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.