Archive: News

	Village of Lansing Voters: All four candidates will be participating at a moderated Candidates Forum on April 22, 4:00 - 5:00 at the Ramada Inn, 2310 North Triphammer Road.

Julia Ann Kilgore Baker is running for a third term as Village of Lansing Trustee.  Baker has lived in the Village since 1998, and has two grown children with her husband Shefford.  She is a General Manager of ATC New York, a company specializing in Computer security research and development, information management, and computer forensics based at the Cornell Technology Park in the Village.

Baker says she wants to continue the high quality of life all residents enjoy in the Village.  She says she understands the issues facing the Village and has the resources to solve these issues.  She met with the Lansing Star last weekend to talk about her candidacy.

Lansing Star:  Why are you running and what will make you a good Trustee?

Julia Ann Kilgore Baker:  I'm running to preserve the high quality of life that we have in the Village.  I understand the issues facing the Village and the resources we have available to us to solve the issues.  I have the leadership and the people skills to move the Village forward to benefit everyone.

I strongly believe in the rights of property owners, and following fair and legal processes.  I want to consider the interests of the whole village, not special interest groups.

LS:  What do you see as the key challenges that you'll face if reelected?

JB:  First of all I want to point out that the Village is in excellent financial health.  We want to continue providing the services that people need in the most cost effective way that we can.  This is roads and water and sewer, and the things that people really have to have to have a good life.

In terms of the issues we will face in the next two years, it's become clear that we have serious access issues in the northeast area.  I think those life safety issues have to be resolved in the next two years.

The other key issue is that we have a lot of really beautiful undeveloped properties that are very attractive.  It always generates a lot of interest in terms of developers coming in and wanting to develop the property.  I think that managing those issues for the benefit of the whole village will be a key challenge.

LS:  Are you talking about Village-owned property or private land?

JB:  I'm talking about private property that is not currently developed that might come for sale during the next two years.  I will state this now: we do not develop property.  We can only regulate property.  That really needs to be understood by everyone. 

LS:  At least one candidate has challenged the transparency of the Village government.  How would you characterize it, and what, if anything would you do differently to make the government more transparent if you think it is not transparent enough?

JB:  I think this is an unfortunate characterization and I think that it's unfounded.  I don't believe that it's true.  There are a lot of reasons for this.

First of all, we conduct all of our business in open meetings.  In every meeting we invite public comment and we allow everyone to speak.  No one is prevented from speaking, and we appreciate it when people come to present ideas or concerns in the public comment period.

As far as the charge that the village government is not transparent, we've gone to great lengths to be inclusive, and I'll give you three specific examples of that.

Ms. Miller (challenger in the upcoming election, Yasamin Miller) requested at one point to be allowed to listen in to one of our meetings on the phone, and we allowed her to do that.

Another example is when the Lansing Reserve issue was inadvertently left off the agenda... we wanted to talk about it but the Mayor decided to postpone it until we had a chance to put it on (a future) agenda and make sure we could get everyone there who wanted to hear about it and express their opinions. 

We even postponed our decision to vote on the proposals from the planning consultants until all of the residents had a chance to read all of the proposals.  Those are examples of where we've really tried to be inclusive.

I have listened carefully to all of ideas and concerns that the citizens have expressed.  I have heard them that they don't want any development.  They want things to remain the same.  And they specifically don't want affordable housing.  That's extremely clear.

I have to say that they have every right to express their opinions and we appreciate that they have come to express their opinions.  But they also have to realize that they don't have the right to prevent a property owner from getting the value out of their property that they can under the existing laws.

I think we have to educate everyone about the processes we have, the fair and legal processes we have in the Village.  We have to present it in a way that they can understand.

The Village can only act as a referee and make sure that everybody follows the rules.  That's the main message.  We can't promote development on private property.

You asked me what I'd do differently to make the government more transparent?

LS:  Yes.

JB:  One thing is I think we do need to have more rigorous discussions about the really important issues.  I think it's really important to consider what is affordable housing?  And does the Village need affordable housing?  I think those are things that we do need to have serious discussion about.

I have talked to a lot of people.  Some are for affordable housing.  Some people are against affordable housing.  I think we need to have all of those opinions brought before the Village and have a good debate about it.

