Grains of Salt (v18): Audits and Snowballs

Season's Greetings to one and all from Syracuse - the Salt City, the heart of Onondaga County -  where we know how to throw a snowball, a retirement incentive, and a great legislative meeting, I tell ya.

The snowball thing, that's obvious. I mean, we are the usual favorite to win the Golden Snowball trophy.

That retirement incentive, well, that's pretty obvious, too.

It doesn't seem possible it was all the way back in October that we first learned that the Onondaga County Legislature had somehow managed to include elected officials in the retirement incentive program designed to nudge a whole bunch of people into premature retirement to avoid as many as several hundred layoffs.

Our longest-serving county legislator, Kathy Rapp, announced she was retiring, with the incentive, a nice $10,000 of taxpayer money designed to save money, but that will actually cost us money, as we pay her the incentive and also pay her replacement, who will be appointed by OnJoanie Mahoney, our County Executive.

Rapp's last day was yesterday; she had a nice sendoff, got a plaque, and had the opportunity to give us some parting thoughts. She noted that "politics" is driving her out after 18 years. She liked the work, she said, but lamented that "trying to be right instead of doing what's best" seems to take precedence these days -- and the personalities, that too.

I wish her well in retirement, and hope she enjoys her two grandbabies. And I also just wish she hadn't taken the money. Because contrary to popular opinion, a politician is not obligated to take advantage of every opportunity that falls in their lap, any more than they're obligated to say, take LLC money if they think it's wrong that they're able to do so (our Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo) or to use campaign funds to buy steaks for people (DA-for-life Bill Fitzpatrick).

But she was right about the personalities, for sure, Which gets us to the throwing a legislative meeting I mentioned at the top of the post.

At a legislative meeting Friday, representatives from a pair of feuding county office showed just how hard it is to be in the same room with one another. What began as a presentation of financial data devolved into a shouting match during the meeting, belying long-simmer tensions between the county executive and the comptroller. 

Yes, the executive, the one who pretty much told us if we didn't like her ramming through her pay raise, we could vote her out.  And the comptroller, who filed a lawsuit over the raise. He won a procedural thing regarding the raise for the legislature, but lost the fight on Mahoney's own raise. It's been all down hill for a while now.

We all know how personally OnJoanie takes everything related to the Lakeview Amp, her pet project. Not a lot of people thought a seasonal concert venue, with several similarly sized competing venues up and down the Thruway, was a good idea for $50M in economic development funds  - but we were promised that it would work out. The first full year only making $150K seems a little low, but if the sales tax revenue and hotel room usage we heard about is true, we might do OK with it.

Is the comptroller wrong to question the finances of the Amp? Nope. Actually, he's right to ask where we might find the money owed to the county by the state for the 2015 Miranda Lambert concert, and where we might find the reports the county was supposed to have filed this year, per the legislature's request, or for a copy of the promoter's concert. Presumably he's asking for these in his official capacity as comptroller and guardian of county taxpayer dollars.

Could he find a better way to go about his mission to get, and audit, Amp financial activities? Sure thing. For one, there's that old adage about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar -- and Antonacci was practically spitting vinegar yesterday.

Maybe instead of doing that, he could challenge Mahoney to a snowball fight.

Wondering, on Wednesday (v28)

Have you heard the news coming from the New York State Fair?  

We’re learning from officials that somewhere around 20 offers had been put out for Grandstand acts for the 12-day run of the Fair this fall, and only one – country star Eric Church – has been booked. According to the Fair people, there are two reasons we’re having a problem: the short run of the Fair, and the high cost of acts that are on the road. The threat is that there may be only one Grandstand performer this year, which would hurt the fair almost as much as booking acts that only draw a couple thousand people at the 17,000 seat venue.  (Carly Rae Jepson, anyone?) 

