This article features a collaborative effort between city officials and those at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
By: ANDREA DECKERT
June 05, 2002
GENEVA - A center that focuses on learning about and promoting the Finger Lakes may be built in the city.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the city are working on a proposed Finger Lakes Institute and Gateway Center that would be an educational and information center where tourists and residents could learn about the region and activities.
The city has received a $20,000 state grant, secured by state Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio, R-53 of Fayette, to complete a feasibility study for the project. The City Council is scheduled to accept the grant at its meeting tonight.
City Manager Richard Rising said the study, which will be done by an outside consultant, would take about six months. The consultant, who has yet to be hired, would look at things like the size, location, cost, development, funding options and operational costs of the proposed center.
"Part of the activities of the Finger Lakes Gateway Center would be to educate, direct and excite visitors and residents about the Finger Lakes experience," said Rising, noting that part of the center could be dedicated to permanent and changing exhibits, interactive displays and information on regional attractions, such as the Finger Lakes wineries.
Melanie Stepp, president and CEO of the Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce, said this morning that she anticipates working with the city on the project to make sure the services available at the center would not be a duplication of ones the chamber already provides. Rising added that the center would look at promoting the entire Finger Lakes region.
Rising said the institute would complement other proposed projects the city is looking at, including a multi-million dollar rehabilitation of Lake and Exchange streets that includes demolishing several vacant buildings and constructing a hotel, city park and rail station in the area. That project is contingent on obtaining funding, including two $750,000 state grants.
For the Colleges, the center would be a place to carry out research, education and community programs. Environmental science students would be able to gain hands-on experience and work with local citizen groups, such as the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association, on various environmental topics.
The institute also would be a place where the Colleges could hold educational programs for middle and high school students who are already being taught on campus. One such program is the Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute, which involves young people from across the country who study local lakes, streams and wetlands in a two-week summer session.
Rising said the activities of the center would build off work completed in the late 1990s for the proposed Finger Lakes Interpretive Center. That concept - which was proposed to be built on roughly seven acres west of Seneca Lake State Park - was going to focus on promoting the Finger Lakes region's recreation, shopping, museums, wineries and festivals. The project has been put on hold indefinitely due to a lack of funds.
©Finger Lakes Times 2002