Archive: Opinions

Over the past few months I have watched Councilperson Binkewicz backpedal more than once.  She was adamantly in favor of the sewer project until some person with infinite wisdom told her she would be committing political suicide if she voted in favor of the project and moved forward with the cost of the Environmental Review.  Suddenly she was not in favor of the project.  It is laughable the election signs she has up next to No Sewer signs, because truthfully she is in favor of sewer and don’t be surprised if re-elected a sewer project comes up again.  I believe sewer is needed and will come when growth warrants it, but let’s not force something that is not affordable.

The next backpedal was the meeting she questioned whether hunting should not be allowed at Salt Point, and The Lansing Star reported it in a news article.  Even though the editor had recorded the meeting and accurately printed the details, he was quickly called a liar at the next meeting.  The reason for the turnabout was that a lot of the duck hunters and even Ducks Unlimited protested.  This land is only being leased from the Department of Environmental Conservation for 15 years and is being maintained by the town.  There are certain stipulations in the Management Plan agreed upon with the DEC that must be followed.  Earlier this year Binkewicz convinced the board to allocate $10,000 for barriers at Salt Point to cut down on vehicular traffic.  These funds were not budgeted.  Don’t get me wrong, I think the clean up at Salt Point and absence of fast cars, drinking and garbage dumping are great, but this should not be the only focus of the town board and she seems to be obsessed with it.  It seems to be her personal agenda item.

Binkewicz and Nicholson are in favor of getting the State to purchase the approximately 500 acres by the Cayuga Power Plant so it can be turned into a State Land Reserve that will be taken off the tax rolls and the town will most likely be responsible for maintaining.

Nicholson is not in favor of Repowering the Cayuga Power Plant, she believes there are alternatives.  The alternative is to shut down the plant, lose the jobs and certainly drop our tax base even more. I agree there are more and more alternatives being developed all the time, but it will probably take at least the next 20 years to develop.  Gay, Katrina and Pat Pryor are also trying to make Fracking an issue.  There is a moratorium in place, if anyone has been keeping up with the news and the reports from Cornell; this area is going to be about the last place, if ever, drilling will take place.  The quality of gas just isn’t here and it would be a waste of resources and revenue for the drilling companies to pursue.

Robert Cree has served the town well for 4 years.  One example is that he has saved the town $10,000 per year by performing the internal audit of all the departments rather than outside auditors.  Robert has a great understanding of the budget and numbers. He weighs all the issues before making a decision and is proactive not reactive. He was not in favor of the sewer project as proposed.  He is in favor of repowering Cayuga Power Plant.  He opposes the NYS Safe Act.

Robert is adamantly opposed to hiring a full time planner for Lansing at an annual salary of $55,000.  Development is not running rampant in Lansing, and our planning board does a great job reviewing plans and making decisions on what is best.  Do we really want one person deciding what is best for our town?  Binkewicz, Hopkins and Miller all voted in favor of a full time planner, just more waste of taxpayer’s dollars.

We need to bring sensibility back to Lansing.  Doug Dake is a businessman with a level head on his shoulders and actually cares about all the people in Lansing not just a few with special interests.

Mike Sigler will work for all of us, and won’t come and ask the Town for a gift for other towns to complete County projects when the Legislature manages to spend $1.2 million on a renovation of Legislature Chambers that was estimated to cost between $200,000 and $400,000.

Change is needed, this dysfunctional government needs to end, and you the Voters of Lansing can make the difference.  Vote November 5 for Robert Cree, Doug Dake for Lansing Town Board and Mike Sigler for County Legislature, your vote does make a difference.

Connie Wilcox
Former Town Board Member/Deputy Supervisor
Lansing, NY
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