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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRailroad Right-of-Way - Stone Quarry to S Aurora St - 1981-1984 ��OF� � Rina AT CITYOF ITHACA 1 O EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF TELEPHONE: 272-1713 MAYOR CODE 607 M1240 TO: Mr. Donald Kinsella, Supt. of Public Works Mr. Thys VanCort, Director of the Planning and Dev. Dept, Mr. Martin A. Shapiro, City Attorney FROM: Mayor Raymond Bordoni DATE: July 7, 1981 SUBJECT: Preferential Acquisition Rights to Abandoned Railroad Property Consolidated Rail Corporation - City and Town of Ithaca Tompkins County Attached hereto please find a letter received today from the New York State Department of Transportatipn in •-egard to the above entitled matter for your attention and handling. Please note that they ask that all interested departments within the City be aware of the availability of this property to assure a complete review and that if no one should desire to exercise the preferential right of acquisiti a release will be issued by the DOT. Also they suggest that we notify the local school boards that this property may be available upon release. This correspondence r is being sent to you for your immediate attention and handling. R I RB:r ATTACH. CC: Mr. Joseph Rundle, City Clerk t [t E 1 NEW YORK STATE DEPARTAAENTOF TRANSPORTATION William C.Hennessy,Commissioner 1220 Washington Avenue,State Campus, Albany, New York 12232 July 1, 1981 K Raymond Bordoni Mayor '` ` V�. Honorable Ra ym > Jr. ,> y h. ., . City of Ithaca City Hall Ithaca, NY 14850 Re: Preferential Acquisition Rights. to Abandoned Railroad Property Consolidated Rail Corporation City and Town of Ithaca Tompkins County Dear Mayor Bordoni: The Department of Transportation is designated as the official State agency to administer Chapter 998 of the Laws of 1973 which amended Section 18 of the Transportation Law. This statute extends to all State agencies, transportation authorities and municipalities the preferential right to acquire, for public purposes, abandoned railroad transportation property. Under provisions of this act, a railroad company intending to dispose of railroad transportation property shall notify the Department of Transportation of its- intention and it may not dispose of the property unless it is granted a release of the preferential right. Further, the Department of Transportation is given the authority to use its sole discretion in resolving conflicts which may occur between one or more agencies seeking to exercise the right. In accordance with the provisions of this statute, you are hereby notified that a formal request ror the release of the preferential rights has been made for the railroad property identified in the enclosed description and map. We request that you explore any possible uses you may -have for this property and it is essential that you notify this office of whether or not you intend to exercise the preferential right. Because of time limitations imposed by the statute, we would appreciate your written response by August 11, 1981. It is suggested that you advise all interested departments under your jurisdiction of the availability of this property to assure a complete review. Should no one desire to exercise the preferential right of acquisition, a release will be issued by our Department. Therefore, it is also suggested that you notify local school boards that this property may be available upon release. Page 2 To aid us in resolving any potential conflicts, your response should clearly describe the proposed use of the property including the benefits to be derived from such use. Should conflicts arise, additional informa- tion and/or a meeting on the subject may be required. In any event, we will inform you of the final dispositon of the property. Sincerely, /. _1-:& T. G. SMITH, Director Project Development Bureau Enclosure TGS/RPI/tz cc: H. Matthys VanCort, Director Ithaca City Planning Department PROPERTY DESCRIPTION The Consolidated Rail Corporation intends to sell a portion of their discontinued Ithaca Branch right-of-way commencing at Milepost 304.32 (Stone Quarry Road) to Milepost 306 (Knights Crossing) , all in the City and Town of`Ithaca, Tompkins County. The subject property is proposed to be sold to 'the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation, excepting a portion to be sold to Evaporated Metal Films Corporation and that part appropriated by New York State for bridge removal, SH 454, Ithaca Road, Map 34, Parcel 45. The attached maps show this parcel and its location at various scales. iNOTE: It is essential that we receive your written response whether or not you intend to exercise your preferential right of acquisition for the subject property by the date stipulated in our letter in order for us to comply with the statutory deadline. If you foresee a problem with responding, please call this office at (51$)457-3429. R NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION William C.Hennessy,Commissioner to 1220 Washington Avenue,State Campus, Albany, New York 12232 y��L FEB 231982 Hon. William T. Smith II / 915 Legislative Office Building Albany, N.Y. 12247 l Dear Senator Smith: On November 27, 1981, Conrail filed notice to abandon the Ithaca Branch, a rail line in Tompkins County between milepost 0.0 and 1.5, a distance of 1.5 miles. Attached is a copy of Conrail's map locating the line. The Interstate Commerce Commission's decision to grant this abandonment will be rendered February 28, 1982. In August of last year, Congress enacted the Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981. The Act gave Conrail a special expedited abandonment process whereby the railroad can abandon any line in its system on 90 days notice. The Interstate Commerce Commission has no power to disapprove or delay such abandonments unless an offer of financial assistance is made to subsidize or purchase. This Department has investigated the need for this line to provide local freight service and found the line out of service with no active shippers using it or expressing a need for it's operation. Since this railroad is located in your political jurisdiction, I feel you should be advised of the course of events that have led to the abandon- ment. Sincerely, - ` C W. C. HENNESSY Commissioner NOTE: A similar letter is being sent to Assemblyman Hugh S. MacNeil attachment cc: John J. Murphy, Tompkins County Administrator Hon. Raymond Bordoni, Jr. , Mayor of Ithaca Docket AB-167 Sub. No. ,r Exhibit B AREA MAP CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION _ ITHACA BRANCH (DELAWARE LACKAWANNA 6 WESTERN) Ithaca, ?T 0.0 to Morris Chain, tiP 1.5 O O<{O+ A. 'a•t F' &P or;sh o't ° Ron`�`--�. ° ^+• 4� So v r `fou titti �d < . °ce r,os,Q �o� o e �Q°• c "'c^.'t, R-.