ITHACA — Ithaca's Board of Public Works moved forward with composting in the city's temporary off-leash dog park and delayed a decision on Cornell's Milstein Hall at its meeting Wednesday night.

The board authorized a resolution 5-2 that requires the city to hire a contractor to set up a composting program at the city's off-leash dog area in the north end of Cass Park, also known as the “Festival Lands.” But the resolution also requires that the Tompkins County Dog Owners Group, or TCDOG, pay for the contracting services, estimated at about $3,000.

The saga of waste removal at the dog park has gone on for months; first state Dumpsters in the adjoining Allan H. Treman Marine Park were removed, then city trash cans were added, then those were removed and the city instituted a “carry-in, carry-out” policy for garbage at the park.

Wednesday night, TCDOG got its way.

“I'm surprised it was so hard for the city to accept a $3,000 donation,” said Brian Zapf, treasurer for TCDOG. “The next step for us is raising the money. The next step for the city is actually signing a contract.”

The off-leash area is temporary and authorized only until Dec. 1, a fact that board members Wade Wykstra and Ron Chapman cited in their opposition to the resolution.

“It seems like we're jumping through hoops on this trial program when we really don't need to,” Chapman said. “The simplest solution here is to go back to carry-in, carry-out.”

Board member Ray Schlather advocated for the resolution, saying that with a carry-in, carry-out policy, “a lot of people may cheat, and I don't think that's in the public health benefit of the city.”

The board again delayed its approval of Cornell University's plan to construct Milstein Hall out over the top of University Avenue.

Shirley Egan, associate university counsel for Cornell, has presented evidence at Board of Public Works meetings showing that Cornell owns the underlying title to University Avenue, and the city has never been able to produce evidence to the contrary.

But Schlather said he's not convinced that Cornell does own the land. Schlather said that in 1983 when the city and Cornell were fighting over who would pay to repair Forest Home Drive (University Avenue becomes Forest Home Drive at the intersection with Thurston Avenue Bridge), Cornell argued that it did not own the land.

“They've taken the opposite position before when they wanted the road fixed,” Schlather said. “For them to take the opposite position now is not persuasive.”

Bill Gray, superintendent of public works for the city, said his understanding has always been that Cornell owns University Avenue from the Johnson Museum to the Thurston Avenue intersection.

Wykstra favored doing more research on ownership of the road.

“I'm not sure that it's true that there aren't records out there,” Wykstra said. “I've heard that we can't find them and that they're hard to find, but I think we should give it more time.”

The board will address Milstein Hall again at its next scheduled meeting, Aug. 15.

Bill Gray, superintendent of Public Works, and Mayor Carolyn Peterson also updated the board on construction projects under way in Ithaca.

Work on the next phase of construction in the Cayuga/Green project, the apartment complex, has begun.

Construction on North Aurora Street is slightly behind schedule. Peterson said, “we're still desperately aiming for Aug. 16” to reopen the street.

“I'd be happy if we were a week further along at the moment,” Gray said. “It's going to be very close.”

Thurston Avenue Bridge is scheduled to re-open, at least partially, by Aug. 17. Gray said that through August and September, there may be only one driving lane and one sidewalk open while city crews finish blasting and painting the underside of the bridge.