- By Hugh Bahar
- Opinions
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Several members of the public asked why the meeting wasn't better publicized. The responses from the Town Board, such as "it was on the sign out front", were dismissive. Not everyone in Lansing drives by the Town Hall.
Clearly, meetings such as these are important to the public. Why wasn't this one announced on the www.lansingtown.com calendar? Why wasn't it announced on the www.lansingsewers.com website? The Lansing taxpayers are paying for these websites, and they are not being updated with information about sewer happenings. You can't even find a working email address for Town Board member Mr. Bessemer.
My general impression of the board meeting was that the town sewer project is going to be ramrodded by the Town Board, whose reactions last night appear to indicate that they view public input as a necessary annoyance. Mr. Farkas and Mr. Shattuck are both on the Sewer Committee, and are the Town Supervisor and Deputy Town Supervisor, respectively. It is nearly a given that the Town Board will rubber stamp this sewer project, no matter what the public says. They should take a page from the Lansing Schools, who would have liked a $90 million school capital project, and wound up with a much more realistic $19 million project.
Public employees seem to forget that there are only ~5300 taxpayers in the Town of Lansing. We cannot continue to support multi-million dollar projects that tax us into the poor house, deprive our childrens' college funds, or steal from our retirement contributions.
As for the technical and economic details, Mr. Blum's canned presentation left a lot out. It conveniently glosses over who will pay for a connector from the overflowing Cayuga Heights plant (where any Lansing sewer will pump to) to the Ithaca plant. It neglects to tell you that the estimated $3000 hook up fee for each home to the sewer will likely cost much, much more, once legal requirements such as permits and septic tank removal are performed by the homeowner.
They also neglect to tell you that the $850/year for 30 years is a MINIMUM this sewer will cost. The engineer has not yet done a detailed geological study of the route, and objects such as creek crossings, buried utilities, shallow bedrock, swamps, and underground structures could double or triple the cost of the construction of the sewer.
The Environmental Impact Statement does not justify a town sewer project, so as we speak, the Sewer Committee is scrambling to justify it. They are going to spend taxpayer money to fly in a plane, taking pictures of leaky septic systems. They are going to sample creeks near developments. This is NOT a scientific process, it is sensationalism.
Finally, what will happen to the Lansing taxpayer who can't afford the $850 minimum fee, and the $3000-$5000 hook up fee, and the monthly usage charge? The same thing that happens to any taxpayer that doesn't pay their taxes. Your property will be auctioned, and you will be evicted.
Hopefully, the Town Board will not try to interfere with the inevitable petition for a permissive referendum, so We The People will have an opportunity to Vote on this ridiculous new tax.
Go to the www.NoLansingSewers.com website Forum for updates.
From: Hugh Bahar