I'm wondering, on this Wednesday, how this news impacts plans for the OnPhitheater being built across the street from the Fairgrounds, which has a commitment to hold a concert during the Fair this year, and which will replace the Grandstand going forward. Remember, we were originally told that the OnPhitheater would complement but not replace the Grandstand, and as we all suspected, it is of course going to be the pay-for concert venue for the Fair.

And unless someone's thinking about extending the Fair beyond the traditional 12 days, won’t we have the same problem going forward? And does anyone think prices will be going down anytime soon, particularly when the OnPhitheater will be in competition with other upstate outdoor venues and casinos, making it a musician's market not a venue market? 

Here's one more thing I'm wondering about. Remember the big darn deal that was made when it was announced that Billy Joel would be playing his 400th show at the Carrier Dome? Wasn't it the same promoter who announced at the same time that Buffalo would be getting multiple Garth Brooks shows? And even more Garth shows were added based on ticket sales? Is there something we're missing here? 

Speaking of missing things, I hope you caught the news from the Upstate Freshwater Institute and that we can safely swim at the north end of Onondaga Lake? It's true, they say: the water is clear enough, and the bacteria levels are low enough, for swimming.  We're still not able to eat the fish, but as far as taking a dip, we're good.

And so now County Executive Joanie Mahoney is thinking we could have a study to see about building a beach up at the Liverpool end of the lake. Are you wondering, like I am, how long it will take before we'll have another JoAndrew bus tour, where Mahoney and our Sonofa Governor can get all of the old  Onondaga Lake plans dusted off? Maybe we'll see another pile of taxpayer dollars dropped into the area?

I mean, our Garth-loving friends have the Buffalo Billion, we might as well have OnMillions, right? 

20 Questions, 20 Answers

Today's Post Standard editorial, It's Time to Play 20 Questions, is an open invitation for all of us to have a little fun.  It doesn't matter whether you're happy and optimistic, or a miserable, cynical skeptic; as a city resident, county resident or even an out-of-towner, you can chime in. Full disclaimer: in general I resemble at least few of those categories above: I'll admit to being an optimistic if skeptical city resident, at the very least. Answering the questions might put me in some different buckets, we'll see.

Here goes:
1. Is $17,000 to keep the bathrooms clean at the New York State Fair really an excessive expenditure when you figure in the number of bathrooms (about 40), the length of the Fair (12 days) and the loudness of the complaints when the bathrooms are disgusting and run out of toilet paper?

If you've ever been in one of the Fair bathrooms, you'll know that this is money well spent. Those 40 bathrooms have a potential customer base of between 50,000 and 100,000 users per day, and it's worth it to have someone supervise the people hired to clean them. And no, I'm not interested, at any price. 

2. Is Onondaga County government just being super-efficient -- kind of like the private sector -- in its super-speedy review of plans to build an amphitheater on the west shore of Onondaga Lake?

I have to admit, it was hard not to chuckle at the comments from Legislature Chair Ryan McMahon who noted that "This is the first time in my nine years in government, people have been criticized for moving too fast in government."  Apparently he's forgotten about the stadium project, which Onondaga County tried to get shoehorned into the Governor's budget without including Stephanie Miner?  

I would love to see the square wooden wheels of government turn more quickly, on several things -- most notably reform, consolidation and spending -- but when you're talking about $30 million taxpayer dollars to build a seasonal amphitheater on top of decades-old waste beds, in the backyard of the snowiest major city in the Northeast, is time really of the essence?

3. Or is Onondaga County Government trying to ram the project through while nobody's looking?

Yes. And not for nothing, I'm as interested in the comments from concert promoters as I am in the environmental impact statement.  "If you build it, they will come" might have worked in an Iowa cornfield, but I'm not convinced that it will work here, given all of the other entertainment venues that are available within an easy drive.

4.  Why hasn't Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said anything about the implosion of the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, whose members he deputized as special prosecutors?

Um, because he's as culpable in the failure of the Moreland Commission as our Sonuva Governor? Do you think he realizes that he dropped the ball, by not "talking to people" on the Commission, by not making suggestions to and meeting with the commissioners, including our own DA-for-Life William Fitzpatrick?  Or is it because he'll do just about anything to stay away from Cuomo at this point, since the two have long had a fractious relationship?

