with the City for shared services. We're right back to where we were 4 months ago.

The mention of the Noss site being nonviable seems way out there too. Why is the BDC/IDA pushing to promote this site for development to private entities but the County won't touch it? There would be liability for anyone, right? I read the report on the Rosen site a few months ago, there are areas on the South Main end of the site that are less contaminated (and therefore less liability!).

By the way, Darth Schrader appears to have his numbers messed up - again.
Here's the link and quote from the minutes of yesterday's General Services special meeting:
http://www.cortland-co.org/Legislature/Minutes/2007Comm/apr19-07GSSpMtg.htm

"Scott Schrader: According to the EPA, all 18 acres of that land is contaminated and it has been capped. If any construction was proposed on that site there would be a lot of liability and there would be no money available for clean up.

Newell Willcox: Would like documentation of this from Scott Schrader."
SO WOULD WE!!!

However, I think we pay attention more to detail. Here's the link from BDC/IDA on the Noss Park site, followed by a short quote from the press release:
http://www.cortlandbusiness.com/news/pressrelease.php?RECORD_KEY(pressreleases)
=id&id(pressreleases)=422

"City of Cortland's Noss Park receives funding in the fourth round of NYS program to provide pre-permitting assistance to development sites
New York State has just announced that the City of Cortland's 26-acre Noss Park - Rosen site was one of 23 sites in 13 counties that will receive a total of $2 million in matching grants under the fourth round of the state's Build Now-NY initiative."

Where did those other 8 acres disappear to?

Finally, I am more than a little concerned that the public is not getting the entire information and the Legislators are delegating our small but determined group to do due their work for them. Can't (Ron) or won't (Marilyn) call meetings with their districts prior to what may be the final vote next week?

Stay the Course, no properties!!!

Concerned Citizens for Neighborhood Preservation email

To: Concerned Citizens for Neighborhood Preservation

To review: The Ad Hoc Committee originally came up with six options regarding the South Main St, Randall & William St. properties. Upon the recommendation of the Chair of the Legislature, the Ad Hoc Committee revisited the six options and decided upon two that they felt should be forwarded for the General Services and Budget and Finance Committees for review and recommendation to the full Legislature:

Option #2:
Do not purchase any of the properties and have the County Attorney negotiate with the sellers to get out of the deal.

Option #3: Purchase only the commercial properties and negotiate settlements with the residential property owners.

The General Services Committee met today to discuss both options sent to them by the Ad Hoc Committee. The General Services Committee voted to recommend Option #3, and then forwarded it to the Budget & Finance Committee for consideration.

The resolution is titled, "Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Properties and Authorizing the County Attorney to Negotiate the Settlement Options with the Other Property Owners." By voting for Option #3, the General Services Committee agreed to recommend to the full Legislature that they proceed with the purchase of the two commercial properties, not consummate the residential purchases and have Rick VanDonsel negotiate settlements with the residential property owners.

Ron VanDee, Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, decided not to call for a vote of the Committee on either option until he had time to poll his Ward and other concerned residents on those options. Because of medical issues, Ron will be unable to call a ward meeting prior to the full legislative session, and he has asked that Concerned Citizens of the Neighborhood be polled for their opinions on which option is agreeable to them.

You may send an email or contact Ron directly by phone with your opinions regarding these two options. Ron's email is: rvandee@cortland-co.org. His phone number is 423-2595 or 753-1328. Keep in mind the next full Legislative session is on Thursday, April 26 at 6pm.

There is also a meeting of the South Main St. project to be held at Randall School on Tuesday, April 24 at 6:45pm. We hope to see you all there.

Kathy Wilcox
Ann Gebhard
Barry Batzing

8th Ward Meeting scheduled for 4/25 at 7pm

Message from Tom Michales, 8th Ward Alderman-

Meeting for the 8th Ward, Wed April 25 at 7:00pm at the Boces Center for Career Development on Port Watson Street. Marilyn Brown as well as Amy Bertini from the code office will be present to field questions. Officer Nelson will be doing a presentation on home security.

5th ward meeting announcement

NOTE from Dan Quail, 5th Ward Alderman:

5th Ward meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24th at Randall School Library. The time has been changed to 6:45 because the library is being used for a reading clinic. We need people to sign up for community clean up day on Saturday, April 28th at 9:00 to noon. Let me know if you will be able to help out for a couple of hours.

4/17/07 - Committee reviews plan for South End

(As published by Cortland Standard, Evan Geibel reporting)