-J Irk � Or'� yo �o�. o o +� 'Q"�'' _--f' ♦ r �ti grt;rr+ y�oct+tsl 'O p� ��os°r r. `�Y r •• rr �0 rn� e�A Sf11 a,,r ar a a. . pC, Cor Avon si rdon o c S .D 4G GreigSvill! '4 0 a+ �r a�4 or L}? r r c Apulia MuDDgrdsviilt 3p y leicesiero'oca°spa dully Eorlrille � Mt. Morris � r Sherburne Grovttor+d 02,�c +tendo+o rings Penn Yon Dresozn Honer Co.nond Jct Himrool .lcr NarwiLh Ilton Sro.key w'�llt Dv�a[t 10 ConoserogO Lv8 11h0 G MOrOthon CG><{ord Pt Ark Dort lt, lyinS City ,tid K+ionog 1;%,n V t7 8a WOtLins Glen WO $riSben +mond Hornell Oat y Greene a1 con,-.'to Savano or+i Fall, Spencer Alf. Comeron '40n Elsen y Chenongo Forks ed \r9 E lstn Jcl. t, Chtnongo Br. Andover tot° • ►brslhtaos an `\*s a„tgo $inghomton is Addon ` 3ct rp Opt -� itsv,lle o o, �.lmi .art Deposit Q JC 4, t, Vestol Kirkwood Holes e cF o`�° NEW YORK r �iNi Sayre PENNSYLVANIA Hs Q 41a� Atttens 3"Qu Milan lAoAn0 Mi�Ji[Dur> Ulster W)Fsox wellsboro Jct. rowond od Rurnmtrt,tld s^soi.ro Wellsboro (?rtssw0 wYolusing IOceyv,ll! Myot)eoch Mit C Mthoopany shop Tunkhannok °!n tO� WY:onno .0 Ronson+ r,�o yo rb Co:t2n °cock Jct. c� 0 c P' o � n. •_._ r NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION William C.Hennessy,Commissioner Noe ,a 1220 Washington Avenue,State Campus,Albany, New York 12232 May 5, 1982 Noel Desch Supervisor Town of Ithaca 132 Updike Road Ithaca, NY 14850 Re: Railroad Abandonment Notification Conrail Lines Various Counties Dear Mr. Desch: Under the provisions of Chapter 998 of the Laws of 1973, which amended Section 18 of the Transportation Law, the Department of Transportation is designated as the official State agency to receive all notifications from the Federal Interstate Commerce Commission, United States Railroad Association (USRA) , or any other Federal or State agency in regard to discontinuance of service or railroad property abandonment proceedings; including notification of applications from railroad companies for such purposes. Furthermore, the Department of Transportation is required to inform all interested State agencies, transportation authorities, and local municipali- ties, in which such railroad property is located, of the approval to abandon railroad transportation property. In accordance with the provisions of this statute, you are hereby notified that Conrail. has filed for, and received approval for, the abandonment of the subject property in accordance with the provisions of the recently enacted Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981 (NERSA), which is Subtitle E of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Pub. L. '97-35). The NERSA prescribes that Conrail must retain the rail facilities for a period of 120 days after abandonment, during which time anyone interested in acquiring the right of way and rail facilities for operating purposes may purchase the line for 75 percent of the net liquidation value. If no bonafide purchase offers are received in that 120-day period, Conrail may dispose of the line as it chooses; except that it may not dismantle bridges or other structures for another 120-day period. Page Two If you are interested in acquiring this property, we suggest that you contact Conrail immediately and express your interest so that you will be in a position to finalize acquisition when the regulatory process runs its course. Sincerely, �-'✓_ • T. G. SMITH, Director Project Development Bureau Enclosure TGS/RPI/taz cc: Montgomery May TOWN OF ITHACA 126 EAST SENECA STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 May 19 , 1982 Honorable William Shaw Mayor City of Ithaca 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850 Dear Bill : You hopefully have also received the enclosed notice concern- ing the abandonment of the railroad right-of-way from Stone Quarry Road to Knights Crossing. This process was initiated through State DOT last year, but for some unknown reason was stopped. At that time , I believe both the City and the Town claimed our preferential rights . Our Town/City line runs down the middle of this right-of-way and there are a number of critical uses that have been iden- tified over the past 2-3 years , generally as follows : (1) Interceptor ditch to handle storm water to relieve flooding along Spencer Road. (2) Sanitary sewer for service to properties in the Town. (3) Recreation Trails . The Finger Lakes State Park Commission has expressed an in- terest in acquiring the property and providing us with the necessary easements for our needs . Negotiations should be reopened again to avoid losing the initiative in the acqui- sition process . B*tth Phil Cox and Larry Fabbroni have been directly involved with preliminary engineering and acquisi- tion discussions . One of us should take the lead role in pursuing the matter. The best approach may be for you, the Chairman of the Finger Lakes State Park Commission and me to inform State DOT of our intentions . Give me a call once you have had a chance to become informed on this matter. Very truly yours , �1���� Noel Desch Supervisor ND/js encs . RAILROAD ABANDONMENT NOTIFICATION The Interstate Commerce Commission has authorized abandonment of various ConRail lines throughout New York State. The attached table gives pertinent information for each of these lines and the attached map shows their approximate location with reference numbers keyed to the table. If you desire any further information on these lines, please contact: Mr. Lawrence A. Huff Assistant Vice- President, Real Estate Consolidated Rail Corporation 1528 Walnut .Street, Rm. 901 Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215) 893-6445 cc: Gary M. Williams Assistant Vice President Regional Market Development Consolidated Rail Corporation 1528 Walnut Street, Rm. 1601 Philadelphia, PA 10102 John W. Rowe Vice President Law Consolidated Rail Corporation Six Penn Center, Rm. 1838 Philadelphia, PA 10104 RAILROAD ABANDONMENT NOTIFICATION CONRAIL LINES ICC DOCKET AB-167 Map ICC Termini Ref. No. Sub. No. Line Name From To 1982 Mileage County Service Date 1 269 Warren Ind. Track Falconer, MP 32.2 Falconer, MP 33.1 0.9 Chautauqua March 11 2 266 Niagara Falls Sec. Track N. Tonawanda N. Tonawanda, MP 16.3 1.3 Niagara March 11 (Felton St.) MP 15.0 3 265 Niagara Falls Sec. Track DL & W Connection N. Tonawanda, MP 12.6 5.3 Niagara March 11 MP 7.3 4 166 Erie Running Track East Buffalo, MP 3.0 West Shore RR, MP 4.3 1.3 Erie March 11 5 329 Howard St. Running Track Buffalo, MP 0.0 Buffalo, MP 0.6 0.6 Erie March 11 6 264 Running Track 101 & 102 East Buffalo, MP 389.7 Buffalo River, MP 392.4 2.7 Erie March 11 7 267 Gardenville Running Track Depew, MP 1..1 Cheektowaga, MP 3.9 2.8 Erie March it 8 398 Olcott Branch Lockport, MP 0.0 find of Track, MP 0.3 0.3 Niagara March 11 9 444 Caledonia Branch G & W Jct. MP 36.7 LeRoy, MP 40.5 10.7 [Genesee March 11 LeRoy, MP 41.1 Batavia, MP 48.0 Livingston 10 342 Groveland Branch Groveland, MP 339.7 N. Alexander, MP 360.2 20.5f Genesee March 12 1 Livingston 11 268 Rochester Branch South Rochester Jct. MP 379.5 Lima, MP 385.5 6.0f Livingston March 11 i Monroe 12 330 Rochester Branch North Rochester Jct. MP 379.5 Henrietta,MP 385.0 5.5 Monroe March 11 13 333 Attica Branch Rochester, MP 383.2 Rochester, MP 384.3 1.1 Monroe March 1.1 Rochester Sec. Track Rochester, MP 0.9 Rochester, MP 1.2 0.3 Monroe Marsh 11 14 215 Pittsford Running Track Pittsford, MP 94.0 Brighton, MP 99.1 5.1 Monroe March 3 15 428 West Shore Sec. Track Newark, MP 329.0 Newark, MP 330.0 1.0 Wayne March 12 16 446 Penn Yan Ind. Track Carey Lumber, MP 5.9 Dresden, MP 6.4 0.5 Yates March 11 17 263 Ithaca Branch Ithaca, MP 0.0 Morris Chain, MP 1.5 1.5 Tompkins March 11 18 217 Waverly-Elmira Ind. Track Elmira, MP 0.0 Horseheads, MP 5.1 5.1 Chemung March 3 19 213 Camden Sec. Track Rome, MP 37.5 McConnellsville, MP 27.4 10.1 Oneida March 3 20 ' 361 Vernon Ind. Track Oneida Castle, MP 256.9 Canastota, M•P 257.75 0.9IMadison March 12 4 21 212 Ilion Ind. Track Ilion, MP 218.5 Harbor, MP 227.9 9.4 llerkdimer March 3 22 377 Maybrook Branch Highland, MP- 27.4 Poughkeepsie, MP 29.5 2.1 Dutchess March 11 Ulster 23 365 Poughkeepsie Sec. Track Poughkeepsie, MP 31.0 Hopewell Jct., MP 42.8,, ,,.; ,, 11.8 Dutchess March 11 24 169 NJ & NY (Pasack Valley Br.) Spring Valley, MP 30.7 Woodbine, MP 31.5 0.8 Rockland March 11 RAILROAD ABANDONMENT NOTIFICATION _ QUEBEC_ CONRAIL LINES ONTARIO y - - WNEn[aNBr' • oa..wmw... w.. :s ..'