News Blog

On Tuesday, the Irondequoit Town Board will once again vote on a resolution regarding tax incentives for the I-Square project. (The resolution starts on page 44 of the board’s meeting packet, which is available here.)

The board will be voting whether to support a payment in lieu of taxes agreement between I-Square and the Monroe County Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA). Under the resolution, the town would back a 15-year agreement with two 5-year extensions. The town is also asking that the agreement contain specific construction benchmarks for the project.

Under the proposed PILOT terms, the property’s base assessed value would be set at $2.1 million, with the first year’s payment derived from that figure. Each year the payment would increase by 2.5 percent.

The town and I-Square’s developers, Mike and Wendy Nolan, have sparred over the PILOT. The Town Board has signed off on two previous PILOT proposals, and the Nolans have publicly rejected them.

This time around, Assembly member Joe Morelle’s office facilitated the negotiations.

The Irondequoit Town Board meets at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19, at Town Hall, 1280 Titus Avenue. — Jeremy Moule

The University of Rochester will host a talk on “Achieving Equality in ‘Post-Racial’ America,” by William Darity, professor of public policy at Duke University, on Wednesday, February 20. Today’s policies and programs are doing little to close persistent racial disparities, Darity says, and new programs are needed. His talk takes place at 4 p.m. in the Rush Rhees Library. — Tim Louis Macaluso