Highlights of the July 16, 2024 meeting of the Tompkins County Legislature

Monday, July 22, 2024

County-Owned Land on "Block 14" to be Further Considered for Potential Redevelopment

Legislators discussed the County-owned properties on "Block 14" in the City of Ithaca, between Seneca Street and West Martin Luther King Jr. / State Street, and South Albany Street and South Geneva Street. The County currently owns the Human Services Annex, which houses the Office for the Aging and Department of Veterans Services, as well as two surface parking lots. The Legislature passed a resolutionin February of this year stating that the Human Services Annex building should be prepared for sale after the Center for Government project is complete and departments have moved in.

In 2023 A Local Development Corporation (LDC) was formed by local parties interested in seeing that block developed as one project. LDC's are formed to develop property benefitting local government and promoting economic development. A similar LDCsupported the creation of the Downtown Ithaca Conference Center. The newly formed LDC for Block 14 is currently gauging interest from property owners on the block to sell to one future interested developer. The LDC has proposed studying the feasibility of amassing all properties on the block and seeking one developer to meet the goals of the LDC members (which currently does not currently include Tompkins County, though an invite has been extended).

A resolution stating that County-owned land on Block 14 is not currently for sale and that it would only come up for sale once the Legislature officially declares its land no longer needed for County purposes passed 8-5 (Legislators Mike Sigler (R-Lansing), Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca), Randy Brown (R-Newfield), Anne Koreman (D-Ulysses), and Greg Mezey (D-Dryden) opposed, Legislator Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton) excused).

A second resolution, supporting a feasibility study for Block 14 passed 8-5 (Legislators Mike Sigler (R-Lansing), Shawna Black (D-Ithaca), Amanda Champion (D-Ithaca), Mike Lane (D-Dryden), and Dan Klein (D-Danby) opposed, Legislator Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton) excused). The resolution states that the County wishes to understand the redevelopment possibilities that might be pursued for the block and commits the County to cooperating with the LDC in its pre-development work to determine the site's feasibility and potential scenarios. The resolution also calls for any further steps toward redevelopment to require future action by the Legislature.

Legislators had a robust discussion on the County's needs for parking spaces to accommodate employees who commute to work via personal vehicles, which is the current use of several parcels on Block-14 in addition to the Human Services Annex building. Both resolutions cite the importance of maintaining parking spaces, a sentiment that will be communicated with the LDC.

Legislators also discussed the potential community benefit of a development on Block 14, and the potential of a partnership with the LDC that includes the County's needs and interests moving forward.

Among Other Business

July was proclaimed Disability Pride Month in Tompkins County. The proclamation, accepted by Tracy Decker from the Finger Lakes Independence Center, centered on creating an inclusive community that celebrates and honors every person's unique needs, skills, and values.

Legislators spoke out against the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Shawna Black (D-Ithaca) condemned acts of domestic terrorism, most recently the shooting at the Donald Trump rally. Black commented, "whether we agree with a candidate, whether we prefer a different candidate, this is absolutely about preserving democracy and that we all feel safe to experience the political movement that we're a part of." Black added a challenge to her colleagues to help "bring down the tone that we're feeling on a national level." Legislator Mike Lane (D-Dryden) added, "we need to lower the rhetoric, we're all horrified anytime something like this happens," adding reflections on the history of assassination attempts against U.S. Presidents and presidential candidates, "this isn't new, and not an isolated incident…" adding that "lone wolves" typically "want to change politics, not at the ballot box but with a trigger. And that's not a good thing." Legislator Veronica Pillar (D-Ithaca) thanked Shawna for her comments and added that "it is an important part of democracy that people should be able to attend a political rally and not get shot at."

In his Chair's report, Dan Klein (D-Ithaca) shared details on an upcoming local statue unveiling honoring Frances Perkins and Lucy Brown. The unveiling is open to the public and scheduled for Saturday, August 17 at 10am beginning in the parking lot at Breckenridge Place Apartments (100 W. Seneca St, Ithaca). More details on the statues and unveiling can be found online at https://www.ithacanhs.org/statuesproject.

A resolution regarding the implementation of a higher minimum wage in Tompkins County was postponed until the next meeting in August when experts could attend the meeting to provide comment.