.""i.r K•cl c..a.... ..,.T. rexxsrsvxxuoaN oxn� 4 c•o r,.. ...:.., ,`�uwr- xm%em wfNONB ��nTMr� PASSENGER SERVICE ow car. - VERMONT p _ •v.i i w • ?r•°N%EUETON 19IbL- ' c•° x.°.. ."°" '^'^ a,e. •... „` EWE •° f"° 4 NEN" HiMPS111RE ONTARIO Nf� � . ..... ��.� .•v.rr awm xry KM a m.sn. aen 6 •. rl ,.. EWE i 8 f 16 B,a 6 xsrr • ' o.vn. fav,e.. :." ..;.� t .. ..� ..•.� _ _ ...� MASS C USETTS EW ,,..ra.. <„en.. c �,lo•, f^•m^ s/INBNYfipN �� J .•19 ' y SPWNofiE — f. . ° -- ——------ -- --- j r PENNSYLVANIA - Xr iMEMO C NNECTICUT •.x .wwu, NF NINo%M �� d s..o.. p • p%N/UR N—0fN O ROCIIE, °• f � y N114YR! ; iFPOR1 NORwAu � NEWM%r a„w `/ /UIrAlo ISL, _.^' L ^%•- • yam."��� NEW YORK CITY 5, r ! - a�`r,.>..�"J`" E.A N .'.6 ~ry c cI __ RETNIfMIN � u..auy.v • /�' E f 1 C 'fI0' NUINTOWN d`4 l 3 ,,,NEW PORN CITY I f S"` ITHA_CA, NEW YORE: 1 4ESO cr 271__-'.71,- C 0D ` ., ,COD MEMO TO: Mrs. Margo Clynes FROM: Mayor Bill Shaw - ' DATE: May 26, 1982 SUBJECT: ' Abandonment of Conrail Right of Way It has come to my attention that Conrail is proposing to abandon it ' s railroad right-of-way in the southwest corner of the City of Ithaca along the boundary between the First Ward and the Town of Ithaca. Given your involvement and concern for the First Ward, Circle Greenway, Finger Lakes State Park' s Agency, I would like to request your assistance in addressing the concept' s and specifics behind the various proposals that have arisen for a mutual effort between the Finger Lakes Park' s Agency, City of Ithaca and the Town of Ithaca to purchase that right-of-way for the use of each group as follows: 1) . A bicycle path 2) . A storm-sewer interceptor 3) . A future water or sewer right-of-way There a meeting occuring on Friday, May 28th in Phil Cox' s office for our staff (Cox and Meigs) and the Finger Lakes staff (Bob Gonet) and the Town of Ithaca staff (Larry Fabroni) to review this matter and to develop a timetable and proposed response. I apologize for one major aspect of this issue which is it' s urgency. It may be that we have less than 60 days in which to put together a firm purchase offer from the municipalities involved. I am asking Paul Tavelli to investigate that matter further immediately. Other ' s are far more familiar with this topic than you and I. Particular Noel Desch and the Town have some background on this matter. Under separate cover I am forwarding to you what material I have and by copy of this memorandum, I am asking Jon Meigs, Phil Cox and Paul Tavelli to provide you copies of anything that they have. "An Equal Oo'uortunny Employer wit.an Affirmative Action Proora— Memo to Margo Clynes -2- May 26 , 1982 Your efforts to pursue this matter vigorously and advise me and Council on w=hat action should be taken , would be greatly appreciated. CC: Mr. Phil Cox Mr. Paul Tavelli Mr. Noel Desch Mr. Peter Rogers Mr. Richard Banks Mrs. Elizabeth Mulholland MEMORANDUM F-C =F . TO: Mayor FROM: Jon Meigs, Planning and Developmen SUBJECT: RAILROAD ABANDONMENT NOTIFICATION (Re: South Hill Spur) DATE: June 2, 1982 After you had referred NYSDoT's May 5 letter, addressed to Mayor Bordoni , to us, and then spoke with me about the Public Works interest in the spur involved, Phil Cox and I met with City Attorney Tavelli , Town Engineer Larry Fabbroni , and Jesse Miller and Bob Gonet, of Finger Lakes State Parks Hq. This was a useful meeting, and will lead to further coordination of efforts to acquire and use the spur for local purposes. Though similar meetings last year led to official expressions of interest by City and Town (and presumably by Finger Lakes) , and contact from DoT again earlier this year resulted in Mr. Gonet's informing me that the main office of Parks was pursuing acquisition (my memo of March 10 to you) , it was generally agreed at the latest meeting that it would be sensible to make sure Albany knows that City and Town are counting on a cooperative effort with Parks. Phil also suggested that Conrail should be informed. When the subject first came up last year, a number of potentials for joint use of the right-of-way were apparent: storm water drainage, water/sewer and other utilities, in addition to the bike/hike path which is Finger Lakes' interest. Miller and Gonet think Jy ch joint use is reasonable, though Parks might ask for some City-Town assistance in locating the bike path along the flood channel if it buys the spur (probably for less than its roughly $40,000 est. value) . There were some questions raised at the meeting regarding the abandonment legisla- tion and the acquisition process, which, along with considerations of agreements on joint use and development after purchase, Attorney Tavelli wants to check out. DoT' s Feb. 23 letter seemed to indicate the abandonment was expected to become official at the end of February, and their May 5 letter referred to a 120-day period after abandonment in which any party could buy th -slur Torr` grating purposes'-- presumably, railroad operation. If so, we have .a t three weed to come to agreement between City, Town and Parks, before Par s its preferential acquisition rights. The fullest use of this right-of-way will be possible if, Parks being successful in its acquisition, the parties can agree on terms of development, and if one or all of them negotiate similar terms with Morse Chain for the stretch between Stone Quarry Rd. and S. Aurora Street. Morse acquired this a few years ago and though there was some talk then along similar lines, other priorities and the unresolved status of the—+ower section caused it to be tabled. Now it appears that the discussion could b - reopen, since there is real potential for providing 'a--i e, , T 'path between the South Hill residential area and Buttermilk, to link up with Cass Park and eventually Lower Enfield. r MEMO Mayor June 2, 1982 page 2. In addition to the items the City Attorney is checking, Phil Cox and Larry Fabbroni will be looking at the requirements and possibilities for City-Town cooperation on technical matters; I will continue to assist each of them as necessary. As soon as the potential alternatives are a bit more well-defined, it would be useful to start addressing policy and procedural aspects; probably should be done before State Parks makes its move, so that our options remain open. In the interim, I 'm sure Paul , Phil or I will do our best to answer any questions you may have. JCM:jv cc: City Attorney City Engineer Ald. Holman, Killeen, Hoffman, Myers 126 E ASi 55NFCA STUREET RHA.CA, NEW YORE 14350 June 7 , 1982 Mr . T. G. Smith Director Project Development Bureau New York State Department of Transportation 1220 Washington Avenue State Campus Albany , New York 12232 Dear Mr. Smith : The Town of Ithaca hereby reaffirms its intention to exercise its preferential rights to acquire the railroad property commencing at Milepost 304. 