Finding Ulysses

Dave Kerness is running for the Ulysses Town Board. Election Day is just a few days away now, so it’s important to pay attention to the details each candidate is willing to offer. Dave sat down with me for a couple of hours not too long ago, and the following thoughts on long-term planning for the future of Ulysses:

On the need for a long-term town-wide water plan:

“I haven’t seen a town water plan to say, ‘Okay, this is makes sense now, but if we do this, maybe ten years, twenty years from now, we can do this.’… I haven’t seen anybody who has reflected from a town view, the total town, what would be the next step. I think, from my own personal view, that’s got to be answered. How do I make a decision today, that I don’t know how it impacts the next ten or twenty years?”

On making better use of the Town Planning Board:

“As a member of the planning board, we felt that the Town Board was not using us enough. They’re using us per the zoning laws, and when we’re supposed to get involved, but we asked them to get us involved earlier in the process. For example, small things, like getting one of us to attend the town board meeting, so that we know what’s coming up. That’s pretty important. You’re not part of the town board meetings, but you’re there and you understand what’s coming up, because a lot of the presentations of review come to them first, and then they decide whether it goes to the planning board. The planning board has only recommendation power, but, for example, they can call a public meeting to get input. So, there is an overlaying responsibility, I think, that I think that the Town Board could take advantage of the people on the planning board more, and maybe not get into the detail at that first step, but maybe let the planning board do that. I don’t have a problem with delegating. If I was on the Town Board, I’d look at the planning board and see that we’ve got some pretty good people in there.”

On development and the character of Ulysses:

“I think that one of the challenges we’re going to have in the next ten to twenty years is commercial and residential development. If you look across the lake and use Lansing as an example. I don’t know whether what they’ve done is good or bad, but it sure doesn’t meet the rural character that folks in this town want. So, do I think population will move out from Ithaca to Trumansburg? You betcha. What does that mean, and how are we going to manage that? I think, yes, commercial development is going to happen. What is it going to look like?”

“It’s clear people want to keep the rural character… If you look above that, there are different areas of focus that they have, wanting improvements, but maintaining that one theme, rural character.”