FLX Politics: Seneca Falls Town Board will hear 60 speak

In what has to be an outright record for Seneca Falls – 60 individuals have signed up to speak at Tuesday’s upcoming Town Board meeting. While some of the faces are bound to be familiar from those who have spoken in the past, the 60 that signed up far surpasses the previously strong showings seen in January and February.While have a dozen, or even two dozen sign up to speak at board meetings have become customary – Tuesday could be one that goes down in history. In speaking with Seneca Falls Town Supervisor Greg Lazzaro, he hoped that the meeting would be constructive and positive for everyone involved. Originally, a public hearing on Local Law #7 was scheduled to be held prior to the June 7th meeting. However, the board opted to postpone that public hearing and work together to renegotiate the community benefit agreement in a special meeting last month. As of Friday, two speakers were signed up to talk about entirely separate issues from Seneca Meadows. However, a vast majority were still scheduled to speak on the landfilling issue in Seneca Falls.The length of Tuesday’s meeting is something that will surely push any previous records set in Seneca Falls. The meeting is slated to begin at 7 pm, but with 60 speakers – speaking for an average of two minutes – it could mean multiple hours spent before entering regular business.Even as Local Law #7 has been put on hold to the dismay of those who oppose landfilling in the region, the chance remains that it could be brought back up in the coming months. Those who oppose Seneca Meadows have remained hopeful that the law will be moved on in the coming months.Former Seneca Falls Mayor Brad Jones, who has played a heavy role in advocating against landfilling in the Finger Lakes – along with many, many others – said that he was not surprised in the least at the volume of speakers signed up for Tuesday’s meeting. “With the Public Hearing postponed on enacting a local law to close the landfill as early as 2017; along with false rumors being circulated throughout the community that town taxes will double or even triple if a host agreement is not revised; are only two reasons that there will be an overflow of residents at the upcoming Town Board meeting,” Jones explained.”The community has spoken – we want clean air; we want clean water; end of story. This board can either act now; or begin to write its own political obituary,” continued Jones. FingerLakes1.com will be at the Seneca Falls Town Board meeting on Tuesday, and Josh Durso will be providing updates throughout the evening on Twitter. Stay tuned to FingerLakes1.com on all social platforms for news as it breaks in Seneca Falls on Tuesday.FLX Politics is a weekly feature, which takes a critical look at policy in the Finger Lakes. He is the Lead News Editor at FingerLakes1.com and can be reached at [email protected].