Trumansburg Says Not So Fast On Water District 5 To Austic
I heard on the radio just this evening that the Trumansburg Village Board of Trustees has voted not to give its endorsement to Doug Austic’s plans for a Water District 5 to go snaking through the Town of Ulysses.
That’s a good thing, given that the way that the Water District 5 planning has gone.
We residents of Trumansburg were promised by Doug Austic last summer that we would have a public hearing with the Ulysses Town Board at which we would not get shut out, and would be allowed to ask questions and express reservations. That promised public hearing never took place.
More recently, there was a meeting between Doug Austic and members of the Trumansburg Village Board of Trustees. It was insisted that the meeting was not a part of negotiations, but it’s clear that terms of a compromise on Water District 5 were discussed. If that’s not a part of negotiations, I don’t know what is.
Yet, members of the Ulysses Town Board were not notified by Doug Austic that the meeting was even taking place.
How can we in the Village of Trumansburg take anything about Water District 5 at face value when even our representatives on the Town Board can’t get straight answers?
Even if we were to put aside serious concerns about whether Water District 5 is a good for the Town of Ulysses as a whole, it would not be wise for residents of Trumansburg to support the Water District 5 scheme at present, because the process for pushing it through has been twisted and tainted.
There is no rush, even though we hear the same silly claims year after year that if we don’t approve Water District 5 right away, a huge amount of funding for the project will fade away. These claims remind me of the Maguire used car commercial that warned people that a sale would last for “four days only,” only to be replaced by a new commercial advising that the sale would be extended after all.
In the end, it doesn’t matter a jot if the Town of Ulysses can get a bunch of big water pipes laid in at a special bargain basement discount rate if it’s not something that is in the town’s best interest. A bargain price on something you don’t want is the worst kind of rip off.
Thanks to the Trumansburg Village Board of Trustees for avoiding the temptation to jump on the bandwagon with these hucksterish Water District 5 proposals.
hey – did our local “newspaper” (the “free” press) cover this?
When I want news about the Village, I certainly would not even THINK of purchasing the supposedly “Free” Press. For starters, they don’t sell it anywhere I regularly go… and then, I get really good news, from a number of perspectives (including comments) from this blog. Jonathan, thank you so much for that.
From what I understand of the “Free” Press, they seem to have a single view, hammered relentlessly (this is hearsay, though, as I never read it… but, consistent hearsay from all the folks who do).
Of course, I’m pleased that the Village is taking a prudent approach to expensive and “get-it-right-the-first-time-or-live-with-consequences” capital projects. Readers here know how I feel about the privelaged position that some town residents seemed to have over others in the planning of water district extensions/new districts.
So, allow me to share a conversation from last Saturday that took place at a neighbor’s house, where the Garden Conservancy was hosting an Open Garden tour. My neighbor just barely makes it on Barry’s scale of “your opinion don’t count unless you have been here a decade,” but, maybe he gets extra credit for having about the best lilac collection this side of Rochester’s Highland Park… or, living in a rescued (moved) quite-old home…
Anyway, he mentioned that the survey he received in the mail recently looked familiar… indeed, I told him, the Ulysses Comprehensive Plan resident opinion survey is, in fact, the same one I helped write before the Comp Plan was instituted a number of years ago. So, he asked, will we all tell them that we want the town to retain its rural character and small-town feel again, and have them ignore it and just develop non-stop, like the last time?
I scarcely knew what to say. Across the road, tractors were preparing farmland for crops. Next door on one side, the horse pasture that one of the youngsters I had in my 4-H club years ago (she became a dressage champ eventually…) kept her horse in was still fenced, but I wondered if it was still grazed… On the other side, a brand-new house was going up… I told him to be sure to fill out the survey honestly again, that the courts viewed the Comp Plan as the document that all subsequent Town actions must square with to be legal…
Then we went back to discussing growing flowers. It was a beautiful May day in Ulysses, where Liberty Hyde Bailey had his Bailiwick. Don’t, please don’t, let the greedy turn it into just another rubber-stamp suburb. Fill out that survey and return it while you are thinking about it. We have something good, worth keeping.
Good job on reporting this Jonathan. Certainly the so called ‘free’ press has been an austic lapdog since this water debacle began. Don’t expect them to cover it without bias. Speaking of austic lapdogs where is Barry Hayes on this story? I just read on the previous news story his attempt to discredit elected officials who are students. I think he must be referring to Rordan Hart and David Filiberto- ones at Ic and the other Cornell right? As long as they’re above 18 yo and citizens they can hold elected office. I know David owns a house here meaning he pays taxes too- does Rordan? This guy (barry hayes) has nothing good to say about any elected official that stands in the way of doug austics precious taxpayer funded development project. Just see his posts about Tyler, Ellis and Marino. In fact does he really exist or is he really a pseudonym for dougy ‘tricky’ austic? Something to think about eh…
I also agree with the boards prudent decision making.
Just to let John know, Rordan Hart is not a student and owns a house in the village.