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Editorial: Will the Sewer Pass? |
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by Dan Veaner
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Friday, 01 September 2006 |
The big question around town is, 'Will the sewer pass?' It's hard to predict, but if someone held a gun to my head at this moment and said, 'Predict or die!' I'd have to guess that it will. Having said that, I should note that nobody is pointing a gun at me at the moment, so you can't hold me to that prediction! Why do I think it will pass?
Cost
Take the worst case scenario of $854 per year for 20 years. The total isn't much more than one septic system replacement. And that worst case scenario can't possibly happen unless not one new house is ever built here again. So while it seems expensive in the short run (and hooking up won't be cheap either), the sewer isn't out of the ball park in the long run. If the best case scenario comes to pass, sewer will be a good deal.
Controlling Growth
Some people are saying that the sewer will increase growth, and that will create problems such as filling the already crowded schools too quickly. But the fact is that growth is going to happen with or without the sewer. The county wants about 100 new houses per year in Lansing. Sewer is a way the Town can control where new population density occurs (the other way is zoning, which the Town wants to change to help create an environment where affordable housing could be built to meet County growth goals). To me this is the most compelling philosophical argument for sewer.
Environment
A lot of Lansing is on a shallow sheet of shale. When septic systems fail, all that junk ends up sliding into Cayuga Lake. That's pretty gross when you think about swimming and boating there, but it gets worse when you remember that lake is also a major source of drinking water. There are many reasons to preserve the lake, and sewer will help do that.
Complaints
In the year that I've been covering the sewer story the only complaints I heard were from people protesting high taxes who don't want any new expenses. But now that the project has been presented to the Town Board I'm hearing a different kind of complaint from people whose property is in the district, but outside the initial service area. They are asking why they won't have sewer immediately, and how long will it take and what is the process to get it.
Cost Again
The sewer committee has never said that the 'worst case scenario' cost is acceptable to them. They have diligently pursued other sources of funding and continue to do so as I write this. They may not meet their 'best case' goal, but they have come up with some compelling and creative approaches to convince possible donors to sign on.
The public information sessions this coming Wednesday (7:00 pm at the Town Hall) and the open house on September 16th (9-3 at the Town Hall) will be an interesting indicator of whether the sewer will come to pass, especially if a lot of residents show up. What people ask and say there will probably be the best predictor of whether Lansing will get its sewer.
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