LS:  I don't have to tell you that development in the northeast/Dart area of the Village has caused controversy this year.  How do you see the issues that have been raise being legally and fairly resolved?

JB:  I love the question about being fairly and legally resolved.  I think everything the Village has done has been fair and legal, and I expect that to continue, that the village government will act in a fair and legal way.

We specifically have not done some things that the concerned residents have asked us to do because they were not legal, or they were not really in the best interests of the Village.

For example, they asked us to have a moratorium on development.  We cannot legally do this.  It would have opened up the Village to a lawsuit from the private property owners, because that's just not something we can do.  I think it shows a real lack of understanding on the opposition's part about what government can do and what it cannot do.

The other thing that was not in the best interest of the Village... there was this petition to turn that property that the Village owns west of Coventry Walk into a park.  I specifically stated when that came forward that I understood.  I heard the fact that they did not want anything about that particular parcel to change.  I thought it was a good idea to recognize the Edelmans, who gave that property to the Village.  But until we can resolve these access issues I think the Village has a responsible to the life safety of this particular neighborhood to not do anything prematurely.

I don't think that turning it into a park now would be advisable.  It would not be in the best interests of the Village.  That's not to say that at some time in the future we wouldn't want to do that.  But at this current time we just can't.

LS:  First solve access and then?

JB:  And then determine what else we can do.


Can we go back, because I wanted to explain what I went through as a Trustee in learning about the (Lansing Reserve) proposal and what I initially thought, and how I see it right now.

LS:  OK.

JB: When I initially heard the idea of the Lansing Reserve I knew this whole area was wooded.  One of my interests is to preserve open space.  When I first heard about the proposal the things that was attractive was that it was going to have half of that parcel preserved as forever wild forest.  It would be really wonderful for the Village.

The other thing is that it did provide for a mix of affordable housing, which is in our comprehensive plan.  It has been seen as a real benefit to the community.

Those were the things that allowed us to consider a Planned Development Area (PDA), because a PDA has to have some benefit to the Village.  That, I think, is the real discussion that has to take place, about what the benefit to the Village is.  That was my initial response to that proposal. 

The situation now is that we have a real access problem and a traffic flow problem.  Those issues have to be resolved before we can even consider any PDA that would come forward on that property.

And I want to say again that the Village does not promote development.  It can only regulate development.  That is something that the opposition... if you go to the 'Stop Lansing Reserve' Web site they clearly state that the Village government wants to develop this property.  But we're not behind this proposal.  We can only regularte what comes forward.

I think it's unfair to only mention NRP.  They continuously cast that proposal as coming from an outside agency, but this is a partnership between Better Housing for Tompkins County and NRP.  And Better Housing owns 51% of that partnership.

They have said that the Mayor's letter is what made it possible for them to put an option on the land to purchase the land.  They put an option on the land long before the Mayor wrote any letter in support of the proposal.  The letter that he wrote was very, very short.  It was a letter that expressed general support for the proposal.  The Better Housing for Tompkins County and NRP proposal did not get funded primarily because it was not a shovel-ready project.  And the holdup now is these access issues.  They have to be resolved.

LS:  What would you say your top accomplishments have been while in office, and what would you like to accomplish in the next term?

JB:  I have really broad interests.  I've worked in a lot of different aspects of the village.  I really do whatever needs to be done to keep the Village running smoothly.

In the first term I worked with (former Code Enforcement Officer) Ben Curtis on the Code Enforcement Administration Law. This was a state mandate to update the administration and enforcement of the fire prevention and building code.

To give you an example of the range of the things I have done, I worked with the Superintendent of Public Works on determining what kind of playground equipment to put in Dankert Park. That was a lot of fun.

The other thing I've done since I joined the board as a Trustee is that I check the bank statements each month to help provide that auditing function for the Village.  To make sure that the bank statements are correct.

I also go to the planning board meetings sometimes as the Trustee representative, and I've done a lot of work on the Lansing Meadows PDA, which is the BJ's, the wetlands, the senior housing Planned Development Area.

For more than a year now the northeast area has been the primary focus of all of our attention, primarily these access issues, now, are the major issue.  I am one of the trustees that is part of the Northeast Advisory Group that is meeting.  It's really exciting to have all of the stakeholders present to discuss the access issues.  It's very refreshing to get all of these people together.

