County Board Chair Barbara Mink, Town of Ithaca Supervisor Cathy Valentino, Town of Lansing Supervisor Steve Farkas, Assemblyman Marty Luster, and County Attorney Jonathan Wood attended the meeting. Mayor Alan Cohen was away on business in Albany. County Board Representative Thomas Todd and Village of Lansing Mayor Don Hartill were unable to attend. A strong urban core is important. But that doesn't mean we can't have development in Lansing or Dryden.
Intermunicipal cooperation is good if everyone feels they come out ahead.
Right now there is progress toward an agreement to extend sewer services into nearby municipalities. The City and Town of Ithaca and a part of the Town of Dryden share sewage disposal. Along with the question of the equitable sharing of infrastructure costs, there's a concern that bringing sewer service outside the City will make it harder for Ithaca to compete for new business development. Some said they'd heard of tales of both candidates in the recent mayoral campaign going to the Village of Lansing meetings to protest growth in the village. What bothers some is that the City doesn't share its portion of the sales tax.