5.  What will the Syracuse University student -- the one who helped design an app to warn Israelis when rockets are about to fall on their heads -- come up with next?

Maybe he can warn us when the drones referenced in #13 are about to fly over our heads? 

6.  Why hasn't anyone built a glass-enclosed party palace in downtown Syracuse before now?

Lack of vision and lack of downtown momentum. Glad we've overcome both!

7.  Where are the Syracuse Chiefs fans -- considering the team is in the thick of a playoff picture, there's a ton of fun off the field and they're giving away a funeral this coming Wednesday, August 13th?

I'm still not convinced on that whole funeral give-away. That said, I haven't been to a Chiefs game since Josh Beckett did a rehab start for the Pawtucket Red Sox. I found my pictures from that night and guess what? There were about as many empty seats as filled seats, even for Beckett.

Now, had you asked me when that game was, I would have guessed a generic 'couple of years ago' --  but in fact, it was in July of 2010.  I had no idea it was that long ago.

I'm not a Chiefs fan, but what the heck's wrong with me that I haven't been to a game in more than four years?  That's a question most of us should ask ourselves.

8. Why is it taking so long to reconstruct West Fayette Street downtown?

The answer is 42. 

9.  Will Syracuse University get more applicants, now that it's been anointed the No. 1 party school in the nation?

Perhaps the better question is, how many folks will leave after the first semester when they realize that the ranking is unwarranted? And will they transfer to LeMoyne "we may be Jesuit but..." College, where at least they have Dolphy Day?

10.  Did President Barack Obama really think he could avoid being dragged back into Iraq?

Maybe he thought he'd be impeached first and wouldn't have to deal with it? On a more serious note, do we always have to go where others fear (or fail) to tread? Must we always be the world's police? Is our manifest destiny to continually try and secure the destiny of others? And how do we sit back and watch our ally Israel cause similar damage against Hamas in Gaza killing hundreds of innocent men, women and children in the process, at the same time we bomb others who cause the same carnage, albeit for different reasons?  Maybe 42 is the answer here as well. 

11. When is a political endorsement from a union not a political endorsement from a union? (Ask Dan Maffei and John Katko).

His uncle and my aunt were hanging up clothes. My union folded, it joined one of those. They support the other guy, so I had nowhere to go, but to throw my support to Cousin Katko. Or something like that, if Timothy Hogan spoke in verse.  

12. What is it with professional athletes and domestic violence?

From the time they're in junior high school, or even earlier, when they get discovered in Pop Warner or AAU leagues, promising athletes become a prized commodity; they're told they're special, and many are given special treatment, as soon as it's possible for someone to do so. Whether having female 'escorts' (wink wink) to them when they're college recruits, or not having to go to class, take tests or write papers, or being excused for sexual assault as high schoolers, or free clothes and all the rest, we show and tell athletes that they're special and all the rest of us are throw-aways, just like an old pair of free sneakers. Sadly, many of them learn that lesson more readily than all of the other critical life lessons that are right in front of them. 

And no, I'm not excusing the athletes' behavior, I'm complaining about the enablers, the ones who sweep bad behavior under the rug to make sure that (enter athlete's name) gets to play on (enter day of the week) in the big game against (enter key rival's name).  

And about league commissioners who put a higher price on smoking pot than on hitting a woman and then dragging her from an elevator.  

13.  With drones poised to start flying over Central New York, how soon before the fist invasion of privacy lawsuit is filed?

As soon as soybeans, corn, and wheat achieve personhood, or corporation-hood, and obtain free speech rights.

14.  Why can't Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand fly coach like the rest of us?

Good lord, is Chuck 'Touchdown' Schumer wearing those crazy astronaut diapers on his trips around the state?  He pays almost $300,000 to fly around on a plane that doesn't even have a bathroom? 

