What Will the Lakefront Look Like in 10 Years? Ted Baker Asks the Bloggers

Our most recent interview on Finger Lakes Morning News focused on--what else?--lakefront development. Host Ted Baker led off with a discussion of a post that highlighted a new argument offered in support of Building 12. The argument was, in short, that lakefront condos were key to bringing college graduates back home to Geneva. Augustine repeated the theme of the post, that it is not a lack of housing--at least, not lakefront condos.--keeping people from returning, but rather a lack of jobs.

Capraro rightly pointed out that Geneva has a strong service industry, including education and tourism, that provides a core set of jobs for graduates. People taking those jobs shouldn’t be looking for a suburban enclave, and if the right housing were available, they’d likely prefer downtown. To that end, repopulating the downtown core and improving conditions in Geneva’s existing neighborhoods must take precedence over new construction on one of our best assets.

Ted then asked us to respond to resident Cynthia Hsu’s appearance on the show earlier in the week. He characterized Hsu as the voice of “the opposition,” but Capraro was quick to point out that she is a vocal advocate for public participation, and while the public may not agree on every point, there is consistent agreement amongst the public that their voices should be heard and taken into consideration. This, Capraro said, is indicative of a renewed sense of civic engagement locally, regionally, and even on the national level.

Augustine stated that, from Council’s perspective, public participation is both necessary but sometimes hard to take. When the public agrees with the direction things are going, everything’s wonderful. But in reality, people are more likely to speak up when they disagree with things. At that point, she said, it’s the responsibility of the Council to consider the ideas and arguments being presented without getting their hackles up about the way in which the ideas or arguments are being presented. A forthcoming post on trust and public participation will shed some more light on those ideas.

As he closed the interview, Ted asked us what we thought the lakefront would look like in 2015 or 2020, about 10 years down the road. Augustine responded that she hoped that a focus on downtown would have paid dividends by then, and Capraro emphasized that enhanced programming on the lakefront would mean seeing more people on the lakefront and coming from there into downtown (and vice versa). Some exciting prospects, and definitely possible so long as Geneva’s government and her people are moving in tandem towards that shared vision.

We are truly grateful for Ted Baker, WGVA (1240AM), and all the staff at the Finger Lakes Radio Group for continuing to allow us a forum to discuss these pressing issues. We know that Ted is doing his best to bring a fact-based point of view on a variety of public issues, and that he takes his role as a member of the press seriously as it relates to good governing. This interview is available for your listening pleasure in the NoStrings Radio Archive. We look forward to continuing the tradition in 2009!

If You Build It, They Will Come...Back?

The first of two public hearings for any amendments to the Master Plan was held earlier this month at the Geneva Middle/High School Auditorium. Due to an equipment malfunction on FLTV’s sound board, their recording turned out to be video-only, and therefore won’t be shown on Channel 12.

We continue to be impressed with the “public intelligence” displayed at these meetings where the comments from community members are often far more insightful than anything we hear from Council. But, just when we thought there was no one left who supported Building 12, a group has come forward asking Council to adopt the plan ‘as is’ (with Building 12 included) for the sake of Geneva’s children.

David Linger, a non-resident who lives in Liverpool, outside of Syracuse, but owns property in Geneva, highlighted his partner, Wendy Marsh, and her high school classmates as the kind of people that need to come back to live in Geneva.

He said something to the effect that no one on Council was taking into consideration the needs and interests of younger people, people who grew up in the area and would like to make it their home(s) permanently. Really? No one?

Actually, having grown up in Geneva and looking out for the interest of multi-generational locals, including family, seems to be the key to success on this Council and in this City. If anything it is 'outsiders', folks who weren’t born here, that aren't always considered. Virtually the entire Council was born and raised in Geneva and attended school here: D’Amico, Valentino, Cosentino, Greco, Alcock, and O'Malley. Hagerman and Augustine went to neighboring high schools, leaving only the Mayor as a true 'outsider.' We'd say the 'local perspective' is well-represented (in quantity).

Linger went on to say that condominiums on the lakefront were the kind of thing that would “draw people back” for more than just a short stay for a class reunion. A few more speakers joined Linger’s call to “think of the children” and build condos. that would “bring our kids back to live here.” Again, we ask, “Really?”

Could it really be the case that Geneva’s children, who go off to college and earn advanced degrees and settle in other areas would return in droves to repopulate the area--if only there were condos on the lakefront to accommodate them? We think not, and we’ll offer a few reasons of our own for our readers to consider and comment on.

Let’s just put the obvious out there: Geneva’s children aren’t leaving the area to chase condos., they’re leaving to chase down good jobs. Augustine’s no spring chicken (she’s already 31 for Heaven’s sake!) but it wasn’t that long ago that she was talking with her college friends about what they were all going to do after graduation. And Capraro is currently helping his two boys through this same decision-making process. There are basically two options: continue on with school for a Masters or Doctorate, or go to work. Many graduates take off from their college towns to bigger cities like Boston, Washington, Raleigh, Denver, or somewhere on the west coast. They are driven, not by the pursuit of a great condo., but by the search for a great job.

At some point, those college graduates will reach a point where they are thinking about ‘settling down’ and it is then that we believe Geneva--as it currently exists--is best poised to “bring them home.” Geneva is a great place to raise a family, to re-establish or to create some roots. Which brings us to our second point, people returning to Geneva with their families aren’t coming back to live in lakefront condos., they’re coming back to live in neighborhoods (see our previous post on that). Even the Bergmann representative, who made the initial unveiling of “Building #12” at the Ramada this summer, described the lakefront condo. market as ‘empty nesters.’

So, while it was interesting to hear this new take on the need to build lakefront condos., we don’t find it to be a very compelling argument. We appreciate David Linger and Wendy Marsh’s efforts to improve the downtown by purchasing and renovating key properties. We think those efforts will do a lot towards attracting new businesses and new residents to the area. But in the big picture, people who are concerned with creating a City that our children will either stay in, or return to, should follow our lead in calling for more progressive and dynamic economic development strategies and improved neighborhood conditions.

Bloggers to Discuss Reactions to Lakefront Post

Capraro and Augustine will be making their regularly scheduled radio appearance on Ted Baker's morning show this Friday, December 19th. While Ted doesn't give out the questions ahead of time, he's sure to take up the issues raised on an old lakefront post that has garnered the recent attention of community activists and the Mayor. Click here to read the post and their comments, and tune in to WGVA (1240AM) Friday morning.