I’ve been told that my columns “bury the lead.” It has been suggested to me that I take too long getting to the main point and should use shorter sentences to make things clear.
I guess, by starting the column this way, I’ve once again frustrated people. But let me try, for the rest of the space I have left, to show that I am capable of taking advice and trying something new.
The proposed Dunkin’ at Exchange and North streets is a bad idea. Madison County’s move to let Casella manage their municipal landfill is a bad idea. Both things could be avoided if people speak up now.
The Geneva Industrial Development Agency wants to sell off the vacant land at the entrance to the city. As their name suggests, they are supposed to work on industrial development; that’s not going to be an industrial project, so they want to get rid of it. Rather than give it back to the city or the Local Development Corp. for a tie in to a larger economic development vision (housing, essential services, improved greenspace to boost home values in an area that has suffered significant disinvestment), they are selling it to a developer of a Dunkin’.
I know that some people look at the line at the drive-thru and believe a second location is a Christmas miracle, but those are our lesser angels speaking. As we drive from the Hamilton Street location to the proposed secondary lot, we leave the viewshed of the Casella landfill to our west —with its three football fields worth of trash-slide being worked on — to enter the viewshed of the Seneca Meadows landfill in the east. Maybe a tractor-trailer full of trash — or 10 — will pass us as we make our way down Routes 5&20 and then Route 14 to the new site. What joy will be in our hearts when we can get our disposable plastic cup of mocha-choca-lolli-latte along with the dozens of other people doing the same thing every 15 minutes. What a wonder it is to be able to get coffee with plastic lids from the convenience of our idling vehicle instead of being bothered to go to any one of Geneva’s wonderful, locally owned options.
We can say how much we love small businesses and how New York State should be more “business friendly” right after we shout our order into the big speaker. After all, why should we spend our money supporting families in our community who are filling previously empty storefronts (that we enjoy complaining about so much) when we could give that money to a corporation that relies on our tax dollars to provide healthcare, heating, and (ironically) food subsidies to the employees they won’t compensate fairly? And then we can smile and laugh as we throw out all those plastic cups into a trash can picked up and hauled over to the trash mountains that make up our landscape.
Is that what sound economic development looks like in a struggling upstate region? Use vacant land in a city that has very little of it to support a suburban-styled building in a “uniquely urban” setting to undercut the struggling small businesses that don’t have the benefit of accessing “industrial development” incentives?
Clearly, I think this project is bad any way you slice it.
As we try to prevent a bad decision like that, maybe our past poor decisions can serve as a warning to our neighbors in Madison County. They are being courted by Casella with promises of cash and smooth operating of their current landfill. Never fear, they say, Madison County will retain ownership and permitting authority.
As we see here, that means that when a huge mistake occurs, Casella will be skillful in avoiding blame and responsibility for it. The press release about last month’s accident at the landfill was primarily focused on reminding residents that none of this was Casella’s fault.
Madison County residents asked questions about truck traffic, smell, dust, and litter. They were reassured that no such problems will exist. Could we reach out and tell them that the short-term financial benefit is not worth the long-term loss, even if it seems so easy? Could we tell the Geneva IDA that?
If we care about our community’s long-term health, we have to think critically about what these choices really mean.
Jackie Augustine lives with her three children in Geneva, where she served on City Council for 16 years. An ethics instructor at Keuka College, she serves on many local boards and is founder of BluePrint Geneva. “Doing the Write Thing” appears every other Tuesday. Email her at writethingcolumn@gmail.com.
DOING THE WRITE THING: A cautionary tale
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26.12.2023
I’ve been told that my columns “bury the lead.” It has been suggested to me that I take too long getting to the main point and should use shorter sentences to make things clear.
I guess, by starting the column this way, I’ve once again frustrated people. But let me try, for the rest of the space I have left, to show that I am capable of taking advice and trying something new.
The proposed Dunkin’ at Exchange and North streets is a bad idea. Madison County’s move to let Casella manage their municipal landfill is a bad idea. Both things could be avoided if people speak up now.
The Geneva Industrial Development Agency wants to sell off the vacant land at the entrance to the city. As their name suggests, they are supposed to work on industrial development; that’s not going to be an industrial project, so they want to get rid of it. Rather than give it back to the city or the Local Development Corp. for a tie in to a larger economic development vision (housing, essential services, improved greenspace to boost home values in an area that has suffered significant disinvestment), they are selling it to a........
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