The Legislature, by unanimous vote, authorized the County Administrator to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with participants in the Tompkins Center for History and Culture. The County has committed funds to purchase the Tompkins Trust Company Building, at 110 North Tioga Street on the Ithaca Commons—the intent to use the building as home for the Tompkins Center for History and Culture, a coalition involving the History Center and other not-for-profit groups with the common purpose of documenting, supporting, and celebrating our common history and culture. The MOU describes the rental and governance commitments for those groups participating in the Center.

Legislator Rich John, who has worked to help make the project happen, said negotiations with Tompkins Trust could conclude this week. He called the Memorandum of Understanding a guidance document for “a very complicated project with a lot of working parts.” Mr. John said the project’s private capital campaign is going well, and it has been awarded nearly $1.4 million in grants as part of the latest New York State Consolidated Funding grant process.