The VB has agreed to buy the County's toxic boat company swamp and all and then give away 10 years of Pilot tax revenues and occupancy taxes from the 2 new hotel to the lake street development, plus $1,000,000 from a loan that the VB is taken on to pay for this great mistake which THE MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT WILL put in its budget AND PASS IT ON TO IT'S USERS, great deal for the county and developer.

By JIM MILLER jmiller@fltimes.com | Posted: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 10:40 am

PENN YAN — The Village Board is back up to a full complement of trustees.

Mayor Bob Church appointed Carolyn Benedict Tuesday to fill the vacancy created when Mike Christensen resigned last month to become Milo’s town justice.

Benedict, who was appointed at the start of the board meeting, took her seat immediately and will serve until Christensen’s term expires in March. Then, she’ll have to run for the office.

“She contacted me and showed interest,” Church said. “She plans to run in March.”

Benedict currently works for Genesee BOCES, and she previously served as the Penn Yan school district’s business official.

In other business Tuesday, the board:

• AGREEMENTS: Approved two inter-municipal agreements with Yates County. The county will share some of its occupancy tax revenue with the village and help the village offset the costs of two anticipated payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements related to hotel projects.

The Legislature approved both agreements earlier this month as a way of helping the village handle the costs associated with the new hotels.

Church said the village has long sought such agreements.

“As you know, it’s been a thing with me that the village does provide a lot of services and does not get much back in return,” Church said.

He thanked Christensen, Trustee David Reeve and county officials for their efforts in the negotiations.

Church said the deal was key to allowing future development to go forward.

“This is a very huge deal for the village and will also bring added sales tax revenue to the county,” he said.

Taylor Fitch, the Legislature’s chairman, joined Church in signing the agreements after the Village Board’s unanimous votes.

“I can feel confident that a healthy village of Penn Yan, a healthy county seat, benefits the entire county,” said Legislature Tim Dennis, who chairs the county’s Finance Committee.

• TAX CAP: Scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m. Jan. 21 on a local law to override the state’s tax cap for 2014.

The law would not require the village to exceed the cap but simply give it the option.

• JUSTICE: Approved the appointment of David Grace as acting village justice through March 31. He will fill out the remaining term of Acting Justice John Symonds, who resigned earlier this month

It never ceases to amaze me how much wrong information floats around on this board. Just amazing.

1. The PY boats site has been cleaned up. The county paid for much of it with grant money. NY State oversaw the cleanup. The state would never let the county sell that site without a full cleanup.
2. The county has no interest in selling it to the village. That makes no sense at all. They will sell it to a developer who comes up with a viable plan and the money to back it up.
3. The long range plan has always been to develop the outlet from Liberty street to Red Jacket park. The sticky wickets in this plan have always been where to move Carey's and Roto Salt, and getting control of the firemen's field.
4. There will never be a better time for the village to negotiate sales tax sharing than with the upcoming sale of the PY Boats site and gaining rights to the firemen's field. Sharing room tax to offset a PILOT is no more than throwing the village a bone. If the county is serious about developing the outlet with the village, they will see the wisdom of sharing sales tax in exchange for aquiring the rights to develop the firemen's field. It is in everyone's best interest. If I were mayor, no way would I bring utilities to the PY Boats site without a sales tax sharing agreement.

You don't what u are talking about the sale has been agreed to by both the county and VB.

where do you get this info?

It never ceases to amaze me how much wrong information floats around on this board. Just amazing.

1. The PY boats site has been cleaned up. The county paid for much of it with grant money. NY State oversaw the cleanup. The state would never let the county sell that site without a full cleanup.
2. The county has no interest in selling it to the village. That makes no sense at all. They will sell it to a developer who comes up with a viable plan and the money to back it up.
3. The long range plan has always been to develop the outlet from Liberty street to Red Jacket park. The sticky wickets in this plan have always been where to move Carey's and Roto Salt, and getting control of the firemen's field.
4. There will never be a better time for the village to negotiate sales tax sharing than with the upcoming sale of the PY Boats site and gaining rights to the firemen's field. Sharing room tax to offset a PILOT is no more than throwing the village a bone. If the county is serious about developing the outlet with the village, they will see the wisdom of sharing sales tax in exchange for aquiring the rights to develop the firemen's field. It is in everyone's best interest. If I were mayor, no way would I bring utilities to the PY Boats site without a sales tax sharing agreement.

