Post by Okwes on May 24, 2007 13:46:17 GMT -5
Cayugas buy more land on Cayuga Lake
By Amaris Elliott-Engel / The Citizen
The Cayuga Nation of New York finalized its purchase of more acreage in the Springport area with its closing this week on 21 lakeside acres that sit both in Springport and Union Springs.
The tribe will apply to the federal government to take the property into sovereign trust status as it has done in three prior applications regarding its 156 acres in both Cayuga and Seneca counties.
The Nation issued a press release Tuesday about the purchase of the six, $800,000 contiguous parcels because of past inquiries from the media inquiring why they did not disclose other purchases sooner, said Dan French, the attorney for Clint Halftown, the tribe's representative recognized by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Halftown deferred comment to French.
French said that the landmight make a “nice place” for residential housing for the tribal members or other mixed uses, but he said there are no immediate plans to develop the property.
“The Nation thinks there might come a moment to begin discussions with the counties” about how much land it seeks to own and what it seeks to do with the purchases, French said. The Nation has often called for in-depth discussions with local municipalities.
The property with 610 feet of Cayuga Lake frontage was last owned by Maurice E. Dowd, who died in 2004. It has been unoccupied since, according to the Cayugas.
Last fall, the Cayuga Nation purchased 27 acres in Union Springs on Route 90, including the dramatic Maier mansion with several gables. That acreage sits across from the tribe's gas station and convenience store, as well as more than 120 acres that run behind its businesses toward Cayuga Lake. The tribe is restoring this site to serve as its future business office.
The tribe also owns bingo halls on Route 90 in Union Springs and Route 89 in Seneca Falls that have been shut for several months as political winds changed following federal court decisions that threw out the tribe's 25-year land claim litigation.
Cayuga County Legislature Chairman George Fearon, R-Springport, could not be reached Tuesday night. In the past he has cited concerns that Union Springs' and Springport's tax base would be eroded by the tribe's continuing land purchases and push to have sovereign status for them.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311
ext. 282 or at
amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
By Amaris Elliott-Engel / The Citizen
The Cayuga Nation of New York finalized its purchase of more acreage in the Springport area with its closing this week on 21 lakeside acres that sit both in Springport and Union Springs.
The tribe will apply to the federal government to take the property into sovereign trust status as it has done in three prior applications regarding its 156 acres in both Cayuga and Seneca counties.
The Nation issued a press release Tuesday about the purchase of the six, $800,000 contiguous parcels because of past inquiries from the media inquiring why they did not disclose other purchases sooner, said Dan French, the attorney for Clint Halftown, the tribe's representative recognized by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Halftown deferred comment to French.
French said that the landmight make a “nice place” for residential housing for the tribal members or other mixed uses, but he said there are no immediate plans to develop the property.
“The Nation thinks there might come a moment to begin discussions with the counties” about how much land it seeks to own and what it seeks to do with the purchases, French said. The Nation has often called for in-depth discussions with local municipalities.
The property with 610 feet of Cayuga Lake frontage was last owned by Maurice E. Dowd, who died in 2004. It has been unoccupied since, according to the Cayugas.
Last fall, the Cayuga Nation purchased 27 acres in Union Springs on Route 90, including the dramatic Maier mansion with several gables. That acreage sits across from the tribe's gas station and convenience store, as well as more than 120 acres that run behind its businesses toward Cayuga Lake. The tribe is restoring this site to serve as its future business office.
The tribe also owns bingo halls on Route 90 in Union Springs and Route 89 in Seneca Falls that have been shut for several months as political winds changed following federal court decisions that threw out the tribe's 25-year land claim litigation.
Cayuga County Legislature Chairman George Fearon, R-Springport, could not be reached Tuesday night. In the past he has cited concerns that Union Springs' and Springport's tax base would be eroded by the tribe's continuing land purchases and push to have sovereign status for them.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311
ext. 282 or at
amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net