The South End Strategic Plan advisory committee reviewed goals for the neighborhood outlined in the plan Monday evening, and during the meeting Mayor Tom Gallagher said he believes the 23-acre Noss Industrial Park might be a suitable location for much-needed government facilities.
Committee member and JTS Lumber owner Ken DeMunn suggested that the Noss Industrial Park would be an ideal place to locate facilities that both the city of Cortland and Cortland County need to construct — the city needs new spaces for its fire department and administrative offices, and the county is looking to locate a jail, Department of Motor Vehicles office, and a public health building.
Gallagher said the state Department of Environmental Conservation would begin work on cleaning the industrial park in the late spring or summer.
Gallagher has said building a county jail on the Noss site would be out of the question because as a state-designated, polluted Brownfield area, the site cannot be home to a residential facility like a jail.
The location also is on the wrong side of the railroad tracks and Main Street to be a location for the fire department, he said.
When Ann Hotchkin, project manager for Thoma Development Consultants, pointed out that it’s one of the few open sites in the city for industrial development, Gallagher said he would rather have government buildings placed on that site instead of purchasing residential properties and further diminishing the city’s tax base. This kind of contradicts Tom's support of the original project in December 2006, but is anyone paying attention??
The strategic plan recommends changing zoning in certain parts of the ward, rehabilitating both single and multi-family buildings and encouraging homeownership, bringing in new businesses, increasing green space and more rigorously enforcing code violations.
The zoning changes include redrawing district boundaries so that the R-2 zone in the vicinity of Crawford, Pine, Cannone and Scammell streets becomes R-1, and eliminating the General Industrial zone between south Main and Owego streets and rezoning to allow mixed uses such as residential development, neighborhood services and small business.

Not to toot my own horn, but I suggested the Noss site at the evening Carol Tytler Community meeting in March. However, I also suggested an even better site that was 10 acres and have a few existing structures on them -
www.davidyaman.com/realty/images/property/73/PtWatsonPkBrochure.pdf

This area would suit the county's needs for several departments and take down some older, beat up industrial structures.
Obviously the County doesn't need to take all 23 acres, they could avoid the brownfield areas and stay toward the South Main side of the site.

4/16/07 -New jail captain sees space, training as top issues

(As published by Cortland Standard, Anthony Sylor reporting)

Budd Rigg was promoted to captain in charge of the Cortland County Jail, and three others were promoted last week after the retirement of the former jail captain.
Rigg, along with Colleen Hull and Richard Barnhart, were promoted April 9 to fill leadership positions in the jail after Roy Lewis retired in February.
Rigg was promoted from lieutenant while Hull was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant and Barnhart was promoted from officer to sergeant.
“This is a good challenge. I’m looking forward to the leadership,” Barnhart, 60, of McGraw, said of the promotion.
Barnhart has been with the department for 17 years.
In their new administrative positions Rigg and Hull said they are eager to work together to increase training for the officers under them.
“I’d like to see a little more training because it builds morale,” said Hull, 41, of Cortland.
Hull and Rigg said they enjoy working with one another, adding that they were both hired in 1995 and they worked their way up through the ranks together.
Some of the training that they hope to increase will help officers better deal with “inmate con-games,” Rigg said, explaining that oftentimes inmates run scams in which they try to resist officers’ orders or bait officers into an argument or fight with the hopes of filing a lawsuit.
He said the training helps better prepare an officer to avoid potential problems.

In addition to increased training, Rigg, 43, of Homer, also plans to address overcrowding in the jail. Prior to his retirement, Lewis was a major proponent of getting the county to build a new jail, something county officials are now considering. HUH? Poor communication again! Hopefully they take our cries for a master plan into consideration.
Rigg said the current jail is overcrowded and officials are forced to house inmates in other facilities because of classification issues. He said inmates are classified based on several factors such as age and sex, making certain inmates a threat to each other.
He said as the county explores the options of building a new facility, he hopes to be involved in the design and location so that the new facility can avoid some of the pitfalls created when the current jail was built in 1990. Check the earlier Bell and Spina studies please, they indicate that the existing jail can be expanded, even vertically (although with a few challenges). I have copies if anyone wants to see them - they are quite good! :-) By the way, who would buy an old jail? Do you think the County could market that like the old Moose and Robbins vending buildings they are considering? Are they going to leave that property vacant, move in the DMV, put out-of -line Legislators or the Administration offices there? The only logical solution would be for the City and County to negotiate for the facility, but we all know of the ego issues there...
“We’ve had a lot of good dialog with the county administrator and the county chairman. They are very open to hear our ideas,” he said about the issue, adding that he hopes a new facility will help his department manage more inmates with the same amount of manpower.
Rigg said he is also working with county officials to create a centralized booking location at the current jail for every law enforcement agency in the county.
“They get double processed now,” he said, explaining that after an arrest the arresting agency books the inmate and holds him or her for arraignment, and then if they are sent to jail, the jail books them again.
Rigg said if the all the county agencies brought people they have arrested to the jail to be booked first, jail officials would book the person, transport them for arraignment and then if necessary hold them at the jail.
This way, he said, officers will be back out on the road faster and the person arrested will not be run through booking process twice.

4/12/07 - 911 dispatchers get a new home

Bob Ellis/staff photographer

Cortland County 911 Center Dispatch Coordinator Nick Wagner, right, chats with Senior Dispatcher Dave Tanner in the new center on the third floor of the Public Safety Building as workers in the background continue to fine-tune the system. The county was in the process of making the move to the new center on Wednesday.

