Onondaga County democrats continue to question the suitability of land earmarked for construction of an aquarium in Syracuse’s Inner Harbor. The issue bubbled up at the most recent legislature meeting.
Democrat Bill Kinne, who is running for county executive against incumbent Ryan McMahon, stood up at the end of this week's meeting, waving a letter from the DEC to Onondaga County. He said the letter should have been shared with lawmakers before they voted on buying land for the controversial project. It listed more than a dozen questions for the county on the project, regarding an application for a permit to begin work on the $85 million project.
Kinne sparred with County Attorney Ben Yaus who said the questions in the June 30 letter, were a matter of paperwork.
"It is a routine discussion, and anybody in any industry, any municipality, who works in this context is well aware of an NOIA," Yaus said.
"You may be right Mr. Yaus, but I have two issues with this," Kinne said. "One is transparency, why weren’t we notified about it before, and two it seems to me we have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers as well, and until these things are cleared up, we shouldn’t have voted on this land sale."
But lawmakers last month already approved the $1.7 million dollar sale of the property, by a 9-8 vote. Most of the Democratic minority voted no. Legislature chairman Jim Rowley calls Kinne’s tactic "political" and said the state is comfortable with the site, working with county consultants who have field tested the land and determined it is safe for an aquarium.
"This is a perfectly acceptable site," Rowley said. "I know your side of the aisle is trying to make a mountain out of molehill."
Building an aquarium with $85 million the county has banked from pandemic-era budget surpluses, has been controversial from the start. Opponents have suggested the money should be spent on programs to reduce poverty. Supporters say it will boost tourism, and revitalize an area that used to be called "oil city," because of the dozens of oil tanks that dotted the neighborhood, but have since been removed.
McMahon, who is running for re-election, has said it could take up to 18 months to build the fresh and saltwater aquarium, which would be an extension of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo.
