A Citizen’s Report
on
A Meeting of the Corning City Council
August 5, 2024
The Council for the City of Corning, New York held its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Council Chambers, Civic Center Plaza, Corning, New York.
All Councilmembers attended the meeting except Councilmember ReSue who is on vacation and Councilmember Hyde who is ill with Covid. Counting City of Corning employees, fourteen members of the public were in the audience.
New Business - the Council Unanimously:
Adopted a Title VI plan for 2024 as required by the New York State Department of Transportation.
Background: The City of Corning is a subrecipient of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds through the State of New York. The funds support a bus service to the towns of Corning and Erwin through the Corning-Erwin Transit System (CEATS). CEATS offers five routes and operates Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. It also offers deviations from its routes to pick up people next to their homes if they qualify for the service.
All recipients of FTA funds must develop policies, programs and practices that ensure that the recipients provide transportation services without discrimination or denial of benefits of the service on the ground of race, color, or national origin.
As adopted by the Council, The City of Corning’s Title VI plan has the following elements (among others):
A notice of the plan to the public.
A complaint procedure telling the public how to file a discrimination complaint.
A complaint form.
A list of transit related investigations, complaints, and lawsuits (there were none in the past three years).
A plan of public participation to engage minorities and persons with limited English proficiency.
A summary of outreach in the last three years.
A plan for providing language aid for persons with limited English proficiency.
A list of members of transit-related non-elected committees and councils (there are none).
Service standards and service policies.
Access the City of Corning’s Title VI plan below to learn the elements of the plan in detail, particularly efforts at public outreach and efforts to engage minorities and the limited English proficient population.
Approved a street closure for the Carder Elementary School Halloween Parade on October 31, 2024.
Approved the reappointment of Joe Carey to the Loan Review Committee for a term ending June 30, 2026.
Approved the reappointment of Jeff Clark to the Loan Review Committee for a term ending June 30, 2026.
Approved the reappointment of Courtney Derusha to the Historic Preservation Commission for a term ending June 30, 2029.
Authorized the City Manager to stipulate to the reduction of the 2023 assessment of property owned by World Kitchen LLC from $4,700,000 to $3,500,000 and the 2024 assessment from $4,000,000 to $3,500,000. The Commission also authorized the Finance Director to refund $17,260.75 to World Kitchen LLC.
Visitor’s Comments
A citizen and a representative of Access to Independence and Mobility (A.I.M.) asked that the city allow anyone with a permanent or temporary handicapped permit for their vehicle issued by any state to park in municipal metered parking lots for free. The benefits of doing so include a cost savings to disabled people; and a tangible demonstration by the City of Corning that it is welcoming and accessible to people with disabilities. The proponents claimed that this policy would be easy to implement and likely have a low impact on parking revenue. They acknowledged that the program would require promotion. The representative of A.I.M. said that his organization would be glad to help with that. Fifteen states currently have adopted the policy statewide.
In response, Mayor Boland said that the city has already taken the proposal under advisement. The city is studying its possible implementation.
A citizen thanked staff at the City Clerk’s office for being so helpful to him.
Colleen Coro, President of the Corning Area Chamber of Commerce, and Sean Lukasik, representing the Corning Area Business Alliance, both voiced concern for the legality of the business operating at 31 Market Street. They requested action by the city to protect the safety of people on Market Street and to maintain the reputation of this vibrant commercial area.
Both Ms. Coro and Mr. Lukasik said that their concern is not with the product sold at 31 Market Street. Their concern is about how the business is running and who is operating it. Ms. Coro described illegal activity that she has seen, including an assault by one of the business owners on a citizen. She reported the assault while it was occurring but, to her knowledge, it does not appear to have resulted in more than a visit by the local authorities. Mr. Lukasik wondered how a business that the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) had closed earlier in the year could reopen legally. He wondered how a business that appears to be breaking solicitation laws, parking laws, and other laws can continue to operate regardless of whether or not it is violating marijuana sales laws.
Mayor Boland explained that State of New York’s budget included language to expand local government authority to close illegal stores. But to promote consistency in application of the law, the way the state has gone about it is to delegate enforcement responsibility to the counties.
Hilda Lando, Member of the Steuben County Legislature for the City of Corning explained that Steuben County is working on a law to govern these operations, but there is a divergence of opinion about how to go about it. Some in the County Legislature think that violations of cannabis distribution laws should result in civil penalties. She and Mr. Tobia, the other Steuben County Legislator for the City of Corning, believe that a violation should result in criminal penalties.
Ms. Lando said that the OCM also has enforcement authority, and she encourages anyone who sees illegal activity to report it to OCM.
In other County news, Ms. Lando reported that The Bridge of Hope is working in the facility on Bridge Street formerly known as Landos. The program offers an array of services at a one-stop community center. The county is assisting with funds from opioid settlement funds to pay for Pro Action's Intensive Case Manager position. The case manager works with residents at the hotel to assess their needs and connect them with a range of services.
The inmate garden at the Steuben County jail has grown enough produce to be able to donate five hundred pounds of fresh produce from its surplus production to the Corning Community Food Pantry.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
NOTES
The writer of this report has presented items in an order different than that in which they occurred at the meeting.
The writer has, except as specifically noted, amended, or eliminated comments and attribution for them. Unless quotation marks are used, the comments reported are not verbatim.
For brevity, the writer has not included all items on the agenda of the meeting.
Some material has been added by the writer for context or clarity and where it is extensive, is labeled “Background.”.
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