(As published by the Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

Set aside the positive impact it is expected to have on emergency response in Cortland County, set aside the federal standards it will help the county meet, and the county’s new 911 Center is still, on sight alone, a far cry from the dingy, antiquated space it will replace.
“It really is something to look at, isn’t it,” Sheriff Lee Price said, as county employees worked to put the finishing touches on the approximately 1,200-square-foot dispatch center on the third floor of the Public Safety Building. “When you compare it to downstairs, it almost looks like science fiction or something.”
The official startup of the new center had to be delayed from Wednesday, as the county awaited the arrival of special modems to bridge any gaps between the old dispatch systems and the new consoles, but Dispatch Coordinator Nick Wagner was hopeful the center would be operating by this afternoon.
The new center features brand-new touch-screen computers with state-of-the-art software that will allow the county to adapt to the rapidly changing nature of communication, Wagner said.
“We have to keep up with the public,” Wagner said. “Ultimately we’re going to need be able to respond to text and video messaging, automatic crash notification … it’s going to be an ongoing challenge — this is just one important step — but I’m looking forward to it.”
The most important immediate modernization will be the ability to place the location of calls from cellular phones using GPS technology, Wagner said.
Not all phones have GPS, and getting wireless service providers online may take time, but ultimately the goal is to allow dispatchers the ability to quickly triangulate the location of any wireless call.
“Our job is to get the right people in the right place, and at very least this will give us an idea of where to start,” Wagner said.
The new consoles also offer a mapping program that essentially pinpoints the location and nature of all active calls, Wagner pointed out, and they’ll allow dispatchers to make all of the contacts necessary for each incoming call in a more efficient and user-friendly manner.
The dispatch center has seen an exponential increase in calls — the total number received in the first quarter of 2007, 13,427, exceeded the 13,264 calls received in all of 1998 — in the 13 years since the current dispatch equipment was installed, Wagner said.
“The key word is efficiency — these machines should help us eliminate errors and help us better serve Cortland County,” he said. “It’s an expensive process, keeping up with technology, but I really hope we’re spending the taxpayers’ money well.”
Moducom, the company with which the county contracted for the equipment and software, has agreed to provide updates to the system free of charge, Wagner said, meaning the new system should last the county 10 to 15 years.
The county’s dispatch workers have done training with the new consoles, Wagner said, and while there may be a slight learning curve, the transition should be relatively seamless.
“Procedurally nothing’s changed, it’s just different technology,” he said. “Our people have worked really hard — it’s been a difficult few years with the increased workload … I couldn’t be happier with how they’ve responded to all the changes.”
Price noted that the ergonomic design of the consoles — each of the six work stations feature individual temperature and light controls — should be good for morale.
“It’s going to help when they’ve got an eight-hour shift where it never calms down,” Price said.
County Administrator Scott Schrader said one of the reasons for moving dispatch to the third floor was to eliminate the responsibility of dealing with walk-in traffic on the first floor of the Public Safety Building.
“We didn’t want them to have to be doing reception on top of dispatching,” Schrader said.
The first-floor space that will be vacated once the move is complete will likely be filled by the Sheriff’s Records Department, a logical fit, Schrader said.
“Most of the people coming into the building are looking for records, so it makes sense to have them there,” he said.
Total, the relocation and the new equipment will have cost approximately $750,000 when all is said and done, Schrader said.
The county received two state wireless 911 funding grants totaling $568,400 that will help pay for the equipment that will help locate cellular phone callers, and buy new telephone and radio equipment, said Senior Dispatcher David Tanner.
The rest was paid for with county funds.
Price said that he was grateful for all the work put into the new center by Schrader, Rob Corpora, director of information technology for the county, the Buildings and Grounds Department and other county employees.
“They really did a terrific job, now I just want to see it up and running,” he said.

I hope the county planned this one out - I would hate to see that they don't have enough uninterruptible power (for computers) or generator capacity for the 911 center in the event of a power outage... keep checking back!

I guess some in the County have plans for spaces - Sheriff's Records moving in to the vacated first floor space. I'm glad we're getting the big picture (that's slight sarcasm folks). Hopefully someone will be the official reception designee in their absence.

4/11/07 County land deal options down to two

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

Committee says the county should reject buying any property, or purchase only two commercial sites on Main St.

