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The Lansing Sewer Committee met Wednesday to hone plans on providing accurate and complete information about the $10.8 million sewer to the public.  The discussion focussed on creating a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that can be used in presentations and posted on the Town Web Site, and on identifying neighborhoods and potential hosts for home presentations.

51 questions were submitted at the Lansing Middle School Auditorium presentation (available on the Town Web site for viewing) last month.  About 20 of them were duplicates, leaving around 30 unique questions, and committee members plan to expand the FAQ as more questons arise.  Committee Member CJ DelVecchio said she will divide the questions into categories for easy reference.  Questions roughly broke down by financial, project specifications, quality of life, expansion, and exemptions.

"How the sewer will expand came up a lot," she said.  "How to move from Tier 2 to Tier 1.  There were also several questions about the specifics of the plant specifications."

The top category has to do with the actual cost of the sewer to individual landowners, with other questions including specifics about the sewer plant, who can vote, how to meter usage on properties with no water service, whether natural gas lines can be installed concurrently with sewer.  While the committee has answers for most questions, they identified some that need to be answered, and some that need more specific answers.

Committee member Andy Sciarabba noted that the Map Plan Report on the Town Web site does list every property and what sewer costs will be for each, but it only lists the first property owner for properties that are jointly owned.  He said that is important because while owners of multiple properties only get one vote, when properties are jointly owned each owner gets a vote.  He suggested telling property owners to check their tax bills to see the names of all qualified voters for their property.

The plan is to hold two presentations on a smaller scale than the one held last month at the Middle School auditorium, as well as a series of hosted neighborhood gatherings.  The formal presentations are scheduled for the Lansing Town Hall at 7pm on May 22 and June 12.

In addition, committee members are making themselves available for neighborhood meetings.  There will be hosted by individuals who will invite their neighbors to their home, or to a meeting at the Town Hall to give residents a chance to ask questions of sewer committee members in a less formal setting and get information on how sewer will specifically impact their neighborhoods.  Committee members identified some individuals who are potential hosts.

The FAQ document will be posted on the Town Web site as soon as it is prepared, and informational sessions are likely to continue until the final vote.

Last week the Town Board consulted Tompkins County Election Commissioner Elizabeth Cree on what options they have for holding a vote in September.  Cree recommended borrowing the old mechanical lever voting machines from local school districts and outlined procedures for holding a legal vote.  She said the County's electronic voting machines will not be available because they need to be available for primaries and the general election.

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