The Town of Lansing received an early Christmas present Wednesday when Attorney Guy Krogh told the Lansing Town Board that the town sewer project has been granted $2.537 million of state money.  The Lansing sewer is one of 25 projects in the 54th NYS Senate District to receive community development and job creation dollars.  The grant is a big win for Lansing because the town views sewer as vital to the creation of a town center and implementation of its comprehensive plan, but has been struggling to make the $10,537,800 project affordable.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that $738 million has been awarded through Round Two of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.  The Lansing project was put forward in May with the help of Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD), requesting $3 million for the sewer.  The Sewer Committee had to proceed as if no money would be granted, so the $2.537 million is a huge boost to the project.

“This is tremendous news as these projects will strengthen our local economy and help create and retain jobs,” Michael Nozzolio, Lansing's State Senator said.  “Our community leaders serving on the Regional Economic Development Council have worked hard to put together an job development strategy that takes advantage of the tremendous resources, skills and talent in our area. I applaud Governor Cuomo and Lieutenant Governor Duffy for this successful initiative that is spurring job growth and building a stronger economy for the future of the Finger Lakes Region and all New York State.”

The Sewer Committee has tried to bring sewer costs down to the low $500s range on the grounds that it would not be affordable if costs run higher.  A tentative estimate of $522 from last week certainly brought the project into that ballpark, but Sewer Committee members worried it was still too high to garner enough votes to form the sewer district.

The current iteration of the project identifies three tiers of properties within the sewer district.  The first tier includes a portion of the town stretching from the Lansing Schools and Ladoga Park along Ridge Road to the Town Hall and the new Town Center, to Triphammer Road and north to the New York State juvenile detention centers.  A second tier includes properties that are most likely to get sewer service in the future because they are in both the sewer and water districts.  The third contains a smaller number of properties within the sewer district, but not in the water district.


The grant will cut the capital cost to district residents by 24.08%.  In the first tier that would lower the capital debt portion of the $522, estimated at $329.14 in the first year, to about $250, lowering the overall cost, which also includes an Operation & Maintenance fee and metered usage, to about 443.  It will have a significant impact on property owners in tiers one and two as well, knocking down the capital cost from an estimated $45.45 per $100,000 to $34.51.  In the third tier it would reduce the estimated $9.38 per $100,000 to about $7.12.

Town officials are quick to qualify that these are preliminary estimates only, and not official costs.  But they also note that as new development comes along it will add more units to share sewer costs, and that is expected to lower costs for all district property owners.

Costs may also come down if the DEC reconsiders outfall limits on the proposed sewer treatment plant planned for Portland Point.  Engineer David Herrick and Town Supervisor Kathy Miller met with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DED) representatives earlier in the week to find out how far the outfall had to extend into the lake.  Herrick reported Wednesday that the conversation turned into a critique of treatment plant discharge limits.  He says the current DEC determination is tailored more for a stream discharge than a lake discharge.

"You're going to have your basic treatment," explained Town Engineering and Planning Coordinator Jeff Overstrom.  "But it may not be the more stringent requirement for phosphorous or nutrient removal.  Physically or chemically you would realize a savings.  And with seasonal limits the low flows we would be receiving... to have that cushion would be beneficial."

Herrick added that the outfall, currently planned to extend about 600 feet from the shore of Cayuga Lake may not need to entend quite as far.  At about $1,200 per foot that could reduce the project cost as well.

Town officials were elated at Wednesday's Town Board meeting.  With cost to district residents thought to be the factor that could tip the vote for or against forming a sewer district, the grant makes passage of the project more likely.  Wednesday Sewer Committee member Tom Jones advocated quantifying the benefits district residents would garner, comparing the value of the benefits to the cost of sewer.  He said he hoped that district voters would have the altruistic view that sewer helps the town, but said all voters in the district would want to know the dollar value of sewer benefits.

State economic development monies are allotted to regions of the state according to how well proposed projects are scored for community benefits and job creation.  The Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council received $91.1 million of the $738 million distributed state-wide.  In Tompkins County projects include:

• Ithaca Commons Infrastructure, funding for rehabilitation and reconstruction of Ithaca Commons including replacement and upgrades of underground utilities - $1,800,000
• Cascadilla Boathouse Second Floor Restoration, funding for rehabilitation of the second floor of the Cascadilla Boathouse for use as a gymnasium for the community - $75,290
• Cornell Greenhouse Southern Tier, funding for construction of a research-grade greenhouse - $350,000
• Cornell Food Processing and Development Lab, funding to expand food processing and development resources - $500,000
• Downtown Ithaca Alliance Renovation Project, funding for street scape improvements and interior and exterior renovations to three buildings in the City of Ithaca - $250,000
• Emerson Complex Redevelopment, funding for environmental studies necessary for redevelopment - $344,000
• Organics Material Management, funding to purchase machinery and equipment and to make infrastructure improvements to expand a food waste composting facility - $200,000
• West Danby Water District Improvement, funding for improvements to the West Danby Water District - $404,800
• Lansing Sewer Infrastructure, funding for construction of a waste water treatment plant and collection system - $2,537,000
• Finger Lakes Food Hub, funding for Challenge Industries to create an aggregation and value-added production facility that collaborates with local farmers - $450,000

"For too many years, top-down economic development policies have failed communities across the state and not truly invested in the unique resources and strengths of each of New York's regions," Cuomo said when the grants were announced Wednesday. "Now a new, bottom-up approach is in place that brings local communities together to chart their own economic destiny. The second round of Regional Economic Development Council awards will deliver funding for critical projects and investments in communities across our state, helping put New Yorkers back to work and rebuilding our economy."

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