15.  Would it really be unethical to give experimental drugs to people dying of Ebola?

Ethical questions are supposed to be tough, and to me this one is. Would it be right to experiment on third-world people with the experimental drug, which might not even work? If it's wrong for us to have done that over the years with prisoners,blacks, mentally ill and the poor,how can it be right to do it now? And is it even necessary to do that, since traditional methods, if employed effectively, work effectively?  I think I'm on the 'yes' side of this one. I think.

16.  Can you believe it's football season already?

No. I sure hope my 49er's are ready. And I can't wait for us to get rolling with Scott Shafer press conferences after SU games.

17.  Who will be the next USA Basketball player to quit, after that gruesome injury to Paul George?

Can't say who will be next, don't know enough about it. But if the pros are afraid to play for fear they'll get hurt, perhaps with a career-ending injury, that leaves college kids. If they get afraid of maybe getting hurt before their NBA careers even start, will the USA be left fielding teams of walk-ons and high-school kids against the pros who compete with us (on our favorite teams) during the season and against us in international play? That would stink. 

18. Would today's hyper-partisan Congress have impeached Richard Nixon?

I can't imagine that they would have. Nor, if he was President now, that Nixon would resign. Back then, doing something for the good of the country meant something. Now, not so much. 

19.  Will we ever come to a consensus on Interstate 81?

I'm afraid our conversation will reach the end of its useful life about the same time the highway does.  At the same time, though, I'm glad that voices are being heard and that DOT is listening.  (Ryan McMahon, pay attention...)

20.  The State Fair is almost here.  Where did summer go?

A good portion of it went (as always) to work, weeding, and writing.  This year, we have to add in widing our bikes and dodging waindwops.

How would you have answered the questions? Share your responses in the comments.

Hell Hath No Fury... (Part 2)

...like an economic development project scorned.

In Part 1, I talked about Joanie Mahoney's response (referred to as "fire-breathing" by the local paper) to SU professor David Rubin's commentary on how economic development dollars are being shared with Buffalo, Albany, and Syracuse. Rubin included a sharp rebuke to our Sonova Governor, Mahoney, and several Syracuse Common Councilors about the wisdom of the stadium project and/or  the Onondaga Lakefront development plans.

The second person to chime in on Rubin's column was Minch Lewis, our former City Auditor, who rose to the defense of Mahoney, the stadium plan, and the difficulty of doing economic development.

First, on Rubin's criticism of the stadium plan:

...Rubin refers to economic development from stadiums as "mindless pieties." He claims that there is evidence that economic benefits do not flow from stadium development. There are several studies related to public funding for sports facilities.They are concerned with financing for professional sports. But they do not apply to Syracuse where the goal is to support a nationally recognized collegiate athletic program. 

Notice anything? While faulting Rubin for using the 'wrong' studies, Lewis presents no 'right' studies supporting public funding for nationally recognized collegiate athletic programs. Absent any facts to the contrary, wouldn't the studies Rubin references be the current data on which our analysis should be based?

Here's the conclusion from one study I found after a quick search; to Lewis's point, it's not specific to college stadiums, but

There is little evidence of large increases in income or employment associated with the introduction of professional sports or the construction of new stadiums.

Rubin further noted that "it won't take long" to assess the value of the stadium project, pointing out that increased ticket prices for the same number of events played by the same two teams that currently play in the Carrier Dome is not really economic development.

Lewis counters with

In actuality, it would take a long time and is beyond Rubin's and my expertise. Such an evaluation would involve many inter-related economic factors. Simplifying it to "25 events" and an "increased in ticket and concession prices" is a disservice to the community dialogue. 

Again, are we to ignore what's happened on the North Side since the stadium was built?  The Regional Market is booming but NOT during ballgame hours, and NOT because of the stadium. The mall is doing well, but NOT because of the stadium. The community was promised use of the stadium for a number of days a year, for instance for concerts -- and THAT hasn't happened either. No hotels, no restaurants, no cool housing or funky retail, all the promised development and growth from that project? THAT hasn't happened either.

