Archive: News

The Lansing Town Board voted to schedule a public hearing for the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) required for a town-wide, $10.8 million sewer project.  The public meeting will be announced on the Town Web site, but is likely to be held at the May a5th Town Board meeting.  After more than a year of work on the current incarnation of the project, work on the SEQR is the first official action the town is taking leading up to a vote town officials hope will occur this September.

Town Supervisor Kathy Miller reported Wednesday that the DEC has refused to be the lead agency for the environmental review.  Miller said the reason is that it could be a conflict of interest for the state agency, because it regulates impacts to the lake.   She said that will require the Town to take te role of lead agency, which will mean it has to pay for statistics and testing, but the cost to the Town will be about the same as it would otherwise have been.

Miller says the Town will roll out a public information campaign so that everyone can get the facts and have their questions answered before the vote.  A short piece in the next town newsletter will kick off the campaign, followed by a post card mailing.  Miller says that a copy of the official Map Plan & Report will be mailed to all property owners within the proposed district, which will include the entire town of Lansing not including the Village of Lansing. 

A large public presentation is planned for the Lansing Middle School Auditorium some time in April along with some smaller meetings.  Miller says homeowners will be encouraged to host neighborhood sewer meetings where people can learn about the impact to their own neighborhoods in a more relaxed setting.

The sewer will involve two tiers.  Tier 1 will pay 60% of the debt service in addition to an operation and maintenance (O&M) fee and usage based on metered water usage.  Tier 1 properties are within the initial service area.  Tier 2 will pay 40% of the debt service.  The numbers keep changing, but are considerably lower than first thought.

The annual Tier 1 debt service piece of the sewer charge is currently estimated in the low $200s, while Tier 2 properties may be charged $26.90 per Equivalent Dwelling unit (EDU).  Officials say these numbers could be lower depending on the interest rate the Town is able to secure for the loan.

The sewer committee discussed a number of unrelated issues this week, trying to iron out issues of fairness in how properties will be charged.  There was much discussion about Borg Warner, whose large facility is split between the Town and Village of Lansing.  Committee members acknowledged there is little chance the company will be part of the Town sewer because the facility is already hooked up to the Village sewer system.

The discussion touched on two existing sewer districts within the Town that will be dissolved and then included in the new town-wide system.  Some O&M will be different depending on whether sewage goes to a new Lansing treatment plant or the one in Cayuga Heights.

While work on the SEQR is now beginning, the Town Board has to wait for a final draft of the Map Plan and Review, which will outline the scope and reasons for the project.  Board members had hoped it would be completed by Wednesday.  Once they have it in hand they will vote to create a provisional public service order, a parallel track that will culminate in the vote.

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