32 (Stone Quarry Road) to Milepost 306 (Knights Crossing) . We express this reaffirmation as a result of your letter dated P-lay 5 , 1982 , informing us that Conrail intends to dispose of the property. We attach a copy of our July 14, 1981 letter to you , in which we describe our joint efforts with the City of Ithaca and the New York State Office of 7'arks and Recreation to ef- fectively utilize this property in the best interests of the region. The Town , City and the Warks staff are moving for- ward to formalize our individual involvements with the ac- quisition and implementation of these plans . Very truly yours , , Noel Desch Supervisor ND/j s enc. CC : :Mayor William Shaw Andrew Mazzela 4,f CITY OF ITHACA 10B EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS DONALD A. KINSELLA, P.E TELEPHONE 272-1713 SUPT. OF PUBLIC WORKS CODE 607 June 17, 1982 Mr. T. G. Smith, Director Project Development Bureau NYS Dept. of Transportation 1220 Washington Avenue State Campus Albany, New York 12232 Re: Preferential Acquisition Rights to Abandoned Railroad Property of Consolidated Rail Corp. , City and Town of Ithaca, Tompkins County Dear Mr, Smith: This is in response to your May 5, 1982 letter to Town of Ithaca Supervisor Desch on the subject of Railroad Abandonment Notification, Conrail Lines, Various Counties. Let me restate what I originally stated in my letter of July 23, 1981 on the above captioned subject. The City of Ithaca does intend to exercise its preferential rights to acquire that portion of the railroad property commencing at Milepost 304.32 (Stone Quarry Road) to Milepost 306 (Knights Crossi-ng) . Attached for your convenience is a copy of my July 23, 1981 letter. It should be recognized that the Town of Ithaca, the City of Ithaca, and the Finger Lakes State Parks Commission have all expressed an interest in acquiring the aforementioned railroad property. A three-way agreement for the ultimate use of the property is now being drafted by the three parties. We remain puzzled by the property description attached to your July 1981 letter, which excepted for sale some property to be sold to Evaporated Metal Films Corp. May we have more details on that? As we have pointed i 4 Mr. T. G. Smith, Director -2- June 17, 1982 out , if any portion of the railroad property in the vicinity of Evaporated Metal Films Corp. were not sold to the City, Town or State Parks Commission, our intended use of the land may be seriously compromised. Thus, we look forward to hearing from you soon on this important matter. Sincerely, Donald A. Kinsella Superintendent of Public Works DAK:o cc: Mayor Shaw Paul Tavelli Philip Cox Noel Desch H. M. 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J ss:� :,y /. <.i� - -.)' /•, , +�`;)� t��, ).,b / n�,oea 7`: c<a5 J / ,I c _;,�i'O�t�/•o j •�C�• ,ry .v ��/•�/f,/ •// /v\\."'A / r lN'I,i l �'j it /`�I••�-�G ,' .71 95a/ / fir—`r� D ��—'--� __ Zp��i� ✓':;�',,�� ,rr ( / 1--Z. '`957 ��'•� �'; i , ' �. 4��5 050 Cal ren �� -'((,j 7 CQ.', ss o •�`�! l /• I// /��.�E�dl.Kp ���\ 'Nilr' rhoAD Gag,r�gStat�; J�(� lc•' /'i f, /— MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor FROM: H. M. Van Cort SUBJECT: CITY POSITION ON ACQUISITION OF CONRAIL S. HILL PROPERTY DATE: October 26, 1982 It seems that Conrail and NYSDoT won't take 'yes ' for an answer when the City says it is interested in exercising its preferential rights to acquire this excess spur! I would advise that you write them to reiterate our posi- tion; I believe that Phil Cox is drafting such a letter for you, providing the information on proposed uses and benefits which DoT wants to help them decide; Larry Fabbroni is doing the same for Noel Desch. As a result of the last meeting between City, Town and State parks staff representatives on this subject, a draft memo of understanding is being pre- pared, under which the three bodies would operate in developing and using the spur for recreational and public works purposes. This agreement Should be ready soon for acceptance action by the three bodies. Bob Gonet, of Finger Lakes State Parks, indicates that to his best knowledge NYS Parks is proceeding with plans to acquire the spur. While their interest would pre-empt ours, he suggests that it would be worth our while to indicate our interest--possibly against the chance that some private party slips in and takes it, like Evaporated Metal Films already has done for a small piece. Then, even if Parks dropped its interest (an unlikely chance) , we wouldn't be committed to anything but negotiating with Conrail over terms; we could drop it too if the price wasn't right. I think the more relevant cost issues are those that will arise from the joint use and development which we, the town and Finger Lakes are discussing, with which I believe you're generally familiar. These will be considered when the MO'U is prepared, and include who will pay for what parts of the development of the spur and related property, for bikeway/hiking, storm drainage, etc. Please let me know how you wish to proceed on this. HMVC:m:jv er �;" �' '� `' �,.� �,� 4I i '°eRa�o CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF TELEPHONE: 272-1713 MAYOR M E M O R A N D U M CODE sol TO: THYS VAN CORT FROM: BILL SHAW RE: Acquisition of Conrail Property DATE: October 30, 1982 Thank you for your Memorandum on this subject dated October 26, 1982. I have shared a copy with Paul Tavelli. I would appreciate your personal efforts or a designated staff effort to work with Phil Cox, especially given his impending departure, and Paul Tavelli to coordinate and accomplish this intergovernmental effort. Margo Clynes is working on behalf of Council, not to mention her involvement with the Finger Lakes State Parks. If you all feel others should be involved from the City, please let me know and I will involve them directly. Under normal circumstances I would think the prime responsibility would lie jointly with the City Engineer and your office, with assistance from the City Attorney's office. Again, given Phil's impending departure, your taking a more active role in working with his department would be helpful. Paul has also been active, but should be in a support role more than the role of primarily responsible for acquiring the land. WRS/jjh cc: Paul Tavelli Phil Cox Margo Clynes Don Kinsella "An Equal Opportunity Employer wi,r an Affirmative Action Program" TOMTN OF ITHACA 126 EAST SENECA STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 November 9, 1982 Mr. T. G. Smith, Director Project Development Bureau New York State Department of Transportation 1220 Washington Avenue State Campus Albany, NY 12232 Re: Preferential Rights - Stone Quarry Road - Knight ' s Crossing Dear Mr. Smith: The City of Ithaca and the Town of Ithaca hereby declare our intention to exercise our preferential