- By Dan Veaner
- News
Print 
Town Attorney Guy Krogh explained that he has made sense of regulations that are hard to understand and not written in any one place. Rules governing referendums are different from those that regulate elections in which people run for office. Krogh has had to untangle a spaghetti bowl's worth of rules governing everything from the thickness and ink used to make ballots to allowed voting locations. Originally it was hoped the referendum could be held at Lansing Fire Station 3, not far from the affected neighborhood, but State regulations do not allow it.
Krogh presented the board with resolutions to approve the abstract of the ballot, and the time and date of the vote. He reported that he located a ballot consultant in Rochester that specializes in producing ballots that conform to State law. Voters will be presented with a paper ballot with one question and "yes" and "no" check boxes. The ballot will ask, "Shall resolution 05243 adopted by the Lansing Town Board on December 21, 2005 authorizing the formation of the Town of Lansing Consolidated Water District Extension 1 at at estimated cost of $777,200 to be paid for by said district extension through a 30 years serial bond with an estimated annual EDU per household cost of $592 be approved?"
The Town has sent a hardship application to the NEW York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC). Town Engineer Dave Herrick reported he is still waiting for a reply from the EFC to determine whether the project is eligible for a reduced or even a zero-interest loan. If so the cost to homeowners could be reduced by as much as half. The $592 annual cost to residents in the ballot is the "worst case," but as Krogh explained last month the Town is required to put the higher figure on the ballot.
Krogh said that a list of official voters on file at the Town Clerk's office by some time yesterday (3/16). "That list will be based on, and solely on the last official assessment role, by law. We can't vary that at all. If you own land individually you have a vote. If you own land through a trust and the trust votes through its trustee... if there are multiple trustees you need something verifying that one trustee has the authority to cast the vote. If the land is held in a partnership or a corporation you'll need to bring with you authorization from the partnership or corporation, usually in the form of a certification signed and sealed usually by the secretary that authorizes you to cast the vote for the corporation."
Krogh said there are strange twists in the law. "If you own 22 lots you get one vote. If you own one lot you get one vote. If you own one lot individually and another lot through a corporation, then ironically you would get one vote as an individual and the corporation, being a separate real entity, would also have one vote." He said the official assessment role will be the final authority on who can or cannot vote.
Herrick apprised the board of about a half dozen other possible water district extensions as well. Some are as small as one resident asking to be included, while others involved the possible inclusion of neighborhoods.
In other water news, Highway Superintendent Jack French reported on the aftermath of the torrential rain that afflicted Lansing the other day. "We had some minor flooding, nothing real major," he said. "We had some shoulders washed out, some culverts washed out." French said it would take the rest of the week to repair the damage.
He also reported on water main breaks on East Shore Drive and Cayuga Heights Road. He referred the incidents to Herrick, noting that both mains had broken several times over the past three years. French said that when a water main breaks only Bolton Point staff are allowed to turn off the water so repairs can be made. When the break was reported on East Shore Drive below Drake Road, French was on the scene within ten minutes, but it took a half hour for a Bolton Point technician to arrive. French reported it could have been an hour, because the man on call was on the other side of the lake at the time, but French managed to locate an off-duty Bolton Point employee who was willing to come to the rescue.
There was damage to a residence because of the break, causing significant flooding in the basement. Town officials wanted their insurance company to cover it, but the damage didn't qualify. "The rule is that when you have a subterranean water line, unless you have notice or knowledge of the break, your only responsibility is to remedy it once you have learned of it. So there is not actual liability unless there is negligence. The law doesn't always match up with what your sense of fair play is."
Herrick suggested opening district extensions to neighborhoods as a possible way to make water affordable to those who already requested water. He suggested the Board sound out nearby residents in some areas of town to see if there is any interest.
----
v2i11