Wearied by four months of uncertainty and oftentimes heated discussion, a majority of a special legislative committee agreed Tuesday that the county should not, at this point, purchase any of the properties involved in the controversial south Main Street land deal.
However, unable to agree on a unified recommendation for the rest of the Legislature, the committee settled on allowing the county a bit of “wiggle room,” narrowing a list of six possible options for dealing with the annulled property purchases down to two:
* Stand by its January vote to annul its initial decision to purchase the properties, with the hope that the county attorney can negotiate an “amicable agreement” with the sellers who have challenged the legality of that decision.
* Consider purchasing just the two commercial properties — the Moose Lodge and Robbins Vending buildings — and attempting to negotiate out of agreements with the other sellers.
Committee Chairwoman Carol Tytler (D-3rd Ward) said the two recommendations are fairly similar, but the latter gives the county some room to “hang on to the two commercial properties,” if it wishes to attempt some sort of scaled-down project on the site.
The county voted in December to purchase nine parcels for $894,000, with the intent of building an estimated $5.5 million combined Health and Mental Health facility.
Of the six committee members in attendance, four — Tytler, John Daniels (D-Cortlandville), Mike McKee (R-Cincinnatus, Freetown, Taylor and Willet) and Tom Williams (R-Homer) — said that at this point they felt the county should not purchase any of the properties.
Tytler said she did not want to see any residential properties purchased by the county, and suggested the two commercial properties would not be large enough for the desired facility.
“I don’t think just the two commercial properties would be enough to build the facility we need,” Tytler said. “Given the very clear directive we were given by (Legislature Chairman Marilyn Brown), I would, at this point lean towards not purchasing any of them.”
Brown had asked Tytler to focus only on the properties currently involved in the deal and not consider other available properties, such as the site of the former Wickwire building farther south on Main Street, that are being discussed.
Tytler added that if the county opted to buy the commercial properties or was ordered to buy any or all of the properties by a judge, she would be interested in discussing putting a motor vehicles office there.
However, she said, the county should not let itself be pigeonholed into building on the south Main Street site.
“I’d be glad to consider it, but I think we should take a look at all the possible options,” she said.
This sentiment was echoed by Williams, who continued to insist that the county should have a master plan for all of its space needs — including the health departments, motor vehicles office and a county jail — before proceeding with any plans to purchase property.
“I don’t feel that we, as a group (the full Legislature), have done enough of the big picture stuff, and, for my comfort level, I need to have some of those questions answered before we purchase anything,” Williams said.
Committee member Dan Tagliente (D-7th Ward) responded by saying that the General Services Committee had looked extensively at the county’s space needs, and that taking on a mental health/health facility was a logical first step.
Tagliente acknowledged that, with all of the public opposition to the project, a public health facility was probably not a good fit for the properties in question.
But, Tagliente said, the county had a responsibility to the sellers to go through with the purchases, and he hoped that some sort of project could be salvaged on the site. Come on, what about the rest of the County? He had an obligation to do what's best for 50,000 people, not the 9 property owners. Salvaging 'some sort of project' is a poor use of taxpayer dollars.

Stay tuned for workups on areas of the remaining properties and what "might fit".

4/10/07 - IDA seeks funding for C’ville business park

(As published by Cortland Standard, Christine Laubenstein reporting)

A regional planning director is hopeful the Cortland County Industrial Development Agency will receive a $2 million federal grant by September to help get the Finger Lakes East business park up and running sometime next year.
The park, which is 260 acres and located on the north side of Route 13 between Gracie and Bennie roads, needs $4.1 million in funding for infrastructure and property purchase costs for the northern half of the park.
David Bottar, executive director of the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board, told the Industrial Development Agency board at its meeting Monday that he is optimistic the park will be awarded $2 million in federal Economic Development Administration money.
His board has assisted the IDA with the funding application.
The $6.7 million project has already received $450,000 from the federal Environmental Protection Agency that will be used for water and sewer lines.
Cortlandville Town Supervisor Dick Tupper, who attended Monday’s meeting, said the town might be willing to pay between $300,000 and $400,000 to help extend sewer and water lines a couple of thousand feet to the site.
He said the town would be able to justify the investment to the taxpayers if a business was already planning on moving onto the site.
IDA Executive Director Linda Hartsock said Monday that a group of private investors, whose name she would not disclose, is talking with various hotels chains to try to bring one to the site.
She added she is meeting with the chief executive officer of Shell, who has expressed interest in the business park, this week. Shell is a worldwide group of oil, gas and petrochemical companies with interests in biofuels, wind and solar power and hydrogen.
Hartsock said remaining money for the $4.1 project could be sought through a number of sources, including a $750,000 state Office for Small Cities grant and/or grant money through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Bottar said this morning an access road would be built along the northern border of the property. National Grid might pay a portion of the cost to connect the site to power lines, he added.
Hartsock said the Industrial Development Agency is asking for anywhere between $100,000 and $250,000 through a National Grid grant program. Fiber optic telecommunication lines would be installed at the same time the power lines are, she said.
Hartsock said it is important for the Finger Lakes East project to get full funding soon, as the purchase option on about half the property is only good until June 2008.
Hartsock said the purchase option is for $600,000, and is with landowner Richard Osbeck, who owns 143 acres of the site. Gutchess Lumber owns 112 acres of the site, Hartsock said, and the Industrial Development Agency is waiting to purchase that land until it sells parcels from Osbeck’s half to businesses.
Then it can use that revenue to buy the property, she said.

See post from C-S dated 4/17/07 - How much industrial development do we need???

4/7/07 South End’s future takes shape

(As published by Cortland Standard, Evan Geibel reporting)

Strategic plan lays out area development ideas

Bob Ellis/staff photographer
The roofline of the former railroad station frames South Avenue in Cortland.