Maybe being downtown would make a difference and give us the opportunity to benefit from all of the spin-off development. That's what everyone thought all those years ago when the Chiefs stadium was discussed and the decision not to build downtown was made.

Maybe COR Development, who is already supposed to be turning the Kennedy Square area in to a mixed-use development in cooperation with SUNY Upstate, really would have built the other stuff that was to go along with the new project. There certainly hasn't been much of anything going on in that area since the announcement of the partnership with Upstate in December 2011.

Upstate and COR do not have specific plans for the site yet, nor a firm estimate of what it will cost to redevelop it...an office building will probably the first project built within the next two years. That would allow Upstate to reduce the amount of office space it leases.  (Dr. David) Smith said he expects the redevelopment to be paid for almost entirely with private funding.  The project will pay property taxes.

Ah - there's the rub.  Private funding and property taxes -- two things that are anathema to developers. Maybe COR will come forward and ask for public money and actually get something moving on that site now?

The second report I found on stadium development offers up a very nice summary of what the pro-funding and anti-funding sides claim about this type of project, and concludes with these cautions:

In negotiating whether or not to subsidize construction of a new stadium, it is important to consider whether or not the proposed stadium is sited and designed in a fashion that integrates the interest of the team, the neighbors, and the city at large. It is also important to ask whether or not this facility might be able to share in some of the infrastructure costs that the city might be ready to spend on projects, and how expenditures on stadium subsidies might integrate with other public interests. With these issues properly addressed, one will be better equipped at deciding whether or not subsidizing sports stadium construction in your locale fits within the greater interests of the constituents at play. 

I get the sense from everything I've read on the proposed deal that the conversations that did occur did not seem to include all of the "constituents at play." Certainly, not bringing in Mayor Stephanie Miner until the conversations were at least fairly well along seems ill-advised from a consensus-building perspective, if not politically incorrect. As I noted previously, I wonder how Joanie Mahoney would have felt had her neighbors all gotten together with a plan to re-landscape her backyard, without engaging her in the discussion.

 If you read this column by Sean Kirst from last June (perhaps he knew more than he let on at the time), you'll see he recommends bringing all of the constituents together, by way of a civic arena panel, to start a long-term discussion on how to more forward. Rubin pointed out that this didn't happen, and he was right.

Lewis went on to blast Rubin for exposing our region's truth: we have infrastructure issues, we have a struggling arts community, we have a number of facilities in need of repair already in our inventory.

Here's Lewis:

Further, statements about the deficiencies of our community's facilities are not smart marketing if we are trying to compete for more external business. The venues that Rubin refers to were state-of-the-art in their design. Along with Symphoria and all our cultural programs, they need additional resources. And state funding should be pursued. But the funds that would support the stadium or concern pavilion would come from a different source . Both should be pursued, not one at the expense of the other. (emphasis added)

Three comments on this:

1. When did it become wrong for citizens to speak openly about our issues? Is that something that only politicians, former politicians or reporters can do?  Are we taxpayers not allowed to comment on the good, the bad and the ugly?
2. Is 'smart marketing' pretending that the customers we're talking to are not paying attention? That they can't read? There's nothing that Rubin put forward that hasn't been said already, many times, by many people, including our own elected officials. 
3. All government funding comes from the same source - taxpayer dollars. You can call them fees, or taxes, or surcharges, or tolls, or special assessments - but they're dollars that people and businesses pay. What bucket they come out of once they get to Albany or Washington doesn't really matter - the 'source' is still us. And we need elected officials, at every level, to be reasonable when spending them. Sometimes that means investing in old things instead of new; sometimes it'll go the other way.

Minch Lewis is a strong supporter of our region - that's clear based on his many contributions to the dialogue  over time. But he's also pointed out Syracuse's economic woes  and those of our regional economy in print.  Is David Rubin not allowed the same privilege?