rights to acquire the abandoned Railroad Property described in your letter of October 14, 1982. Our declaration reaffirms the declarations forwarded to you July 14 , 1981 and July 23, 1981 following your letter of July 1 , 1981, and, again reaffirmed on June 7, 1982 and June 17, 1982 following your letter of May 5, 1982. As you may know, we have been working with the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation to develop an integrated plan for the use of this property for the following purposes: a. A recreation trail and bicycle path_. b. A storm drainage interceptor. c. A utility corridor for future water and sewer improvements. We will not intervene in the sale of the property to New York State Office of Parks and Recreation providing a plan for the foregoing improvements has been accepted by municipalities and the NYSOPR. Any sale of land to Evaporated Metal Films (EVF) will not be acceptable. It seems more appropriate to deal with EVF needs after we have purchased the lands in question and at our sole discretion. Very truly yours William R. Shaw, Mayor City of Ithaca Noel Desch, Superv ' sor ND/nf Town of Ithaca xc - Montgomery May Andrew Mazzella "t CITY O F ITHACA 1 CITY HALL 108 E. GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF CITY ENGINEER M E M O R A N D U M 607-272-1713 To: Mayor Shaw From: Philip L. Cox Re: Acquisition of Conrail Property Date: November 9, 1982 In response to your memorandum of October 30 on the same subject to T. VanCort, let me try to update you on that property acquisition. Larry Fabbroni and I met on October 26 to discuss the next step that the City and Town shpuld take in this regard. As a result, Larry is drafting a letter ford°yys and Noel Desch's signature to send to the NYS DoT reaffirming our desire to acquire the excess Conrail property. Also, as the result of a meeting with the Town of Ithaca, City of Ithaca and Finger Lakes State Parks Commission, Jon Meigs has recently completed the first draft of a three-party memorandum of understanding entitled, "Joint Development Project for a Multi-Use Recreational and Public Works Corridor at Ithaca, New York". This draft is dated November 2, 1982. 1 have not had an opportunity to review this draft, but presumably, once it can be agreed upon between the City and the Town of Ithaca, the next step would be to present the draft to the Finger Lakes office for their consideration. The goal is, of course, to have one of the three parties acquire the property with the understanding among all three parties on how it will ultimately be used and maintained. You should expect the letter that we suggest you jointly sign with Noel Desch within the next few days. "An Equal Opportunity Employer✓ Affirmative Action Program" v v .e-m UV 10F_ EAST GREEN S T FLET ITHACA, NEW YORK 1 -4650 01-CL OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Ji AL ? A. ":Sr=1_LA. P E 7ELEPH0"41E 272-1713 -_ r_ r ✓,s CODE 6Q7 November 14, 1982 Mr. L. M. Nose,-iorthy Lehigh Valley Railroad 415 Brighton Street Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015 Re: Hillview Place/South Aurora Street Ithaca, New York Dear Mr. Noseworthy: have discussed the possible interest that the City of Ithaca may have in the Lehigh Valley Railroad property at the southeast corner of the Hillview Place/South Aurora Street intersection. It is the sense of the City at this time that there is no intermediate or long-term plan for any possible use of that property by the City. Therefore, I must inform you that we are declining the option to submit a purchase proposal to the Lehigh Valley Railroad. I would appreciate it if you would kindly inform John Marshall of the decision. Mr. Marshall had recently contacted me regarding the property. Sincerely, Donald A Kinsella Superintendent of Public Works DAK:o / cc: Mayor Shaw Comm. Gutenberger, Stone, Brown "An EQ�jal Opportungy Employer w,!h an Af!t,mahve AUion Program" = i� i y. �'�f�S�afili �p�RA7E0 CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF MAYOR TELEPHONE: 272-1713 WILLIAM R. SHAW CODE 607 MEMO TO: Paul N. Tavelli , City Attorney FROM: Bill Shaw, Mayor DATE: April 12, 1983 SUBJECT: New York State Department of Transportation - Assignment and Authorization to exercise the preferential right of acquisition to a portion of abandoned Consolidated Rail Corporation transpor- tation property Attached hereto please find correspondence received April 11 , 1983 in regard to the above entitled matter for your attention. Please note that the last paragraph states that "it will be necessary for you to inform this office (DOT) when and if negotiations for this property have been successful". ATTACH. CC: Donald Kinsella w/attach. Joseph Rundle w/attach, Thys VanCort• w/attach. "An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program' NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION William C.Hennessy,Commissioner 1220 Washington Avenue,State Campus,Albany, New York 12232 April 5, 1983 Honorable William R. Shaw Mayor-City of Ithaca City Hall Ithaca, New York 14850 Dear Mayor Shaw: Transmitted herewith is an executed duplicate original copy of the Assignment and Authorization to exercise the preferential right of acquisition to a portion of abandoned Consolidated Rail Corporation transportation property identified as the Ithaca Branch located in the City and. Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York and further delineated on the attached map. As indicated in the Assignment and Authorization, the City of Ithaca is assigned that portion of the subject property which was formerly proposed for sale to E.M.F. Corporation and further delineated in green on the attached map.. The Department of Transportation will not be involved in discussions. relative to the acquisition of the subject property. Negotiations will be between the railroad and the assignee and should be instituted as soon as practicable to prevent the possible lapsing of the pref- erential right. Correspondence should be directed to Mr. Harry A. Wiedeman, Manager-Real Estate, Consolidated Rail Corporation, Suite 204, Madison Manor Bldg. , 60 Presidential Plaza, Syracuse, N.Y. 13202. Please note also the provision in the Assignment and Authorization that should the assignee fail to exercise the preferential right of acquisition, the Assignment to the defaulting assignee is rescinded and the preferential right reverts to the Department of Transportation for re-evaluation. Since it is our intention to follow these matters to completion, it will be necessary for you to inform this office when and if negotiations for this property have been successful. Sincerely yours, J. E. COLLISON, Director Real Estate Division On this 51)day of1983, before me personally came JAMES E. COLLISON, to Tnp knnwn nnA knncrn to mp to ho tho flirnrtnr_ Rani Rctntrs il4c7,4c4nn of thn ilnnnrtnant ASSIGNMENT AND AUTHORIZATION TO EXERCISE PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF ACQUISITION WHEREAS, the Consolidated Rail Corporation has requested the New York State De- partment of Transportation to issue a release of the preferentsal right of acquisition in and to certain abandoned railroad transportation property known and