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With Lansing's sewer project on what looks like permanent hold, the Lansing Town Board is still hoping to bring sewer to the Warren Road Business Park on Dutch Mill Road, north of the airport.  Tompkins County Area Development's (TCAD) Heather Filiberto, Noel Desch in behalf of the Lansing Sewer Committee and Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, and Transonic Systems Chief Operating Officer Bruce Kilmartin all addressed the board in support of a small sewer district along Warren Road.  "We're looking at a $1 million building expansion over the next few years," Kilmartin told the board.  "It's going to be really tough to do that without a sewer system."


As the Sewer Committee struggled to balance costs with new neighborhoods that wanted to be in the initial service area, costs went up to more than $900 per Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU).  That cost was not only more than Town Board members wanted to impose on residents, but was above the threshold set for such projects by the state comptroller.  That was enough to kill the project two weeks ago week.  "In order to make it feasible we looked at everything we could, and it just didn't work," said Town Supervisor Steve Farkas when he announced the project had been tabled.  "The only thing we're hoping for now is that we can still work with the Village because there is the industrial park (north of) the airport that we hope we can connect into the Village system."

That plan calls for extending the Village of Lansing sewer that currently goes as far as the Sheriff's office into the Town, north to the Warren Road business Park.  The park is located north of the airport, and currently houses seven business including Transonic Systems and UPS.  The businesses currently occupy 115,000 square feet of space.  There are also six vacant lots covering 11 acres of the 37 acres there.  Their total assessed value is $7.4 million.  All of these businesses, most of them technology based, sell their products and services outside of the region, and most have international customers.  There are approximately 300 employees at work in these seven businesses. 

"They offer excellent compensation -- real jobs with real wages," Filiberto said.  "The B&T park is also located in the Tompkins County Empire Zone.  One of the primary reasons to include the park in the empire zone was to retain existing businesses and to grow business here, because it is such a good location."

Desch urged quick action by the board, because he said the companies face urgent expansion needs.  "The other reason for the urgency is that if there is a possibility of getting State funding for this we need to get our act together and have a plan in place that can be presented to the funding agencies."


Desch said that $250 million of federal monies may be available for sewer projects, but New York will have to compete with all the other states, and most of the money that Senator Chuck Schumer could bring to New York would go for metropolitan areas that have critical waste water needs.

Filiberto estimated that bringing a sewer up the eastern side of Warren Road would cost about $2 million, and said that she is exploring funding possibilities with Empire State Development, the Appalachian Regional Commission,  and Restore New York.  She urged the Town to commit $10,000 to engineering costs to study and plan the project.   "Three of the seven businesses, Transonics Systems, Global Phoenix Computer Solutions, and Porous Materials, all have expansion plans in the near term," she said.  "And they have need for additional employment, but they can't do it without more space.  I think they'd all like to stay in the B&T park, but it's really not possible without access to municipal sewer.  We are committed to helping find funds for this project."


"The problem is job retention," Kilmartin noted, saying that the company wants to stay here if it can.  "Whenever you pick up the news we're losing jobs overseas and to other states.  When Transonic Systems was envisioned by the founders 25 years ago I don't think they thought they were going to grow as big or as fast as they did."

James and Mary Sullivan attended the meeting to speak against the South Lansing sewer project that was tabled two weeks ago.  James argued that the EDU system of paying for the project was unfair, and Mary expressed strong concerns about the project being tabled, rather than being killed.  With Farkas and Councilman Marty Christopher running for reelection, she accused the board of tabling the project only until the election is over in November.


Christopher took exception to the accusation.  "There seems to be a concern with the word 'table,'" he said.  "It doesn't mean that we're going to bring it back within any specific period of time.many criteria must be met before that is brought up again.  Believe me, it's going to go into a referendum and people in that district will get an opportunity to vote."

"To stand in front of everybody and basically call me a liar, to be called all these things... I put it out before (the board members) and they said they would not vote for it," Farkas said.  "Contrary to belief, right now four point whatever million dollars from the bond act money will be gone.  We've made a decision.  Now, I have talked to DEC, and what we're hoping for is that part of that money can be used to recoup some of our engineering costs."

He said there is no plan to bring the sewer project back, and that he would not run if that is why people think it was tabled.  "I would suggest, sir, that you run for the board," he told James Sullivan.

Mary Sullivan said that while she opposes the larger project, the small business park version makes sense.  "I have never been opposed to a sewer system that is appropriate and cost effective," she said.  "For my part I would support a small sewer district."

Farkas said that the board will be looking at the project, and will do what it can to act as quickly as possible to help keep jobs in Lansing and bring new ones here.  ""Right now we've got a very important project," he said.  We have an opportunity for this town to put big dollars into it.  We have a very good working relationship with the Village.  I've already talked to (Mayor) Don Hartill about this.  It is a doable thing, I believe.  We're crazy if we don't do it."

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