Sitting in his office Wednesday, Mayor Tom Gallagher looked over a rendering of what the South Avenue area of the future could look like.
It shows trees and sidewalks that state grant money would help fund, a sprawling community garden and a housing development with a private road that would connect Crawford and Pine streets on the former site of Potter Paint.
The proposals are part of a strategic plan that lays out development ideas for much of the city’s South End.
A draft of the plan will be reviewed at 6:30 p.m. April 24 in the Randall Elementary School library.
“We were going to sit down and go over the draft. There is some tweaking that needs to be done,” Alderman Dan Quail (R-5th Ward) said. “We’ve been tossing out ideas; we didn’t really come to anything conclusive yet.”
As they roasted green coffee beans Wednesday in a large industrial-size roaster at Coffee Depot — the former freight depot on South Avenue — Craig and Michelle Brooks, the owners of the Coffee Mania drive-through stores, were excited at the prospects in the neighborhood.
“We are interested in doing everything we can — what that is, we don’t know,” Craig Brooks said.
“We’re in the infancy stages of figuring out what we’re doing,” Michelle Brooks added.
They already rent space inside their building to a dog grooming business and a massage business; they hope that by sometime in the fall, they will have opened a retail shop of their own in the depot.
“Not like a café, though. Our focus would be on home equipment and educating people about the roasting process,” Michelle Brooks said.
But in addition to their business plans, the Brooks also hope to use a roughly 1.6-acre lot next to their South Avenue building in some capacity to benefit the community.
“I have dreams of it being a farmer’s market. That’s my hope,” Michelle Brooks said, her husband stressing that the farmers are probably the one group that has not been queried about their interest.
Craig Brooks wants to see the remainder of the empty lot given over to plantings, picnic tables and playgrounds.
They’re looking forward to working with Thoma Development Consultants, which prepared the strategic plan and a $650,000 grant application for state Community Development Block Grant funds for the South End.
The grant funding would go toward single-unit and multi-family housing rehabilitation, multi-family homeownership, small-business assistance, overtime hours for the code enforcement office, and water, sewer, sidewalk and street improvements.
The city expects to hear back about the grant sometime in the summer or early fall.
The neighbors seem pleased with the strategic plan draft, said Ann Hotchkin, project manager for Thoma Development.
“There’s a lot of money going into the South End already — if it’s not there already, it’s on its way,” Hotchkin said.
A $7 million streetscape project that repaved south Main Street and added lights and trees, and improved sidewalks was completed in August 2006.
In addition, Housing Visions Inc., a Syracuse-based nonprofit, has recently closed on a total of nine properties, in anticipation of an $8.2 million project that will demolish some crowded and run-down buildings and rehabilitate those that can be saved. Thirty apartments will be available to low-income tenants by fall 2008.
Gallagher sees potential for industrial development of the 23-acre Noss Industrial Park. The city’s engineering firm, C&S Engineers, is working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and Gallagher said he hopes the cleanup of some remaining contaminated areas would begin this year.
Gallagher said the city wants to obtain the former Cobako plant on Huntington Street from its current owner, Acorn Products, which would allow it to be developed in conjunction with the Noss site.
In the strategic plan, the vacant Wickwire warehouse property has a small grocery store sketched in. The landowner, David McNeil, has said that one such business has shown interest in developing on that site, but he was unavailable for comment as of Friday.
Also included is the demolition of several buildings that are double-stacked on lots — one of the main goals of the strategic plan is to reduce density, particularly along South Avenue.
“This is going to take some hard work, with the city and Thoma, to make this an amicable situation that will encourage people to work with us for the improvement of that area,” Gallagher said.

4/6/07 County defends actions in land deal lawsuit

(As published by Cortland Standard, Evan Geibel reporting)

The county continues to maintain that it had the ability to back out of the purchase of properties on south Main Street for a proposed health building.
County attorney Ric Van Donsel made the argument again in the response he submitted Thursday to a lawsuit filed against the county on behalf of the Moose Lodge, in connection with the failed land deal.
The county’s answer was filed in state Supreme Court, responding to the March 15 complaint filed by Attorney Russ Ruthig on behalf of his client, the Moose Lodge, at 157 Main St.
Ruthig also represents the owners of 11 Williams St., and attorneys for two other property owners involved in the deal also have made complaints.
Ruthig’s lawsuit charges that the county’s initial decision to purchase the properties on Dec. 21 represented a binding agreement, and could not be undone by a Jan. 25 motion to “reconsider” that was, he contends, a motion to “rescind.”
Van Donsel and County Legislature Chair Marilyn Brown could not be reached for comment this morning.
In the response, Van Donsel contends that the vote to reconsider was legal under state county law, contrary to Ruthig’s assertion.
“It’s the same theory that he’s alleged before — that the issue is whether or not a binding contract was created irrevocably on Dec. 21 when the Legislature said ‘go buy these properties,’ which I think it was,” Ruthig said this morning, adding that the “motion to reconsider” isn’t sufficient to annul this binding contract. “We have a disagreement as to the conclusion to be reached.”
With nothing new from the county, Ruthig said that he is prepared to go to court for a summary judgment.

4/4/07 - You heard it on WKRT

Link to WKRT interviews:

http://wkrt.com/skin/blurb.php?sectionId=182&contentId=50258

Here's the link to interviews with various Legislators and the County Administrator after the 4/3/07 meeting...

Interesting comments by some folks, especially Scott Schrader. Facts are facts, and they shed some light on people's interest in this project.

Good job Kevin Mooney! The questions were great, you really did your research. Hope to see more!