identified as the Ithaca Branch beginning at M.P. 304.32 (Stone Quarry Road) to M.P. 306 (Knights Crossing) in the City and Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York, and further delineated on the attached map, and WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Transportatiod has acted upon such request and has caused due notice to be given to those appropriate State agencies, regional trans- portation authorities and local governments as have been designated by statute to have a preferential -right of acquisition and to receive such notice, and WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Transportation has determined that the abandoned railroad property referred to herein is not needed for any of the purposes provided for in *the Transportation, Highway or Canal laws but it also appearing that another State, agency, regional transportation authority or local government does have a need for such property for its own authorized purposes; NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to Section 18 of the Transportation Law, as amended by Chapter 998 of the Laws of 1973 and in consideration of these presents, such pref- erential right to acquire a portion of the abandoned railroad property referred to herein is hereby assigned to: City of Ithaca That area delineated in green on the attached map. NYS Office of Parks, That area delineated in red on the Recreation & Historic attached map and not required by Preservation the NYS Department of Transportation. Excepting 60 feet on each side of the centerline of Route 13, a- total of 120 feet which is required by our Regional Office in Syracuse for highway purposes. PROVIDED, however, that upon the failure by said assignee for any reason to exercise said preferential right of acquisition in accordance with the provisions of Section 18 referred to above, the assignment and authorization made herein to the defaulting assignee is rescinded and said preferential right shall revert to the New York State Department of Transportation for re-evaluation without further notice. Commissioner of Transportation Dated: ByA%�/ GF. -- STATE OF NEW YORK) as: . COUNTY OF ALBANY ) ,1 On this 54)day of 1983, before me personally came JAMES E. COLLISON, to me known and known to me to be the Director, Real Estate Division of the Department of Transportation, the person described as such in and who executed the foregoing instrument and he duly acknowledged to me that he executed the same as such Director, Real Estate Division pursuant to the statutEcin such case provided. L z 1 `;n.;c:ry +'v�•!rt, vie'.a GF�CAi4 F C.�,,a{iiis� lr T'38 G�,;•�ry t r= `�t=:v�.a epi�`� fI I ods d .\ CORYOR.ATE UXVA3l(II)$J .� z r 33V m l/ 1 v 'i 1 VII 14 d n YJ _.--- �^•� 4 G r� M � � \1 `,� 1• �" "'�. CNE q„_ \� f� 14, Ip 11/0 00 V � � 11• r i.l '1) 1) "� ��� \.`/ � \ f ��ti� �',��6 � Ot � ran ' '11 I y �' i') j •: ti �tuutt — — - t" t��� :(L — —. hlt \�yulfflr lift � .,lt AtIW ) t ''1 i ; , , , 11. J ��.•,I fir 1,) t , • ./ �•'� "--- ,rx r / _ _ __ _ is `N—w 7lft)US NHU.I l\1 -1..... I AMC pORA7ED CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF TELEPHONE: 272-1713 CITY ATTORNEY CODE 607 April 19, 1983 Mr. Harry Wiedeman Manager-Real Estate Consolidated Rail Corporation Suite 204, Madison Manor Bldg. 60 Presidential Plaza Syracuse, New York 13202 Re : Conrail/City of Ithaca Dear Mr. Wiedeman: I am the attdrney for the City of Ithaca and have received the attached letter dated April 5, 1983 from the Department of Transportation. Please be advised that the City of Ithaca is interested in negotiations for the area set forth in green on the attached maps . Kindly advise me as soon as possible as to the requested purchase price of said parcel. VeY­INC� y� - PAVELLI City Attorney PNT/rn Enclosure An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" ' a° o f r lii Y`al i .. CITY9p�RATE�. CITY OF ITHACA 108 E/-ST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 148SO OFFICE OF MAYOR TELEPHONE: 272-1713 WILLIAM R. SHAW CODE 607 MEMO TO: Paul N. Tavelli , City Attorney FROM: Bill Shaw, Mayor p { DATE: April 12, 1983 i SUBJECT: New York State Department of Transportation - Assignment and Authorization to exercise the preferential right of acquisition � F to a portion of abandoned Consolidated Rail Corporation transpor- tation property Attached hereto please find correspondence received April 11 , 1983 in regard to the above entitled matter for your attention. Please note that the last paragraph states that "it will be necessary for you to inform this office (DOT) when and if negotiations; for this property have been successful". ATTACH. CC: Donald Kinsella w/attach. Joseph Rundle w/attach, Thys VanCort w/attach. Y�,.j S �fi1 An Equal Opportunity I„�i,i.�ypr with an Aff rmat-vt anon Program NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION / William C.Hennessy,Commissioner 1220 Washington Avenue,State Campus, Albany, New York 12232 d M�.a.sl-d April 5, 1983 Honorable William R. Shaw Mayor-City of Ithaca City Hall Ithaca, New York 14850 Dear Mayor Shaw: Transmitted herewith is an executed duplicate original copy of the Assignment and Authorization to exercise the preferential right of acquisition to a portion of abandoned Consolidated Rail Corporation transportation property identified as the Ithaca Branch located in the City and, Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York and further delineated on the attached map. As indicated in the Assignment and Authorization, the City of Ithaca is assigned that portion of the subject property which was formerly proposed for sale to E.M.F. Corporation and further delineated in green on the attached map., The Department of Transportation will not be involved in discussions relative to -the acquisition of the subject property. Negotiations will be between the railroad and the assignee and should be instituted as soon as practicable to prevent the possible lapsing of the pref- erential right. Correspondence should be directed to Mr. Harry A. Wiedeman, Manager-Real Estate, Consolidated Rail Corporation, Suite 204, Madison Manor Bldg. , 60 Presidential Plaza, Syracuse, N.Y. 13202. Please note also the provision in the Assignment and Authorization that should the assignee fail to exercise the preferential right of acquisition, the Assignment to the defaulting assignee is rescinded and the preferential right reverts to the Department of Transportation for re-evaluation. Since it is our intention to follow these matters to completion, it will be necessary for you to inform this office when and if negotiations for this property have been successful. Sincerely yours, J. E. COLLISON, Director Real Estate Division On this C5F)day of �i l� , 1983, before me personally came JAMES E. COLLISON, to Tnp knnwn and knnTon to ,, t.