A Citizen’s Report
on
A Meeting of the Corning City Council
September 3, 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 and Councilmember Hyde. Counting City of Corning employees, seventeen members of the public were in the audience.
Announcements
Mayor Boland told the audience that the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), using the resources of the New York State Police and the Corning City Police Department, has closed the two unlicensed cannabis businesses in the city - one on Market Street and one on Bridge Street. Mayor Boland reminded everyone that, because selling cannabis products without a license is civil matter not a criminal matter, it may be that unlicensed shops will pop up again should prospective operators calculate that the economics of opening a store outweigh the risks of penalty. Nonetheless, he encouraged everyone to report improper activity relating to cannabis to the OCM.
For Background: (Taken from a news report by WSKG Public Broadcasting.) On August 26, 2024, the Steuben County Legislature passed its first law targeting unlicensed cannabis sales.
The law authorizes county officials to conduct regulatory inspections of businesses that it suspects are selling cannabis and cannabis products without a state license. The county’s Office of Weights and Measures will conduct inspections. A court order could issue to seal any unlicensed business, and a court could impose civil monetary penalties.
The law passed 11 to 5. Those opposing the new law expressed concern for excluding law enforcement from the new law. Some municipalities use law enforcement to inspect cannabis businesses, while others engage their public health departments. Steuben County does not have a full-service public health department or a code enforcement agency to conduct regulatory inspections.
Some legislators wanted to rewrite the law with more emphasis on the inclusion of law enforcement. Legislators Hilda Lando, Joseph Tobia, Jeffrey Horton, Carol Ferratella and Shannon Logsdon voted to table for this purpose.
As a part of her presentation for Visitor’s Comments, Steuben County Legislator, Hilda Lando, confirmed that she voted against the Steuben County law because she didn’t want the Department of Weights and Measures to be the primary enforcement agency. She has heard, though, that the Steuben County Department of Weights and Measures plans to partner with the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office to coordinate enforcement. She further understands that the law will not be effective until it goes through a process with the OCM for its regulatory approval.
New Business - the Council Unanimously:
Approved the appointment of Kirsty Harper Buchanan to the Public Art Committee for a term ending December 31, 2028.
Prior to consideration of this item, Kirsty Harper Buchanan addressed the Council highlighting portions of her background that she believes will enable her to make worthwhile contributions to the work of the Public Art Committee.
Authorized the City Manager to execute an amended agreement with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for sporting license sales.
Prior to consideration of this item, upon questioning by Councilmember Telehany, City Manager Ryckman explained that the state does not mandate the city to sell or issue sporting licenses. The city offers this service because people who buy sporting licenses sometimes have questions that the online site does not readily answer.
Mr. Ryckman said that the State of New York used to issue all sporting licenses. To lower costs, the state has made licensing something that an individual can do from home. Where cities, like Corning, choose to become an alternative provider of the service, the state does not reimburse for the costs of it doing so. However, the cost is minimal, involving a printer, paper, and some staff time.
Accepted a grant from the Swindell’s Family Fund at the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes for the installation of security cameras at the Corning Senior Center.
Authorized the disposal of surplus vehicles, equipment, and supplies by auction, sealed bid, and inter-municipal transfer during October, November, and December 2024.
Prior to consideration of this item, upon questioning by Councilmember Telehany, City Manager Ryckman explained that inter-municipal transfers are ones which occur between municipalities or other governmental entities, like the Community College, to help each other. This doesn’t happen often. These are not internal transfers among departments.
Authorized the sale of 0.213 acres of land that the city owns at the dead end of Stimpson Street for the fair market valuation price of $4,000 to an adjacent landowner Michael E. Childs.
For Background: On August 7, 2023, the Council approved Mayor Boland’s appointment of Councilmembers Clark, Telehany and Coccho as members of the Surplus Land Disposition Committee to deal with an undetermined number of parcels of City land that are currently unused and may be surplus to the needs of the City. The Committee was to make recommendations about which currently unused parcels the city should keep, and about which parcels it should dispose of.
City staff first reviewed all parcels and found that fifteen parcels have no foreseeable use for the city. The Committee also reviewed all parcels and recommends that the City Manager begin the process of disposing of these fifteen.
The City Attorney will research the legal status of each piece of surplus property to decide how to achieve the desired ends. Regardless, there will be consultation with adjoining neighbors. Each time the city completes the process for a particular parcel, and the most proper disposition arrived at, it will come back to the City Council for consideration. If approved by the Council, the City Manager will oversee assuring disposition in the manner intended. All this will take time, possibly 24 months to complete every parcel.
On November 6, 2023, the Council approved this process for the following tracts of land.
Prior to consideration of this item and in response to a question from Councilmember Telehany, City Manager Ryckman told the Council that the parcel transfer currently before the Council for approval is first because it is an easy one. The property is on the list of those parcels surplus to the needs of the city. The transfer means that the city will receive fair market value for a small parcel of land and will gain the benefit of not having to plow or otherwise maintain it.
There are two more relatively straightforward parcels that the City Manager expects will be before the Council soon for transfer. After that, the process may become more complicated due to what the city may need to do to achieve the desired ends.
Visitor’s Comments
Harry Adler appeared to comment on parking ticket enforcement. On July 10 at 2:27 in the morning, he received a parking ticket. He paid for it in person that same morning. Now he has received two delinquent payment notices threatening court action. What bothered him is that, if he didn’t have the receipt for his payment, the city would compel him by legal process to pay something he didn’t owe. He has heard of others having the same problem. He would like it fixed.
City Manager Ryckman admitted that the city has had issues with software and machines processing parking tickets. There are three separate entities involved: the meter company, the ticket company, and the pay-app company. These companies’ systems have been problematic. The city is working to ameliorate mistakes and knows that the fix is to upgrade this system. It is a known problem, and the city staff will address it as the budget allows.
Hilda Lando, a Steuben County Legislator for the City of Corning, reported that:
She has reliably heard that one of the unlicensed cannabis stores recently closed in Corning has reopened. She cannot say what the store is selling.
The County delinquent property tax auction will be online, scheduled for October.
The Stueben County Jail garden has donated one thousand pounds of surplus vegetables to the Corning Food Pantry and Meals on wheels.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 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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