Another session of the Onondaga County Legislature came and went Wednesday without a vote on the proposed $85 million aquarium. The agenda included the usual array of routine items, but the aquarium plan for the Inner Harbor was notably absent for a sixth month. Legislature chairman Jim Rowley says the county executive continues to answer questions from lawmakers and constituents, and hasn’t put it on the agenda.
"I think we're getting close to the period where questions are over. It would be up to the county executive to make the initiative to bring it back. When he's satisfied that everyone's questions are answered, I think he would bring it back."
For his part, Rowley says he’s trying to keep an open mind. He’d like it to come back to committee to get questions on the record. His lingering concern surrounds the projected number of visitors.
"I the documents that we had, they're estimating that on average, we're going to get 490,000 people to the aquarium every year. I sort of doubt that. I'm still trying to get my head around it. If you think about it in the context of a chip plant coming on board and new people coming to the community, I'd feel better about it."
The county has been trying to lure a microchip plant to the White Pine Commerce Park in Clay for years with no success. With the aquarium, Rowley says the county executive has indicated that any shortfall in attendance would be the responsibility of the management company that would be hired to run it. Rowley says that begs even more questions.
"If the people aren't there, and they're not getting the money, then at some point, we're ultimately going to bail it out, right? I'm not clear as to exactly how that will work. that will definitely be one of the questions I want to get answered."
Meanwhile, members of the legislature’s democratic caucus recently shared their ideas for how the $85 million could be better spent on families, including mental health services and lead paint abatement. Rowley doesn’t necessarily disagree. He just worries about the long-term when federal pandemic funding runs out.
"Providing services and then not having the money to carry them on indefinitely and having to pull back doesn't make sense either. Their proposals, while viable and legitimate, there's a happy medium to how much money we can spend going forward."
He worries school districts could find themselves in the same boat after hiring counselors and social workers.