4/4/07 County land deal sent back to committee

(As published in Cortland Standard, Ida Pease reporting)

Work will continue for an ad hoc committee reviewing a contentious county proposal to build a public health facility on south Main Street after the Legislature failed to decide the fate of the facility at a special meeting Tuesday.
Twelve of 19 legislators voted to suspend the rules of the Legislature so that another vote could be taken on the purchase of nine properties for the health building.
The votes were not enough to secure a needed two-thirds majority to suspend the rules of order. Legislator Steve Dafoe (D-Homer) was absent.
The following legislators voted against taking another vote at the Tuesday meeting: Merwin Armstrong (R-Cuyler, Solon and Truxton); Kay Breed (R-Cortlandville); Sandy Price (Harford and Virgil); John Troy (D-1st Ward); Ron Van Dee (D-5th Ward) and Newell Willcox (R-Homer).
Legislature Chairman Marilyn Brown (D-8th Ward) said the proposal for the health facility would go back through the committee process, starting with the ad hoc committee.
She said any proposal made by the special committee would also go through the General Services (formerly Buildings & Grounds) Committee, Health Committee and Budget and Finance Committee.
After the meeting, the ad hoc committee members met briefly in the legislative chambers. Carol Tytler (D-3rd Ward), who heads the special committee, said members have set a meeting at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to continue discussions. “I feel we did what we were asked to do,” she said.
The committee had been tasked with reviewing the purchasing process, identifying problems with the process and identifying choices the county has now.
Tytler said the committee would discuss what could be included in a smaller facility. “They’re looking for a concrete plan that they can vote on — yes or no,” she said of the legislators after the meeting.
The county originally proposed purchasing nine properties — including the former Moose Lodge — along south Main, Randall and Williams streets for $894,000 to build a $5.5 million public health facility that would have housed the county’s Health and Mental Health departments. The purchase was approved in a late December meeting and then retracted the next month.
Legislators and residents continued to express their opposition to the project at the meeting Tuesday.
“I am very concerned about the size requirement,” said Breed, noting she was not convinced there was enough property for the facility and necessary parking. The building itself would take about 15,300 square feet. The building would be two stories tall, creating about 30,600 square feet of space.
Breed also said the need for space for a county jail should be settled first because if that moved, there would be space available in the existing jail facility on Greenbush Street.
“I will vote no again if we vote on purchasing — let the chips fall where they may,” she said.
Barry Batzing, a resident at 70 Church St., noted that even County Administrator Scott Schrader, in a letter to the Cortland County Board of Realtors, estimated a lot size of 4 to 7 acres was needed for a one or two-story facility. The lot for the health facility was about 2.5 acres, but one private property that would have been part of it has been sold.
Batzing said a compromise with a smaller facility has been discussed. “I want to see this new plan, and I want a guarantee that no private houses will be in the plan,” he said.
Price brought up the concern that the meeting was advertised as a discussion session, not necessarily a meeting where a decision would be made, in her decision to vote no.
Tytler made the motion to take the vote, saying if the vote passed, she would like to revise a proposed resolution that called for a consolidated facility, saying she was not sure a combined program would be best for the two departments.
“I’m torn. I understand we do not have substantial agreement,” she said in proposing the vote.
“I haven’t heard anything new tonight that I haven’t heard before,” said Legislator Tom Williams (R-Homer), before he cast his yes vote to suspend the rules of the Legislature, which would have allowed a new vote.

4/2/07 - Health building focus of Legislature meeting

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

It’s been more than three months since the Cortland County Legislature voted to purchase property along south Main Street with the intent of building a county health facility.
It also has been about two months since the Legislature voted to rescind that initial decision, and just over two weeks since the first property owners involved in the aborted deal filed suit against the county.
Tuesday, for the first time since January, the full Legislature is scheduled to publicly discuss the repercussions of its decisions and whether the county should purchase all or some of the property to avoid a legal battle.
At the special meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday in legislative chambers, legislators plan to review and discuss the recommendations of the special committee reviewing the land deal and will, presumably, decide how the county should proceed.
“I’m hoping some decision will be made, one way or another, especially now that we have a lawsuit out there,” said Legislature Chairman Marilyn Brown (D-8th Ward).
The Moose Lodge, which owns the property at 157 Main St. that is central to the deal, has filed suit against the county requesting that it go through with purchasing the land at the agreed price of $250,000.
The Moose Lodge claims that the county’s initial decision to purchase the property in December represented a binding agreement, and that the decision in January to overturn the first vote in favor of the purchase was improper.
Three of the other five property owners involved in the $894,000 land deal also have threatened to follow the Moose Lodge in filing suit.
Regarding how the county should respond to legal challenges, the special committee offered a handful of possibilities, including purchasing all or some of the properties to avoid the lawsuit and either reselling them or seeking a scaled-down project, or not purchasing the properties and either battling the lawsuit or trying to negotiate out of the purchase agreements.
Residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed project — whose vocal opposition to the original $5.5 million, 30,000-square-foot building was instrumental in convincing legislators to overturn the deal — have made it clear they do not want any sort of county project.
However, some legislators have said that a scaled-down project is the county’s best option at this point.
“I don’t think we should take the residential properties, but I think the best thing now is to buy it and try to put something a little smaller in there,” said Minority Leader Danny Ross (R-Cortlandville).
Brown said she still supported purchasing the properties.
“I think we have to try to work with the neighbors down there, and come up with something that’s going to be good for the community,” Brown said.
One key recommendation from the special committee — and an issue that persistently has been brought up for discussion — is the desire of many legislators and community members to see a comprehensive master plan that looks at all of the county’s land needs, including needed space for a Motor Vehicles Office and a County Jail.
Such a plan could be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, along with a number of other recommendations from the special committee, including ways to develop a master plan and other ways the county can improve its land purchasing process in the future.

