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The $2.5 million Warren Road sewer project came a few steps closer to being passed at Wednesday's TOwn board meeting.  The Lansing Town Board held a public hearing, and with no negative comment from the public went on to consider environmental impacts.  While only a handful of people commented, all comments were favorable toward the project. Transonic System's Bruce Kilmartin was cautiously optimistic that the project will be approved.  "I didn't hear too much, but I didn't hear anything bad.  It's going forward and hopefully this is going to come forth and will be done in the next 14 months to two years or less."

If approved the project will bring sewer from the Village of Lansing to the Dutch Mill Road Warren Road Business Park and slightly beyond to include the Springbrook apartment complex on Springbrook Circle off of Farrell Road.  While some homes are included, most of the properties in the proposed district are businesses or apartments, including many apartments owned by Lucente Holdings, Inc. 


"I remember being here 25 years ago trying to get sewer out to the apartments," said Larry Fabbroni, the engineer for the Lucentes, who own more than 15 parcels within the district, mainly apartment buildings.  "Now most of the septic systems are 40 years old in that complex, and while they serve them well they are about at the end of their useful life so this project will go a long way toward improving the environment overall there."

Kilmartin first approached the Lansing sewer committee in March, 2007 to lobby to have the larger town sewer project expanded to include the Warren Road Business Park included in the town-wide project that was killed later that year.  He explained that the company can't expand the Lansing plant without   Transonic Systems is a worldwide company specializing in biomedical flow measurement technology.

"We're continuing to hire people, but we're limited to the septic system we presently have so we can't add to many more people, Kilmartin says.  "The parking situation is almost maxed out.  So we're to the point where we have to make a decision as to whether to stay in the building, keep a septic tank which we'd rather not, or move to another location.  We get asked about moving by other communities and other states all the time.  The owner wishes to stay there if he can, but he's not adverse to moving if he has to."

The company put its money where its mouth is, footing a $10,000 bill for the initial engineering study to determine the feasibility and estimated cost of the project.  Initially the plan was to bring the sewer to the business park, which currently holds seven businesses accounting for about 300 jobs.  Kilmartin's company alone could potentially add another 100 jobs over a five year period if expansion to the plant is made possible by a sewer.  That would be in addition to the 100 people who already work at the Lansing plant.  Currently the company has about 130 employees world-wide.


"We'll probably almost double the size," Kilmartin  says.  "We have about 33,000 square feet now and we'll probably almost double it.  We need more parking.  The key is getting rid of the septic system we presently have, because that takes probably 200 by 100 feet away from the one side of the building where we would expand it to."

"The majority of the proposed sewer district is in the Tompkins County Empire Zone.  Having the sewer is critical to promoting further business development on Dutch Mill Road," says Tompkins County Area Development's (TCAD) Heather Filiberto.  "The park is an ideal location for local startup businesses.  There are six vacant lots.  There is about ten potentially buildable acres for future business development there.  There are also vacant lands in the proposed sewer district outside of the business park that are owned by Cornell and owned by the County that have potential for further business development."

Councilman Bud Shattuck recognized Kilmartin for initiating the project and paying for the initial engineering study, after a controversial sewer project was killed last year.  Shattuck chaired the sewer committee and has been instrumental in facilitating this smaller project.

"Business certainly pays for itself a lot more than residential property when you're paying for infrastructure," he noted.  "It keeps taxes lower.  At the same time we have an environmental problem.  Lucente Properties and Springbrook both came forward and said they realize what the problems are.  One is that you have low to middle income housing there.  The other is that as you take the septic systems out of there they can expand and build more apartments there."

Only property owners within the district pay for sewer, which means there will be no cost to Lansing taxpayers.  The cost per Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) will be $984 per year for 38 years to retire the debt for the loan to build the system.  An additional operation and maintenance fee and $183 for treatment at the Cayuga Heights sewer treatment plant will bring annual costs per EDU to about $1,200.  Shattuck says that construction will be coordinated with the county's Warren Road reconstruction project to reduce the amount of disruption to the area.


He also noted that annual cost will be reduced as more units are built within the district.  He says the Lucentes already plan to expand if the sewer is built.  And he stated that everyone that is in the proposed sewer district is part of it because they want to be included.  "I remember some of our meetings where we told people they couldn't come in the door," he said.  "They kept coming.  It's been a good thing for the progress of the community.  We know that eventually sewer system is better than replacing septics when you have a lot of bedrock near water."

Now that the public hearing has been held the Town Board must wait 30 days before it can vote on whether or not to form the sewer district.  With no objections to the project it will almost certainly pass, probably at the July board meeting.

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