| COUNTY JOINS OFF TRACK BETTING CORPORATION By a vote of 8-7, the Tompkins County Legislature approved a resolution that will bring Off Track Betting (OTB) to Tompkins County - unless citizens disagree via a public referendum. County officials anticipate gaining $200,000 to $300,000 a year in new revenue from OTB proceeds, especially attractive to some Legislators at a time when the County's resources are being stretched to the breaking limit. To try to stop OTB from coming in, residents can call for a permissive referendum in the next general election, or in a special election. Signatures equaling 10 percent of the vote in Tompkins County in the last gubernatorial election must be collected from registered voters in order to put the question on the ballot. According to Election Commissioner Elizabeth Cree, 2,819 signatures would have to be collected in the next 45 days. OTB was taken to permissive referendum and subsequently rejected by voters in 1978 and 1991. If there is no attempt to call for a referendum this time, the OTB resolution will go into effect in 45 days. Those in favor of OTB were Barbara Blanchard, Richard Booth, Dooley Kiefer, Peter Penniman, Frank Proto, Nancy Schuler, Thomas Todd, and George Totman. Opposed were Kathy Luz Herrera, Tim Joseph, Michael Koplinka-Loehr, Michael Lane, Leslyn McBean, Martha Robertson, and Daniel Winch. Contact: Peter Penniman, Chair, Budget & Capital Committee, 387-3928, 387-5897. COUNTY REAFFIRMS ITS MEMBERSHIP IN RECREATION PARTNERSHIP The Legislature voted 12-3 to reaffirm Tompkins County's continued membership in the Recreation Partnership. Although it has been proposed that the County commit to a $38,110 contribution in 2004, the Legislature did not specify its level of support. County funding for the Recreation Partnership, which provides programming for more than 4,000 youths, was reduced in 2003 from $47,638 to just $9,528. Several of the municipalities that are partners in the program interpreted the funding reduction as a sign the County was pulling out. Contact: Martha Robertson, Chair, Health and Human Services Committee, 272-0584. TOWER AT NEW DISPATCH CENTER WILL NOT MEET VILLAGE REGULATION By unanimous vote, the Tompkins County Legislature confirmed that a new tower soon to be constructed at the County's Emergency Response Center being built on Brown Road is not subject to the Village of Lansing's tower ordinance. The County's independence from local tower ordinances has been upheld in court. Nevertheless, the County has worked closely with the Village in its planning for a 100-foot monopole tower that will hold necessary microwave equipment. The County has attempted to adhere to all of the Village's tower requirements, but a new technology that allows the tower to collapse in a 50-foot radius does not meet the ordinance, which requires a fall zone of 150 feet. The Village ordinance is primarily designed to help the village deal with commercial cell phone companies. Contact: Barbara Blanchard, Chair, Communications Capital Projects Committee, 277-1374.
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