In the article you wrote in the Lansing Star about the Village taking a step backward (to study access issues in the northeast area of the Village)... I just would like it to be on the record that it was a giant leap forward to do this.  I'm hoping that you'll see that this was actually a giant leap forward in addressing the issues in this area.

LS:  I realized after that was published that it could be taken different ways.  I meant to say the Village was taking a step backward to gain the perspective to see the wider picture, but more than one person thought I meant it was a step backward for the project or for the Village.  I should have been clearer.

JB:  I also read an editorial you wrote about considering citizen input.  I think that we have tried very hard all along to let all the voices be heard.  The formation of this Northeast Advisory Group that includes Northwood Apartments, Coventry Walk, Dart Drive, Graham Road, Lansing Trails, and all three of the owners or their representatives, and the Planning Board and the Trustees.  This combination with the planners leading it and facilitating the discussion has been wonderful.  I am very optimistic.

LS:  The Village has a reputation of being tough on zoning issues, especially on requirements for businesses such as signage, lighting, and how many parking spaces you can have, and all of these things.  And the Village is filling up as far as commercial growth is concerned.  As a Trustee, what kind of growth would you advocate?

JB:  First of all I think that we are tough on zoning. I think that reputation is really accurate.  That is the whole reason that the Village was formed in the first place, to manage growth in the Village.  The Village was incorporated in 1974 and we are a modern municipality in that we do have residential, single family, high density residential with businesses mixed in.  It's very important to continue the tough scrutiny that any new development has when it comes to the Village.

We have spacious green neighborhoods with easy access to shops and businesses.  It's a really unique environment and we have to be able to sustain that kind of environment.  The tough zoning regulations are there to preserve our quality of life and this should continue.

LS:  The Mayor has pursued lowering town taxes for villagers.  Where do you stand on this issue?  Should the Village avail itself more of town services, which villagers are entitled to and are offered by the Town?  Should it secede or merge with the town to reduce duplication of governments, or work with the Town as-is?

JB:  I think that we should continue as it is.  John O'Neil goes to all of the Town Board meetings as our representative and liaison, and he comes back and he brings news from every meeting, which is greatly appreciated by us.

The other thing is that the Mayor and the Town Supervisor, Kathy Miller, are working together.  They have a great relationship.  They have both told me that they're working very well together and they expect that to continue.

I've talked with some of the Town Council people -- Ed LaVigne and Andra Benson -- about the fact that we want to have a joint meeting.  We've been so busy with the things we've been dealing with and they've been so busy with the moratorium on fracking and the development issues that they've had... it has been on the back of everybody's mind, but we just need to get together and have a join meeting.

What we need to do is really clearly be able to tell our Village residents what they are getting from their town taxes.  I'd like to have an open meeting so we can really discuss this issue with the Town and have a specific list about what is available, because people in the Village sometimes don't even realize that they are part of the Town.  They feel much more affinity with the Ithaca side of 13 than north of 13, because that's where all students' friends are.  So we're kind of pulled in that direction.

We really need to educate people about what they're getting for their town taxes.  I think they're getting excellent return on their Village taxes, because we run with a very lean village staff who provide really good services, and we outsource the things for which we don't want to have to support a full employee.

If you look at the Village in that way I think people are getting a very good value for their taxes.  We're actually going to be able to lower taxes even more this year.  It will be 99 cents per 1,000 of assessed value.  It's a remarkable reduction when you look at all of the other municipalities.

People may not realize one of the things we're getting from the Town fire department -- they have the resources set aside to build a new fire station on Oakcrest Road, which is going to be a really nice addition.

LS: What would you like people to know about your candidacy that we haven't already discussed?

JB:  First of all I'd like to say thank you to the opposition for generating such excitement in local government, and I think local government is really important.  It really is the thing that determines the day to day quality of life where you live.  I'm hopeful that this will be one of the larger turnouts that we've had for an election in the Village's history.  It hink it's really exciting to have all this interest.

The other thing is, I always love to hear from people.  My phone number and email address are on the Village of Lansing Web site . I invite people to contact me directly if they have a problem or concern.  I love to hear from residents.  I really like to provide a service of answering questions and trying to solve their problems.

Finally, I would be honored to serve a third term as Trustee.

v8i14
villageelection2012