Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Jonathan Anna said during last week's Legislature meeting that additional asbestos have been found in the basement of the county office building.
That's just the latest in a long series of problems at the building, which has been allowed to continue to fall apart because elected officials have failed to address the need to do something about it.
The deficiencies of the 1966 building at 160 Genesee St. are many, and some have been known for more than a decade. But the closest the county has come to taking action was in 2022, when its choices were narrowed down to raising a new building, buying another one or renovating the current one to better suit the needs of the county workforce and the public it serves.
At that time, legislators were presented with a renovation plan that was estimated to cost about $35 million. In 2024, a different firm recommended a plan that would cost more than $52 million.Â
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It's been no secret that the longer the county waits to act on the building, the more costly the plan becomes. Throw in the need to remediate its asbestos, and the cost rises even higher.
Meanwhile, the building has sat empty for almost exactly one year now, as the county spends a fortune housing its departments in far-flung locations.
Anna is accepting ownership of the mess, but to point the finger at him would be unfair. Several Legislature chairs have inherited this problem over the years, and it's gotten increasingly difficult for them to juggle on a day-to-day basis. But in the end, regardless of how many studies are commissioned and proposals recommended, any plan for the building will require legislative approval.Â
Instead, past Legislatures have continued to punt on the problem. At this point, it's becoming unforgivable that our elected representatives just don't seem to have the appetite to try and solve it. The public is waiting for them to speak up and take action, and until they do, we have every right to be concerned that we're being left in the dark like much of the building currently is.
We believe the Legislature should be making the office building a priority. Its members need to develop a plan for its future — and keep the public up to date on its progress.