Here are the final thoughts from our former City Auditor:

In conclusion, there are two lessons in this exercise. The first is that economic development is an extremely difficult task...many economic development projects have been funded in our area. But we still need more... In pursuing those resources our community's dedicated economic development specialists are facing the competitive challenges from other regions that have the same needs we do. Their efforts should be celebrated. Secondly, the community dialogue should be solidly rooted in analysis that is balanced and accurate. Then decisions that determine our future can be made through our official procedures and elected representatives. 

He's right. Economic development is hard, and we are all competing against each other, and we have gotten some projects, and we need to pursue more of them that will promote increased tax revenue (property tax or sales tax), encourage people to live and raise families here, and truly generate or enable additional economic development.

While it certainly bears noting that Mahoney and her team bounced back with the plans for opening up development on the west side of Onondaga Lake, now it will be up to a different set of elected officials - the ones in Albany, not the ones sitting in downtown Syracuse -- to put the proposal through our official procedures and reach a decision on  whether the funding will be approved.

One can only hope that their analysis will be balanced and accurate, and that they at least support those parts of the Onondaga Lake plan that offer the best opportunity for our future:  the $20 million for infrastructure improvements, $2 million for demolishing blighted properties, $1.8 million for road improvements, and the money for waste water treatment. Those are things that will make that part of the county ripe for development in ways that a seasonal amphitheater and water taxis can't.

Onondaga Lake: All Our Old Ideas are New Again

D. Lassman/syracuse.com photo

Is your head still spinning from the Sonofa Governor Bus Tour through Solvay and Geddes last week?

Do you wonder what on earth is going on with plans for 'economic development' in the CNY area,  now that Andrew Cuomo and Joanie Mahoney are BFFs, or at least BFFAW (best friends for a while)?

I can assure you I'm afflicted by both the spinning and the wondering. I mean, how do we go from a half-a-billion downtown stadium project to a tenth-of-a-billion outside-the-city lakefront development project so quickly?

To a certain extent, it's because JoAndrew (like Brangelina, get it?) are people of vision, who are not afraid of bold ideas, and who like to work quickly. And we've learned they also share an affinity of talking first to the people who they're sure will agree with them (or can be cajoled into agreeing with them), and sometime after that, talking to other people must of us would to be key stakeholders.

You know, like Andrew did getting the SAFE Act pushed through (with many perfectly acceptable provisions, I might add), but without the support of most law enforcement officials in the state, or many of the politicians who are charged with being the voice for their constituents. And like Joanie almost did when she tried to put a huge project in Stephanie Miner's backyard without talking to her about it.

I remain supportive of the mayor's position that anything worth doing is worth doing right -- and I believe that's true for the lake project as well.

Here's what JoAndrew have proposed:

• $50 million for a 17,000 seat amphitheater overlooking the lake
• $20 million to develop 'future business sites', including brownfield cleanup
• $10 million for senior housing and encouragement of other housing in Solvay
• $14 million ($7 million each) for improvements to Bridge Street and 'main street' work in Solvay
• $3 million to complete the mixed-use trail around the lake
• $1.8 million for roadwork at Milton Ave and Bridge Street, and street-scaping on Cogswell Ave
• $1 million grant money for new business development in a targeted area

There's also some money for water taxis to go from the Inner Harbor to the newly developed area. Those would likely see use quickly, assuming someone jumps at the chance, because Mahoney believes the amphitheater will completed in the fall of 2015 (apparently after the summer concert season, and assuming no delays).

The county is already on board for $500,000 for studying the plan, coming up with a design contest or something, and for $2.5M in annual contributions from our anticipated gambling deliverance (another deal done the Cuomo way, vis a vis the negotiations with New York's casino-owning Indian tribes.) And Cuomo included $30 million of the total plan in his 2014 budget, part of over $5B in borrowing he's proposing.