- i, +-u- nt—, ASSIGNMENT AND AUTHORIZATION TO EXERCISE PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF ACQUISITION WHEREAS, the Consolidated Rail Corporation has requested the New York State De- partment of Transportation to issue a release of the preferential right of acquisition in and to certain abandoned railroad transportation property known and identified as the Ithaca Branch beginning at M.P. 304.32 (Stone Quarry Road) to M.P. 306 (Knights Crossing) in the City and Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York_ , and further delineated on the attached map, and WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Transportatiod has acted upon such request and has caused due notice to be given to those appropriate State agencies, regional trans- portation authorities and local governments as have been designated by statute to have a preferential right of acquisition and to receive such notice, and WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Transportation has determined that the abandoned railroad property referred to herein is not'needed for any of the purposes provided for in -the Transportation, Highway or Canal laws but it also appearing that another State agency, regional transportation authority or local government does have a need for such property for its own authorized purposes; NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to Section 18 of the Transportation Law, as amended by Chapter 998 of the Laws of 1973 and in consideration of these presents, such pref- erential right to acquire a portion of the abandoned railroad property referred to herein is hereby assigned to: City of Ithaca That area delineated in green on the attached map. NYS Office of Parks, That area delineated in red on the Recreation b Historic attached map and not required by Preservation the NYS Department of Transportation. Excepting 60 feet on each side of the centerline of Route 13, a total of 120 feet which is required by our Regional Office in Syracuse for highway purposes. PROVIDED, however, that upon the failure by said assignee for any reason to exercise said preferential right of acquisition in accordance with the provisions of Section 18 referred to above, the assignment and authorization made herein to the defaulting assignee is rescinded and said preferential right shall revert to the New York State Department of Transportation for re-evaluation without further notice. Commissioner of Transportation Dated: i _ :_'S By L-„ I r STATE OF NEW YORK) as: COUNTY OF ALBANY ) On this _541)day of PiLl` , 1983, before me personally came JAMES E. COLLISON, ` to me known and known to me to be the Director, Real Estate Division of the Department f of Transportation, the person described as such in and who executed the foregoing I instrument and he duly acknowledged to me that he executed the same as such Director, Real Estate Division pursuant to the statute;zin such case provided. i Sir!a 6f NCA Ca,siiiis3 ir,T-iE Gxn'ryg��t,-�y r�//�l_rvr�. �tai)`� 7�;ir,Ai6.oR ft/X(C-! )✓"f:.1•+.4 f:�. T-� i I I I HOOK 79 89 ' Party aa <.' Park I S t ! W� Q �► d T�, ;i` //EST i / T f� ZVT I V NEST C[ .v T: `96B Ct ` t W n - E.Vita Nater n-o^D �� 96 113 ; : ifjC:\ 0. Qa- I - 8' BUT TER,. 1I L FALLS STATE PARK _=--- • __ - �Of ITc �����yr� , a t' I •J i I IiFtd� �'�a d,�1i i O' •gP� �0 RA7E0 CITY OF ITHACA 10B EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF TELEPHONE: 272-1713 MAYOR CODE 607 ;`nIO TO: Richard Stumbar, Corporate Counsel FROM: John C. Gutenberger, 'Mayor DATE: February 10, 1984 S UBJECT: Department of Transportation - Preferential right of acquisition to a portion of the Ithaca Branch identified as abandoned Consolidated Rail Corporation transportation property. DMNTD that the preferential right be exercised or released within 120 days Attached hereto please find correspondence received today from Mr. J. E. Collison, Director of the Real Estate Division of the State of Now York Department of Transportation M regard to the above entitled matter for vour handling. AT'FACI1. CC: `Rhys VanCort Donald Kinsella "An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" • A r { F. •`�e�sow y� STATE OF N EW YORK ! DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ALBANY, N.Y. 12232 ,JAMES L. LAROCCA COMMISSIONER February 7, 1984 Honorable John Guttenberger Mayor - City of Ithaca City Hall Ithaca, N.Y. 14850 Dear Mayor Guttenberger: Re: Ithaca Branch City & Town of Ithaca County of Tompkins M.P. 304.32 - M.P. 306 By Assignment and Authorization dated April 5, 1983, the Department of Transportation assigned to the City of Ithaca the preferential right of acquisition to a portion of 'the above identified segment of abandoned Consolidated Rail Corporation transportation property. Transmitted herewith are copies of two letters from the railroad which are intended to serve as a demand that the preferential right be exercised or released within 120 days of the receipt of the demands by the Department of Transportation. It is our recommendation, therefore, that the City institute negotiations with the railroad immediately so that actions may be completed before the expiration of the 120 day demand period, at which time the preferential right will lapse. Sincerely yours, J. E. COLLISON, Director Real Estate Division CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION Suite 204 Madison Towers 60 Presidential Plaza Syracuse, New York 13202 r6—; (315) 432-5872 •. R BERT W. RYAN " YKlil R E C E 1 V Manager Real Estate '�'"` 9 REAL ESTATE DIV. NEWTIATIONIS December 9, 1983 DEC i t,333 File: Ithaca, New York PR FAIG t ! Mr. J. E. Collison, Director Real Estate DivisionNew York StateDepartment of Transportation1220 Washington AvenueAlbany, New York 12232 -- Dear Mr. Collison: Referring to the Assignment of Preferential Right of Acquisition dated April 5, 1983, to the City of Ithaca, covering a portion of Consolidated Rail Corporation's Abandoned Ithaca Branch at Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York: The City of Ithaca has declined to express an interest in the assigned area. We have forwarded a total of five.-(5) letters to the Village Attorney, Mr. Paul N. Tavelli , beginning on Pla26'1983;-and ending on October 10, 1983. We have had no response and must conclude by their inaction that the City of Ithaca has no interest in this parcel . We, therefore, request the Assignment be rescinded and a Release be issued for the property. Accordingly, we have attached hereto a recordable description of the parcel . Please furnish us with an" executed copy of the Release and include the Book and Page of the recording to complete our records. Very truly yours, R bert i7Rycn Manager-ReaY Estate SEH/mh Attachment CONS000ATED PAIL CORPOFW;0N CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION Suite 204 Madison Towers y,�... 60 Presidential Plaza t e - -:. Syracuse, New York 13202 ` (315) 432-5872 _ ::.�. .,, - ... ROBERT W.RYAN Manager•Real Estate REAL ESTATE DIV. JAN 1 91984 January 17, 1984 File: Ithaca, New York —DI q-- ADMIN.