1. Authorize Grant Application, Planning Department (Cortland County Snowmobile Trail Development and Maintenance) – Mr. Armstrong moved adoption; seconded by Mr. Hartnett. Mr. Dineen explained that this is the annual application to for funding for maintenance of snowmobile trails. Mr. Dineen explained that it does not appear that the snowmobile clubs will form a federation. The clubs seem to be okay now with the County taking the percentage (7%) of the grant for the administrative fees. Mr. Allen asked Mr. Dineen about changes in distribution of the funds. Mr. Dineen indicated that at this point, there is no change. All members voting in favor; none opposed; resolution adopted.

2. Authorize Agreements, Planning Department (Cortland County and Cortland County Snowmobile Clubs) – Mr. Armstrong moved adoption; seconded by Mr. Hartnett. All members voting in favor; none opposed; resolution adopted.

3. Create GIS Specialist Trainee/GIS Specialist (temporary)/ Amend Budget, Planning Department – Mr. Armstrong moved adoption; seconded by Mr. Allen. Mr. Dineen explained that this is to hire a temporary GIS person. The current GIS specialist is leaving mid-June and this will allow a couple of week training period. All members voting in favor; none opposed; resolution adopted.

4. Authorize Chairman to Sign Agreement/Amend Budget, Planning Department (Federal Section 5311 Transit Capital Equipment Project) – Mr. Armstrong moved adoption; seconded by Mr. Hartnett. Chairman Steve indicated that this is for the new buses. Mr. Dineen indicated that there is a 10% local match, which will picked up by First Transit. Mr. Armstrong asked about getting these on State bids through the consortium. Mr. Dineen indicated that Chemung County is taking the lead on this. All members voting in favor; none opposed; resolution adopted.

1. Chesapeake Bay Watershed and Development of a Tributary Strategy for New York – Amanda Barber, District Manager of the Soil and Water Conservation District, gave a presentation on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. We are a part of the Upper Susquehanna Coalition, which was form in 1992, to ensure that we are included in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed project. Over 90% of Cortland County are in the Upper Susquehanna Watershed. Most of the water in Cortland County flows south and goes out of the state. There is a small portion of the water that flows north. The purpose of the group is a collaborative effort to protect our water supplies. The Chesapeake Bay Program was formed in 1983 to work toward a voluntary restoration of the Bay. If the voluntary cleanup does not prove itself in the next few years, there will be a court-ordered cleanup of the Bay. This anticipated date for the court intervention is 2010 to 2011. The court-ordered action will have a significant financial impact on the local area as part of the Upper Susquehanna Coalition. The legislation will eliminate the "Speedies" permit for discharge of refuse. Governor Pataki committed New York State to participating in this voluntary clean up project by agreeing to work collaboratively on the clean up process. If more information is desired, the web site is www.chesapeakebay.net. The Upper Susquehanna Coalition web site is www.u-s-c.org. The water treatment facility in Cortland is on the "short list" for upgrading, as this is a source point and is the most easily accessed and upgraded as opposed to all of the individual landowners. Chairman Steve asked about any lobbying efforts on the part of the Upper Susquehanna Coalition. Mrs. Barber indicated that more legislators from member counties are getting involved and perhaps we will see a lobbying effort. She, however, does not feel comfortable lobbying on behalf of Cortland County Government. Chairman Steve indicated that perhaps this committee could start some lobbying efforts with the other member counties. Mrs. Barber will get Chairman Steve a list of the member counties and Chairman Steve will contact the Chairs of the legislative bodies in those member counties. Mr. Ross asked for notification of the next meeting of the Upper Susquehanna Coalition so that he can attend the next meeting.

