ITHACA -- A resolution that urges past and present owners of a chemical spill site to fully disclose records of toxic substances will be considered tonight at Ithaca's Common Council meeting.

Council will meet at 7 tonight at City Hall, 108 E. Green St.

The resolution, which originates from Council's Governance Committee, asks that Emerson Power Transmission and Borg Warner Inc. "provide both the state and City of Ithaca a complete record of all possible spills that occurred on their property, and where these toxic substances were disposed off-site."

The move signifies that the city, while holding no power to force either company to disclose the records, is appealing to their "sense of community," said Alderwoman Pam Mackesey, D-1st Ward, and chairwoman of the Governance Committee.

"We are concerned that this has taken so long, and they know so little," said Mackesey, referring to residents who live in the area of Emerson Power Transmission.

The issue stems from a February 2005 decision by the Department of Environmental Conservation to reclassify the site from a Class 4 "property closed" designation to a Class 2 "significant threat to the environment" designation, due to contamination of soil and groundwater discovered in 1987.

Tonight's agenda also includes a resolution out of the Planning, Neighborhoods and Economic Development Committee to agree conceptually to the purchase of land to build a parking lot in the city's West End. According to the resolution, the lot would be funded by property owners taxed through a special taxing jurisdiction. Establishing a new parking district would free up a city-owned lot at the corner of Fulton and Court streets for short-term parking.

Other agenda items include a request to authorize a change in the Farmers' Market Lease, and a report on the Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit collective bargaining process.

Contact: aju@ithaca.gannett.com

Originally published Wednesday, May 4, 2005