The PY boat site is not cleaned of toxics yet that is why every developer has back out, Fitch now has admitted that the village will buy the mess as soon as County attorney writes up the sale.

By JIM MILLER jmiller@fltimes.com | Posted: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 10:40 am

PENN YAN — The Village Board is back up to a full complement of trustees.

Mayor Bob Church appointed Carolyn Benedict Tuesday to fill the vacancy created when Mike Christensen resigned last month to become Milo’s town justice.

Benedict, who was appointed at the start of the board meeting, took her seat immediately and will serve until Christensen’s term expires in March. Then, she’ll have to run for the office.

“She contacted me and showed interest,” Church said. “She plans to run in March.”

Benedict currently works for Genesee BOCES, and she previously served as the Penn Yan school district’s business official.

In other business Tuesday, the board:

• AGREEMENTS: Approved two inter-municipal agreements with Yates County. The county will share some of its occupancy tax revenue with the village and help the village offset the costs of two anticipated payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements related to hotel projects.

The Legislature approved both agreements earlier this month as a way of helping the village handle the costs associated with the new hotels.

Church said the village has long sought such agreements.

“As you know, it’s been a thing with me that the village does provide a lot of services and does not get much back in return,” Church said.

He thanked Christensen, Trustee David Reeve and county officials for their efforts in the negotiations.

Church said the deal was key to allowing future development to go forward.

“This is a very huge deal for the village and will also bring added sales tax revenue to the county,” he said.

Taylor Fitch, the Legislature’s chairman, joined Church in signing the agreements after the Village Board’s unanimous votes.

“I can feel confident that a healthy village of Penn Yan, a healthy county seat, benefits the entire county,” said Legislature Tim Dennis, who chairs the county’s Finance Committee.

• TAX CAP: Scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m. Jan. 21 on a local law to override the state’s tax cap for 2014.

The law would not require the village to exceed the cap but simply give it the option.

• JUSTICE: Approved the appointment of David Grace as acting village justice through March 31. He will fill out the remaining term of Acting Justice John Symonds, who resigned earlier this month

Where is this fine print. Nowhere does the news article state that there limitations as to how the monies are spent, only that it will offset some of the costs of infrastructure to complete the projects. Also nowhere does it state that the Village is buying any property from the County, so where do you come up with this stuff?

Read the fine print in the agreements and you will see that the Mayor has sold the village taxpayers out, all property taxes the county will be paying the village for the 2 new hotels for 10 years and the occupancy taxes from the 2 new hotel $7,000 a year for the next 10 years and a $1,000,000 loan that will be paid back by village residents in the form of higher electric, sewer and water rates must be spent on the Hampton hotel and surrounding area. The county will not be sharing any sales taxes with the village and the village will be stuck with paying all the infrastructure cost related to this one hotel, who are the investors? This great deal for the county was shoved ahead before the new year so Fitch and Church could push it thru while their cronies were in line and before they both leave their positions, Fitch as chair of the county legislators and Church as Mayor of the village. Here's the big sell out the village will buy the still toxic boat company from the county for $1, and hold a note for the developer who claims he no longer is interested in his original plans of developing the site, but he might try one townhouse at a time and if that don't go then he goes. Because the county didn't follow the procedures the developers wanted them to in cleaning up the site all those who were interested in investing millions into the site have dropped out, so the county found someone foolish enough to take this nightmare off their hands, that person is our Mayor Bob Church.

This thread is humorous. Why does everyone have to be cynical? Both of these projects are great for Penn Yan in the long term. I think any inter-municipal agreement is great when it leads to this kind of investment.