3/23/07 County land deal remains unresolved

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

The status of the county’s ill-fated land deal along south Main Street remained in limbo Thursday, and while many looked toward an April 3 special legislative session as an opportunity to discuss a solution, indications were that any decision would bring as many questions as answers.
The special legislative committee examining the aborted deal formally presented its findings Thursday to the full Legislature.
A meeting just prior to the legislative session, committee Chairman Carol Tytler (D-3rd Ward) walked all but five of the 19 legislators through the committee’s findings.
The county has been sued over its decision to back out of the $894,000 deal for nine properties along south Main, Randall and William streets.
The properties were originally to have been used for an estimated _$5.5 million county facility that would have housed the county’s Health and Mental Health departments.
Owners of the Moose Lodge, who filed suit last week, claim the county’s original decision to purchase the property represented a binding contract, and are asking the county to go through with the purchase.
Three other property owners involved in the deal have also challenged the county’s decision, and more lawsuits may be forthcoming.
The county could purchase all or some of the properties to try to avoid a lawsuit, and then either scale-down the project or try to resell the land, Tytler said, speaking for the committee, or it could not purchase the properties and either try to negotiate a settlement or simply let the courts decide.
Many legislators were unsure of how the county should proceed, with a number saying they wanted to consider the options prior to the April 3 special meeting, which was moved from April 5 to accommodate legislators’ schedules.
“I’d hate to see us spend more money on a lawsuit, especially if at the end of it we have to buy the properties anyway,” said Legislator John Daniels (D-Cortlandville). “But then on the other hand, I don’t think buying them and going with a downsized version of the project is something I’m interested in either. It’s a tough situation.”
Legislator Tom Williams (R-Homer) said that he could not support purchasing the properties without a master plan regarding all of the county’s land needs, including new space for the Mental Health Department, the motor vehicles office and the County Jail.
“I’d be hard pressed to vote for a piece of it without a competent master plan,” Williams said.
Regarding a potential lawsuit, Williams said he felt the county may have made a mistake, and “sometimes you have to pay for a mistake.”
Williams stressed during the meeting that ultimately any land purchase should stem from a master plan that has been developed by the Legislature as a whole.
“I think, when you factor in the jail, we’re talking about tens of millions of dollars, and I think all legislators should play a role, if they want to, in determining how we proceed,” Williams said.
Tytler suggested setting up a committee or some formal planning process that would include input from various Legislative committees and could be open to any interested members.
Tytler said that she personally would support purchasing the Moose Lodge and the Robbins Tobacco property, with the intent of looking at a scaled down project.
“I don’t think we should be taking residential property, but I think if we purchased those two parcels, we could then look at how they would meet a need for the county,” Tytler said.
Ron Van Dee (D-5th Ward) said that he was not supportive of purchasing the properties, stressing that he was confident that the county attorney could successfully defend the county’s decision in court.
If the Legislature decided to purchase the property, however, Van Dee insisted that any purchase should again go through the committee process.
Meanwhile Legislator Newell Willcox (R-Homer) suggested that purchasing any of the land could prompt further lawsuits from residents of the Randall and Williams street neighborhoods, whose vocal opposition was instrumental in convincing legislators to revoke the deal.
A few of those residents were on hand at the meeting, and they continued to stress that they did not support any sort of project on the site.
This prompted Legislature Chairman Marilyn Brown (D-8th Ward) to leave the meeting, saying she had heard these complaints before, which prompted outrage from the residents.
Brown said afterward that she had hoped that the meeting would be focused on the recommendations of the committee, and that she was well aware of the residents’ concerns.

3/21/07 Grant application targets city’s South End

(As published by Cortland Standard,Evan Geibel reporting)

The city will be applying for $650,000 in state grant money that would be directed toward improving the South End, for which a strategic plan has recently been completed and posted online.
The Common Council authorized the mayor to sign the grant application at its meeting Tuesday night. The council also discussed a city tax exemption for seniors and at its meeting.
The 2007 Community Development Block Grant application includes $100,000 for single-family housing rehabilitation, $175,000 for multi-family housing rehabilitation, $75,000 for multi-family homeownership, $50,000 for microenterprise assistance, $18,000 for funds to pay for overtime hours for city code officers to work in the South End, as well as $40,000 for public improvements to streets and sidewalks.
Improvements to the sewer and water system on Pierce Street and improvements to the water system on Winter Street have been allocated $75,000 in the application. This would also include repaving Pierce and Winter streets, and South Avenue, with the grant paying for materials and rental equipment and the city footing the labor bill.
Installation of sidewalks and planting of trees on the south side of South Avenue would be included in the grant. The work would cost $20,000.
The full text of the South End Strategic Plan draft is available online at www.thomadevelopment.com.
At the insistence of Alderman Jim Partigianoni (D-7th Ward), the council discussed the city’s senior citizen tax exemption, which is also given to low-income disabled.
Council members talked about how cost of living increases in Social Security checks could push some people over the current $20,000 income cap on eligibility.
Right now, those who make $14,300 or less a year can receive a 50 percent tax exemption, continuing until those who make between $19,101 and $20,000 receive only a 20 percent tax exemption.
Under Partigianoni’s alternative plan, increments allowing for 15, 10 and 5 percent tax exemptions would be added to the top of the current income ranges, meaning that a senior or disabled person who earns between $21,801 and $22,700 would receive a 5 percent exemption.
City Assessor David Briggs had recommended the increase to Partigianoni, who said he had been told that the impact on the other city taxpayers of implementing this program would be minimal.

