Archive: Opinions

Dear Editor,

Once again, Mr. Sciarabba is trying to speak for the residents of Lansing by noting to the Board that "We elected you..." Well, we hate to burst your bubble, Mr. Sciarabba, but you are not the only person who elected the members of this Town Board (if you even live in the proposed sewer district at all and were able to vote for the members in the first place).

In other words, YOU are not me and you do not speak for me nor for most of the residents in the proposed sewer district or in other areas of Lansing who DO NOT WANT THE SEWERS. Who are you, Mr. Sciarabba, to tell the residents of this area what they can and cannot afford? Do you pay our bills? Do you provide income to us? To you, a wealthy developer who is seeking to ruin this area on the backs of the residents, Six Hundred Dollars in terms of an initial annual tax increase would be a drop in the bucket.

To most of the homeowners in this area, Six Hundred Dollars is a significant amount of money, especially in these times and, as we all know, nothing goes down so the Six Hundred Dollar figure would rise over time. However, that being said, you and other sewer proponents always fail to note the other more significant costs involved to a homeowner - the costs to dismantle an existing septic system that is working fine, to hook into the new system and costs to maintain the system over time which will drive our taxes even higher. Initial costs to the average homeowner would be close to TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!

Over the last few weeks, since I wrote my first letter to the editor on this topic, I was quite surprised to have been contacted by, among others, many total strangers. All have expressed support to a no-sewer district position and agreed that it is not the exception but, rather, it is the rule. The residents of Lansing are not developers. We are residents. We do not want development. We like Lansing without a Town Center. We do not want to see more cavernous houses/housing developments/condo complexes/businesses. We do not mind driving a few miles to a sizable shopping mall. We do not want to see more children in our schools that contribute to the constantly rising school taxes. We did not move here to live in a traffic-glutted, overly developed region. If we had wanted that, we could have moved to the center of Ithaca, or New York City, Rochester, etc.

So, again, Mr. Sciarabba, PLEASE do not presume to speak for the residents of this Town. Instead, let's bring the matter to the polls so all of the residents in the area can make their opinions known.

Elisabeth Hegarty
Lansing, NY