Legislature committee forwards amended downtown facilities placement plan after debate over Board of Elections location

The Tompkins County Facilities and Infrastructure Committee voted May 15 to forward to the full legislature an amended resolution that updates which county departments will be located in a proposed Center of Government building and reduces the project size estimate.

The resolution amends an earlier 2024 resolution (No. 2024-36) that identified departments intended for a new county building and reduces the earlier planning estimate from 55,000 square feet to 45,000 gross square feet for schematic design purposes. The consultant Holt (referred to in the meeting) completed a space-needs analysis that the committee used to recheck departmental fits.

Major changes included removing the Board of Elections from the list of departments proposed for the new building. Committee members said the Board of Elections requires large, ground-level machine storage and frequent in-and-out truck access; staff and Holt’s test fit showed that requirement was difficult to meet on the Center of Government first-floor layout. The resolution indicates the county-owned Human Services Annex (the existing one-story building on Hanshaw Road, referred to in the meeting) as a recommended location for Board of Elections storage and operations, pending further decisions. Committee members noted the Human Services Annex can accommodate the Board of Elections program needs and would consolidate machine storage under county ownership, but several legislators expressed concerns about moving election operations out of the central downtown footprint.

The plan also proposes placing Workforce Development into the first and second floors of the old jail building (a separate renovation project) rather than moving that department into the new Center of Government building. Committee members discussed parking, public access, and the possible absence of a basement in the new building; the Board of Elections had opposed proposals to store voting machines on an elevator or a basement level due to access and flooding concerns.

Members debated building form — including whether an atrium-style multi-floor public entrance was necessary — and possible long-term maintenance and heating costs. County staff said geothermal district options for the block are being explored and that the schematic design phase will examine energy, security, parking and accessibility issues. The committee noted $9 million had already been reserved in county capital for the project and that schematic design would inform more accurate cost estimates. The committee recorded one opposed vote and forwarded the amended resolution to the legislature for fuller discussion.

Committee members said schematic design and traffic/access studies will continue; staff will return with technical design details and refined cost estimates during the design phase and before any construction appropriation.