Town Hall Meetings Scheduled to Discuss Center of Government Project

Published on June 05, 2025

The Tompkins County Legislature invites the public to five community engagement sessions in June to learn about the current status of the proposed Center of Government project and provide feedback that will help inform the ongoing planning efforts.

The rural outreach will be kicked off with a meeting at Groton Town Hall on June 11, followed by Enfield Community Center on June 12, Dryden Town Hall on June 16, and Caroline Town Hall on June 23. All meetings are scheduled from 6:00-7:30 pm and are in-person only. Tompkins County thanks its partners for making their spaces available and helping to bring these meetings closer to their residents. The final town hall is scheduled for 6:00-7:30 pm on June 24 in the Legislature Chambers in Ithaca. It will be live-streamed and can be joined virtually.

The project page tcgov.co/cog was created to provide transparency and timely updates to residents as this initiative progresses. It includes information about the project background, vision and goals, timeline, funding, and which departments are involved. Interested residents can check back for new information or sign up for the email newsletter to receive updates in their Inbox. Select 'Center of Government' under 'County Government Updates.' No account set up required.

A cornerstone of the community outreach effort is collecting feedback from residents, who are encouraged to share their thoughts on how they currently access County services and how that access could be improved, what they would like to see in a new Center of Government building, and their desired design features of the project. A short survey will be made available at the town hall meetings. It can be filled out on paper or online through a QR code. The survey can also be accessed through the project page or directly at tcgov.co/cogsurvey. Translated surveys in Spanish, Chinese, and Russian will be available soon.

The proposed project involves constructing a 48,000-square-foot Center of Government designed to centralize County services, enhance staff equity, improve operational efficiency, eliminate reliance on leased space, and support long-term sustainability. This new facility will replace the existing buildings at 300 and 308 North Tioga Street and 128 East Buffalo Street, all of which will be deconstructed as part of the project.

“This project has been in the works for many years,” stated Legislature Chair Dan Klein, “We listened to department needs, evaluated different locations, acquired property, hired architects, and now we are ready to invite public input to inform the architectural design.”

Vice-Chair of the Legislature Greg Mezey has characterized this initiative as a “generational project,” and Chair of the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee Randy Brown acknowledges that “it’s important for the public to see what we see.”

County Administrator Korsah Akumfi is “appreciative of the staff effort that has gone into the planning of this project up to this point and the Legislature's commitment to move it forward.”

Table of town hall dates and locations: