Officials from municipalities across Onondaga County converged on the Mattydale Civic Center last week to discuss the 50 recommendations recently announced by the county Consensus committee on government modernization.
Among those attending the Feb. 15 meeting was Liverpool Deputy Mayor Dennis Hebert.
“It was an informative meeting,” Hebert reported at the Feb. 16 monthly meeting of the village board.
First-term Trustee Brad Young couldn’t contain himself. He quickly interrupted Hebert to state his opinion.
“Consensus is a misnomer,” Young said. “It’s anything but!”
Hebert predicted that a referendum on the proposed city-county merger would appear on the November ballot. That plan would effectively do away with the city of Syracuse.
So there’s good reason to take Hebert’s advice and “get involved.” The deputy mayor pointed out that most counties, school districts and local governments are saddled with expensive state mandates. “Wayne County, for instance, dedicates an incredible 93 percent of its budget to pay for state-mandated programs,” he said. “The public should be better informed about these things.”
Great Northern sold
The new owner of the Great Northern Mall in Clay plans to seek a reduction in the mall’s $1.3 million annual property-tax bill. Mike Kohan of Kohan Real Estate Investment Group, of Little Neck, purchased the financially troubled retail center on Feb. 16, for $8.5 million, one quarter of its $34 million tax assessment.
While he’s requesting a tax break, Kohan promises to work with town officials. “We’re working to help the community,” he told a reporter.
The 895,000-square-foot mall pays $1.33 million in property taxes, making it one of the largest taxpayers in Clay, Onondaga County’s most populated town. Most of those taxes — $956,650 — go to the Liverpool Central School District. The rest, $376,870, goes to the town and county.
Kohan’s real name is Mehran Kohansieh. He also goes by Mike Kohan or Mike Kohen, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
A native of Turkey, Kohansieh was arrested in New Jersey on a contempt charge in 2012, according to arrests.org.
Kohan Retail Investment Group bought a mall in Matteson, Ill., in 2012 and has been embroiled in controversy there ever since. Village officials went to court in 2013 to try to force Kohansieh and his investors to demolish the 40-year-old structure, whose roof was crumbling, wiring exposed and fire-sprinkler system dismantled, The Sentinel reported.
“I take distressed properties and try to revitalize them,” Kohansieh told the Chicago Tribune at the time.
Old First original railings
In our Feb. 8 column, we drew your attention to the lovely, old-fashioned wrought-iron crowns now topping the two steeples on Liverpool’s First Presbyterian Church.
Rick Pelotte, a member of Old First’s building and grounds committee, clarified that the crowns are actually the original wrought-iron railings that were restored as part of the project that brought new roofs to each steeple.
The big brick church building was originally constructed in 1862.
Record rarities
Still searching for that perfect Sinatra song? Maybe you’d like to snag a copy of the withdrawn version of the 1963 LP, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan,” or The Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen” 45 rpm single cancelled by A&M Records in 1977.
Myself, I’d like to discover the long-lost cylinder rumored to have been waxed by the legendary New Orleans trumpeter Buddy Bolden, circa 1900.
Anyways, a good place to look would be the Syracuse Record & CD Show and Sale, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Holiday Inn, 441 Electronics Parkway, at the junction of Seventh North Street in the town of Salina. Admission is free.
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