A member of the public told the Tompkins County Legislature on Aug. 19 that photographs and a recent Ithaca Voice article show unsanitary and dangerous conditions at the Asteri shelter and asked the legislature to determine how much taxpayer-funded emergency response and services the facility has required since it opened.

The speaker (identified in the meeting transcript as a resident) said the photos they submitted show human and animal waste, syringes and trash. They asked the legislature for an accounting of the costs borne by taxpayers for first responders and other county services responding to incidents at the Asteri, and requested the legislature investigate how many people have died at the facility since it opened and whether the project is providing a return on public investment, including whether a tax abatement offered by the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) should be rescinded or modified.

After the public comment period, the chair of the legislature addressed the concern directly and clarified that Tompkins County "does not have any financial stake in Asteri in any way. We have no oversight over Asteri. No connection at all," the chair said. The chair's clarification was made on the legislative record to ensure residents were not left with the impression that county government manages or funds the facility.

The resident's remarks asked for specific counts and cost estimates; county staff present did not provide numbers during the public comment period. The speaker cited the Ithaca Voice reporting and photographs and asked that the legislature obtain figures for sheriff, code enforcement, firefighters, police and EMT manpower hours spent responding to incidents at the site.

No formal motion or vote followed public comment on this topic; the chair's on-the-record statement was the only formal action by the legislature recorded that night regarding the Asteri facility.