I haven't seen anything on who will manage the amphitheater, and think it's more than a bit murky as to how this will impact the State Fair across the street, and it's 17,000-seat, grossly-underused and poorly-managed grandstand. Here's Cuomo on that question; it'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

I don't know if it will replace the Grandstand. But this project, the amphitheater component of it, will no doubt enhance the State Fair. And it'll be another venue for the State Fair and it'll make the State Fair much more competitive on entertainment events.

Uh huh.

So, how do these plans stack up against some of the other stuff that was dreamed up in the past? Well, back in November 2012, there was a fantastic article written by Paul Riede that recapped some of the ideas that have been proposed over the years for Onondaga Lake.

And by "over the years" I mean going back to the 1920's, folks.  We've been at this a LONG time. Take a look:

• Bathing beaches, fishing and canoeing; horse trails; playing fields and crew races; an aerodrome and aviation school at Lakeview Point (proposed home of the amphitheater), and a seamless connection between the Fairgrounds and the lake, all of which would draw "thousands of Onondagans and hundreds of thousands of tourists". ~ Joseph A Griffin, chairman of the Boulevard-Parkway Committee, 1928.
• An 18-hole golf course, restaurant, and recreation area at Lakeview Point; an aquatic stadium and theater (for watching sports and other events)' a botanical garden; parade grounds; baseball and football fields, and more development on the north end, including beach, bathhouse, playing fields, etc. ~Madigan-Hyland engineering company report, 1952.
• A seasonal performing arts center (again at Lakeview Point), along with a floating natural history and environmental center, a water-sport training and activity center (capable of accommodating US Olympic teams!), and access to these venues by water taxi. ~Onondaga Lake Development Plan, a joint effort of the MDA Foundation, the State's Urban Development Corp., the county Industrial Development and the City of Syracuse, 1991.
• A 150,000 square foot expo center, complete with indoor waterfall; a hotel; a restaurant tower rising 400 feet above the lake (the OnTower, like the Oncenter?), and room for more cool stuff (waterpark, 'Agriworld', which I'm guessing is some sort of farming/amusement thing, and a rodeo), all predicated on getting rid of the wastebeds at, you guessed it, Lakeview Point, so that the Fairgrounds and lakefront could be better connected. ~Michael Nowak, late local architect, 2000. 
• Re-routing I-690 to the other side of the Fairgrounds, or depressing it (similar to I-81 on the north side) and using overpasses to connect the Fairgrounds to the lake, making room for parks, a hotel and  restaurant, and a year-round mini-amusement and theme park.~ Syracuse Waterfront Revitalization Plan, 2000.
• A world-class 18-hole golf course on the southern shore of the lake. ~Bob Congel, Syracuse developer and master of the economic development money game,  2002.
• Hotel, theme restaurants, marina, parking and office buildings on Lakeview Point; offices in the Harbor Brook area (also on the west side of the lake) and a wind farm and vineyard on some of the other wastebeds. ~O'Brien & Gere, 2005. 
• A $450M giant hotel -- 640 feet tall, over 1,300 rooms - designed to be the tallest building outside of New York City. ~Congel again, in 2007. 
• A 600-foot wide strip of land across the lake at the southern end, with a shop- and restaurant-lined road down the center, which would form an area for fishing and boating piers; a 200-foot extension of the lake on the southeastern side for the loop trail and residential development, and a Haudenosaunee museum. ~David Ashley, retired founder of Ashley-McGraw Architects, 2012. 

I'm not sure about you, but does all this "extraordinary" and "visionary" stuff sound familiar? 

Onondaga Lake/sue drummond photo

Seems we have a consistent problem, going back three generations or so: we have lots of ideas (or, it appears, the same handful of ideas over and over again), but we apparently don't have the money (or the stomach) for bringing those ideas to fruition. 

We've had citizens' groups and governmental agencies individually or collectively, we've had private developers and heck, even private citizens come up with plans.  And yet... here we sit, bold ideas in hand, all these years later, even as the sun shines down on the projected area of development, as it did in my picture from New Year's Day 2012.

Will JoAndrew be successful, where so many have failed?  Stay tuned.