2. Linda Hartsock, Director of the BDC/IDA, spoke to the group about the BDC/IDA and the "Rebuilding Upstate New York" initiative. She thanked the group for bringing the variety of departments/agencies together in the Church Street facility. She spoke to the group of the where we’ve come and where we are going in economic development in Upstate New York. Five years ago, we have had to turnaround 2.5 million sq. ft. of abandoned space. All of the space has been turned over. We are still dealing with the loss of manufacturing jobs. We have lost 8,000 manufacturing jobs over the past half decade. The county has invested in economic development in the community. One of the reasons for our success is the Cortland Business Network (CBN), which is comprised of the CEOs of the 35 largest employers in the county. They work together on community issues. The CBN provides an early-warning system to work on problems before they actually reach a head. Community building and asset building became a priority for the BDC/IDA five years ago. This has proven to be successful for the Cortland County community. The Empire Zone program is administered through the BDC/IDA. This has been a good program, particularly for the downtown area. There will be active marketing of the Build NY NOW site commencing in June. This is located on Route 13 in Cortlandville surrounding the Monarch facility. Cortland has 1,000 companies; about 12 of them have over 100 employees. Linda spoke to the group about a long-term capital plan for Cortland County. She shared with the group the Sullivan County Capital Plan document. She believes we can develop the same type of plan in Cortland County. Linda believes that a joint economic/planning task force be appointed to develop a long-term capital plan for Cortland County. Mr. Schrader indicated that we need to increase our tax base for the County. He and Mrs. Hartsock have had numerous conversations about economic development. Mr. Schrader feels that the County needs to take a more active role in economic development for the County. We provide $360,000 annually to the BDC/IDA to assist with economic development issues; we need to provide an attitude, a philosophy, a direction in addition to the financial support. We need to look at Community Development Block Grants, which the County has historically stayed away from. If we develop a plan/consensus of the community, it will go a long way for smart development to take place in the community. Linda feels that this commission needs to have a legislative component, a planning component, and a private sector component. Chairman Steve asked Mrs. Hartsock where the Sullivan County document is today. Mrs. Hartsock indicated that the document has been updated, but there have not been any major swings from the original document. Chairman Steve asked Mrs. Hartsock to develop a list of prospective members for the commission. Mrs. Hartsock indicated that the commission must be bi-partisan in order to survive. Mr. Schrader indicated that having Mrs. Hartsock involved in this committee is critical to the development of initiatives in the community. Mr. Williams brought up the materials sitting behind the Highway Garage and asked why they have not been taken care of as a matter of clean up in the community.

3. SPCA Contract – Mr. Schrader spoke to the committee about the $20,000 bill for the first quarter of 2005 for services they are purportedly providing for the County. There is nothing in law that requires the County to do animal control; it is the responsibility of the local municipality to provide animal contract. Historically, we have provided $15,000 to the SPCA as a show of good faith for the services they provide. The SPCA has rejected the $15,000 and state that they will not contract with us unless we provide them $42,000. The SPCA is billing us for a full-time investigation of County animal cruelty cases. There is nothing in law that requires the County to provide any animal control services. Mr. Schrader indicated that the SPCA should be billing the individual municipalities (towns, villages, and city) for services they provide to the municipalities. Mr. Williams asked if we had a contract in the past and what the contract is for. Mr. Schrader reviewed the services the SPCA has provided in the past. Mr. Schrader reiterated that we have no responsibility to provide any animal control services. Mr. Armstrong asked if the SPCA isn’t already billing the municipalities? Mr. Schrader indicated if they are, they are not billing enough. Mr. Williams asked why we have had a contract in the past. Mr. Schrader indicated that it really was a good faith measure. Mr. Schrader indicated that it is not the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Department to do the animal control/investigation. Mr. Schrader indicated that he feels we should send the SPCA a thank you/no thank you letter and discontinue contracting with them and informing them they should bill the municipality. Mr. Schrader is familiar with a County who contracted with the city and towns/villages to provide an animal control officer. Given the license fees and the various fines, there was not cost to the County at all for providing these services. Chairman Steve has a meeting this week with the SPCA. He will apprise the committee of the results of this meeting. Mr. Schrader indicated that we can run a successful dog control program at no cost to the County. Mr. Schrader indicated that pending the Chairman’s meeting with the SPCA on Thursday, we send a "thank you/no thank you" letter to the SPCA. Mr. Armstrong asked if there are other organizations in the County that we can contact to provide the services. Mr. Schrader indicated that this is the responsibility of the individual municipalities to provide the service.

4. Mr. Allen indicated that there is an Open Space Commission meeting on May 19. There will be a vote to elevate getting a state park in Cortland County as a priority. The meeting is at 10:30 a.m. at the DEC Office on Fisher Avenue.

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 a.m.

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