Manlius tables land purchase decision

TOWN OF MANLIUS – The Manlius Town Board tabled a vote on Wednesday, July 10 on whether to proceed with a $2.8 million purchase offer for eight acres of land on N. Burdick Street. The vote is now scheduled to take place on July 24.
Six town board members were in attendance for the meeting, with Katelyn Kriesel absent. As the time for a vote neared, Deputy Supervisor Sara Bollinger and councilors Michael Nesci and Ingrid Gonzalez-McCurdy all expressed opposition to the purchase agreement with Supervisor John Deer and councilors William Nicholson and Alyssa Italiano in favor. Without a clear majority, the board decided to table the vote until the board’s next meeting, when presumably the full board would be present.
The three who appeared to oppose the measure did so for different reasons.
Bollinger said a project of this magnitude should be left to a vote of the public.
“I believe the voters should decide after a fully developed project plan has been designed, with community and staff input, cost estimates and a financing plan,” she said.
Nesci questioned the $2.8 million dollar price tag for land that has been undeveloped for decades.
“I still don’t comprehend the price point for the land,” Nesci said. “I don’t think anyone’s knocking down the door to buy the land. For myself, I feel like there’s room to improve on the price point.”
While acknowledging the need to either rehabilitate the existing town hall or move forward with a new town facility, Gonzalez-McCurdy expressed misgivings about the N. Burdick Street parcel, which is prone to flooding and would require significant grading and site work to allow enough buildable space for a new facility.
“I am not in favor of this particular parcel,” she said. “I think there’s too many problems and issues with it.”
Prior to the comments from councilors, the board heard from about a dozen residents, most of whom opposed the purchase based on price, the challenges of the parcel, and the need to better evaluate whether the current town hall can be rehabilitated.
Deer argued that the decision to move forward with the purchase agreement is not a decision to purchase the land. The agreement locks in the price and gives the town 90 days to evaluate whether the land is suitable for a new town hall, he said.
“We cannot do the due diligence we need to do until we are under contract with this,” he said. “It would be irresponsible to spend money on an analysis of the site without having it under contract.”
The town did pass a motion to request proposals for an assessment of the current town hall to determine the costs and feasibility of rehabilitating it and bringing it up to code. Without an elevator, the two-story building is currently not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the court room is also out of compliance with current court standards. In addition, most of the departments in the building are cramped for space, the roof leaks and the HVAC system needs updating.
The resolution states that “the Town anticipates that the recommendations will include a building addition that will include an elevator.”
The building assessments are due by September 18, which would be in the 90-day window for evaluating the N. Burdick Street site if the town board moves forward with the purchase agreement.