3/17/07 Moose Lodge files lawsuit against county

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

A threatened lawsuit regarding the Legislature’s decision to back out of purchasing a number of properties along south Main Street became a reality Thursday, as an attorney for the Moose Lodge, the central property in the deal, filed suit in State Supreme Court.
Attorney Russ Ruthig said Friday that he and his clients would not wait indefinitely for the county to respond to his request that the county go through with the purchase of the Moose Lodge property at 157 Main St.
“We were asked to defer because this was going to be taken care of at the March 22 meeting, but now I’m reading in the paper that they’re going to talk about it April 5, so the big question is, when are they going to respond?” Ruthig said. “I had to do it, now we’ll see what the reaction is.”
A special legislative committee has been looking for the past month at the aborted deal and how the county should respond to the complaints of Ruthig, who also represents the owners of 11 Williams St., and attorneys for two other property owners involved in the deal.
The committee came up with six potential options, four of which involved purchasing all or some of the properties to avoid a lawsuit, and a special meeting was scheduled for April 5 to discuss those options.
County Attorney Ric Van Donsel and Legislature Chairman Marilyn Brown (D-8th Ward) could not be reached for comment Friday.
Ruthig’s lawsuit charges that the county’s initial decision to purchase the properties on Dec. 21 represented a binding agreement.
The motion to reconsider that the Legislature passed Jan. 25, effectively killing the deal, was inappropriate, the suit says, for two reasons.
First of all, the clause in the contract making any deal contingent on government approval expired Dec. 22, with no notice from the county otherwise.
Secondly, the suit claims, the motion to reconsider was inappropriate, and should have been considered a “motion to rescind,” requiring a two-thirds-majority vote that the motion did not have.
The lawsuit requests that the court compel the county to go through with the purchase of the Moose Lodge at the agreed price of $247,500, or that the county be forced to simply pay $247,500 in damages, along with attorney fees.
Because the other potential complainants in the case — the owners of 11 Williams St., 8 Randall St. and the owners of Robbins Tobacco — will likely produce a similar lawsuit, Ruthig said they could be filed at any time, and the county would likely deal with all of them at once

3/14/07 Committee to give report April 5

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

A breakdown of communication lead the county into the situation it now faces over a proposal to build a $5.5 million public health facility on south Main Street, a special legislative committee agreed Tuesday.
The committee also agreed that it had seen no indication of anything done illegally, but it acknowledged a number of policies and procedures that could use tightening, changing or clarification.
Tuesday was the final formal meeting of the committee, which has spent the past two months examining the failings of the proposal.
The committee identified six options for how the county might proceed as it deals with legal challenges to its decision to annul $894,000 in purchase offers for nine properties in the south Main Street area.
Those options include purchasing the properties to avoid a lawsuit and reselling all or some of them, with the possibility of a scaled-down project, or not purchasing the properties and either battling the lawsuit or trying to negotiate out of the purchase agreements.
The committee also agreed on a list of 23 recommendations for how the county can improve its process for acquiring land in the future.
All of the information will be sent to legislators by early next week, Committee Chairwoman Carol Tytler (D-3rd Ward) said, and the committee will meet with any interested legislators to discuss its findings prior to the March 22 legislative session.
A special session to discuss how to move forward will be held April 5.
Much of the discussion Tuesday focused on how the county could improve its process for acquiring property, considering the numerous space needs that still need to be addressed.
Legislator Dan Tagliente (D-7th Ward) suggested the county avoid going through a real estate broker in the future and acquire property by eminent domain when necessary, while Legislator Tom Williams (R-Homer) suggested a public request-for-proposal process in which competition would keep prices down.
In terms of communication, the committee agreed that the chairman of each legislative committee should prepare a summary every month of key issues brought up in committee for each caucus to keep legislators abreast of significant discussion. Williams said he hoped all legislators would also have a voice in such projects from the beginning.
“I see the role of the Legislature as sort of the big paintbrush, the people saying let’s go down this particular path, and I see the administration as sort of the smaller paintbrush, taking care of all the details,” Williams said. “I’m not sure in my mind who was doing the bigger paintbrush piece.”
Tagliente, who was one of the first legislators to become involved with the south Main Street project, said the committee process the county has in place was responsible for some legislators being left out of the process.