-- I — ADMIN. - I _— PiOrf3T. Mr. J. E. Collison, Director -A':G, sA� i I NEGO Real Estate Division PRO s�;v-i-_ t New York State —1 Department of Transportation 1220 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12232 Dear Mr. Collison: Referring to letter. dated December 9, 1983, concerning the Assignment of Preferential Right covering Consolidated Rail Corporation;s Abandoned Ithaca Branch in Ithaca, New York: To date, I have not received the Release and wish to know if any further information is needed to progress this matter. Please advise. Very truly yours , Robert 41. Ry n~' Manager-Rear Estate SEN/mh CCiN 0 1DAifr K::! CORPORATION s GNIF y 'd CITY OF ITHACA 106 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14950 OFFICE OF TELEPHONE: 272-1713 PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT CODE 607 w MEMO TO: Corporate Counsel FROM: Jon Meigs, Planning and Develogmen SUB: Conrail R.O.W. - S. Hill/EMF DATE: February 23, 1984 REQ': Your mono of 7 February, et. seq. Thanks for rescuing this! As you've probably gleaned from the Atty's records, it was intended that this r.o.w. agreement be resolved by now, so EMF would have what they want and the City have its rights of access, maintenance and construction, etc. I believe Don Kinsella ]maws the specifics of what we want better than I, but generally we (Kinsella, Mr. Kimple of EMF, and I) had reached consensus that the City's needs seemed compatible with EMF's. I think we then referred it to respective attorneys to set to words; the de- tails of our needs to be suppled by Don and/or the City Engineer. For my part, I cede to then the determination as to whether we should retain access rights to the entire parcel, or just a strip 'x' feet wide the length of the southeast side, along the City Line. The difficulty with being precise is that we have no design for the (sub) surface and on-grade improvements we hope eventually to make within the full Conrail r.o.w. , i.e. storm drainage, a bike/hike trail, and possibly others. These would be done in conjunction with the Town at sane date hopefully not too distant; because of the physical constraints in this stretch, we'd obviously need to have access over EMF at times. As far as the action requested by DoT's Collison, then, if our agree- ment with EMF can be finalized in short order, the City could sign off on a release - or we could simply let it lapse, though for the purpose.f of the City-town project, we should consamlate:an 4greew t with EMF. This matter raises some related issues in which your office will probably need to be involved at some point. As you must know, this bike/hike _t "An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" Memo to Corporate Counsel From J. Meigs, 2/23/84 page 2. trail etc. is part of a grand scheme for which City, Town and Finger Lakes State Parks have entered a tripartite agreement, primarily for the purpose._ of developing that recreational feature. That agreement specifies that the City will do two major things: 1. Acquire permission for the bikeway to be built along the Flood Channel easement in the City from private owners, arra 2. Work with the Town toward extending the trail on the r.r. grade from Buttermilk to S. Aurora St., which will involve negotiating on r.o.w. with Norse Industrial, which earlier bought the section east of Stone Quarry Rd. Item 1. is most pressing; Parks is working on the bikeway design, and wants to begin construction as soon as possible. Your suggestion on the most efficient way to set these agreements up would be apprec- iated. Perhaps a dozen private properties, and half as many owners, are involved. It might be possible to draft a form agreement, clear it with Parks, and then contact owners, though this may be too naive an approach: there may be some situations that would necessitate drafting separate agreements. It is Finger Lakes' suggestion that these agreements be worded so that the owners understand that a bike- way will be built and maintained for public access across this proper- ty; Parks will then build it, in accordance with the tripartite agree- ment, and will maintain its major engineering features (bridges and culverts) , but City and Town will be responsible for regular main- tenance, cleaning and policing of the portions within their jurisdictions. There may be some resistance to the bike path by one or two of the owners on general grounds; one in. particular who actively uses his frontage on the Flood Channel. I don't know what the Flood Channel easement may say about the rights of owners to use of their property vs. keeping it clear for maintenance of the Channel, but it's my understanding that the Corps of Engineers, as holder of the easement, will be consulted by Parks to insure that the plans are acceptable. The City, as one property owner, may need to assure the Corps that it has no objection to the proposed project. I realize that this memo may take for granted a degree of familiarity with these matters which you may not have, as well as calling on you for more assistance than you had programmed in this regard, but as you can see there's more to it than just the Conrail request. '-Please let me know if you have questions or want to discuss it. JMC:aph enc. cc: Ald. Hoffman Mayor SUBJECT: Evaporated Metal Film/Conrail R.O.W. DATE: Narch 28, 1983 Met with Dan Kinsella and Floyd Kimple, of EMF, at EMF's plant to review status of IOW's purchase of a section of the r.o,w. , and discuss possibil- ities of reaching an agreement on use and development of the r.ow. for bikeway and public works purposes. Mr. Kipple expressed his feeling that there should be no obstacle to municipal access across their section of the r.o.w. in connection with construction of facilities for drainage and bike path, and their subsequent maintenance. Mr. Kinsella explained that the drainage project, which hasn't been designed, could involve a buried pipe as large as 8' diameter; and that it was not likely to be under construction until 1985 or 86 at the earliest. Mr. Kimple explained that the space was needed for employee parking: the firm has increased its payroll by around 30 employees in the last twenty years, to about 50-53. The growth of business has also brought plant expansion, but any future additions will likely be to the north, where EMF has acquired the adjacent residential property (though its current zoning would not permit any use by EMF). From the survey shown us by Mr. Kimple, apparently the section of r.o.w. acquired extends past the easternmost corner of their plant property some 224' for a total parcel length of 400' . This was not explained by Mr. Kimple. However, since the toe of the uphill(cut) slope, on the S/SE side of the r.o.w. , is only roughly 6-8'from the rail on that side, this would mean that absent an agreement with EMF, the drainage and bicycle facilities will be restricted to that narrow stretch (plus A ft. to the center of the tracks). I suggested that some quid pro guo for the right of access over EMF's portion of the r.ow. (which Mr. Kimple indicated may not have been fully recorded; and Mr. Kinsella commented that the irregularity in the procedure through which it was sold to EMF might be subject to challenge, though he didn't see any point to doing so) might be in re-grading the r.o.w. to suit EMF's parking area needs, as the salvage of the rails is accomplished. This salvage is being contemplated by NYS Parks, which presumably should make an agreement with EMF for this purpose. Mr. Kinsella indicated he would contact Dick English, NYSDOT, who requested the city's reaction to the EMF situation , and also to the matter of whether or not the bridge abutments at the Elmira Road crossing should remain. 4/5/83 JM:bg r' w .�_ v