Chairman Steve called the meeting to order at 6:15 and led the Salute to the Flag.

The Clerk called the roll and all members were recorded as present except Mr. Hartnett who was recorded as absent and Mr. Wern who was recorded as excused because of a death in the family.

Chairman Steve accompanied by Mr. Armstrong requested Mrs. Smith and family, the Truxton Firemen and Pastor Fellows to join him at the podium as the Clerk read the recognition in honor of Mr. Linus J. Smith, a 50 year member of the Truxton Fire Department and a previous Deputy Fire Coordinator, who passed away on January 27, 2005. He presented the recognition to Pastor Fellows, who offered a prayer for Mr. Smith, and then presented the recognition to Mrs. Smith. Pastor fellows then offered thanks for all the many years of service that Mr. Smith had given to the community.

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mr. Cornell, and adopted by all members present voting aye, the minutes of the January 18, 2005 meeting were approved as printed.

Chairman Steve presented the Proclamation for Agriculture Day to Syd McEvoy as it was being read by the Clerk. Chairman Steve thanked Mr. McEvoy and Cooperative Extension for all the hard work and effort to promote Agriculture within the County. Mr. McEvoy asked Jean Swisher from the Soil and Water Conservation District to join him stating they are proud to represent ag producers, agri-businesses and agricultural organizations of the County in accepting this proclamation. He thanked the Legislature on all their behalves for this recognition and asked all Legislators to check their mailboxes for an invitation to the dinner at the Grange in recognition Agriculture Month.

Chairman Steve welcomed Senator James Seward, 51^st Senatorial District, and thanked him for all his efforts for the County of Cortland. Chairman Steve stated last week he was able to stand beside Senator Seward at the Lime Hollow Nature Center as he presented them with some funding for their program. Chairman Steve stated CRT has also received support from the State because of efforts by Senator Seward for upgrades to the Pavilion. He stated the County had received a check for over $98,000. in January for the money owed to it since the 1990’s regarding the fight against the Low Level Radioactive Waste Dump and thanked Senator Seward for his help in recovering this money. Chairman Steve stated that Senator Seward has been very helpful and supportive. Senator Seward thanked the Legislature and stated he appreciates the opportunity to come and let the County know what is happening in Albany. He said it is imperative for the County and the State to keep open the lines of communication and to work together to accomplish all the work that must be done. He stated he is honored to be here when the Legislature is recognizing Mr. Linus Smith, a resident of the county who has served his community unselfishly within the Fire Department and also recognizing the Agricultural Community which is so vital to this County. Senator Seward stated that in the late 80’s and early 90’s he was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with so many of the residents of the County to fight against the placement of a Low Level Radioactive Waste Dump in Taylor. He stated the residents of the County were indeed successful and were able to defund the commission and shut down the possibility of a site. He said helping the County recover the money which was owed to it regarding the Low Level Radioactive Waste Dump was part of his responsibility to intervene when necessary and he is pleased with the result being that the County has received a check that can be taken to the bank. Senator Seward stated that the 911 Board at the State level had just released $338,000. to Cortland County for help with the Software Upgrades that are needed for the 911 Center. He noted it is very important to relieve financial burdens for the Counties in regard to mandates. He said the 2005 Senate is in session and this is a year for change and reform. There has already been some rule changes and one is that you can no longer vote unless you are in your seat. They are trying to open up the process and rebuild public confidence. He stated that Budget Reform is in the process and progress is on the way. They have been presented the Governor’s Budget and are starting to work on that with the general consensus being relief to counties. He hopes there will be an on time budget. There are some pension changes that should help the counties. There are some major areas of concern with the most significant being Medicaid reform. The Governor’s approach is to Cap the program at the 2005 level with a 3% growth allowed in 2006 and then reducing the growth to 2% in 2007 and 2008. At that time, each County would then make a decision to stay at that figure or to trade some of the local Sales Tax Revenue for Medicaid takeover. He would prefer to have a Cap without increases being allowed, but said this is a starting point for discussions to begin. The Governor’s Budget reflect the theory of cost containment and is investigating changes within the Early Intervention program that would save on rates. The Governor’s Budget includes CHIP’S funding this year for County programs to be funded. The State needs to look at ways to improve the funding for transportation. Senator Seward sees local roads as a vital issue to be worked on within not only State but Federal funding. The Empire Zone program is due to expire in March and needs to be looked at closely with improvements needing to be made. There are some suggestions that would cut the administration funding and cut benefits to programs depending on creation of jobs. Senator Seward will be watching this closely for the benefits that would best serve the Counties he represents. Discussions are taking place on mandate relief regarding binding arbitration and possible repealing of the WICKS Law. The Governor is looking at inter-municipal agreements that will affect cooperation among local governments. Senator Seward stated he appreciates the resolutions that are sent to him for information. Chairman Steve stated that capping Medicaid will be a start for financial relief for Counties but the State needs to go further. He asked if there were any questions for Senator Seward. Chairman Steve thanked Senator Seward again for his visit and for all his efforts for the County and all the communities located within. Chairman Steve also thanked Mr. Allen for his many trips to Albany and being an advocate for Cortland County.

Chairman Steve recognized Elaine Lambert – Director of Jacobus Center for Reproductive Health – to present the results of the ZAP Eighth-Grade Survey results. Ms. Lambert thanked Senator Seward for his support of this program. She introduced Cindy Gray the Zap Coordinator and Mr. Craig Little, Ph.D, the project coordinator for the survey, who is a professor at SUNY Cortland, stating that he has worked with the ZAP program for many years and works very closely with the schools. She thanked the Legislature for their continued support of the program. She stated the schools are very supportive and want to have the survey continued. Ms. Gray said the lead agency for the ZAP program is the Jacobus Center for Reproductive Health with the City Youth Bureau and the YWCA as partnering agencies which help them with the program. The ZAP program was started in 1991 to decrease the high teen pregnancy rate within the County. She stated objectives set for the program were to reduce the teen pregnancy rate to less than 100 by the year 2000, to help teens postpone initial sexual intercourse and to promote the use of contraceptives by sexual active teens. She stated that the goal of reducing the teen pregnancies has been reached according to revised statistics from New York State and they are very proud of that. Ms. Lambert stated the main component of ZAP is educational to help prevent pregnancies. Ms. Gray said they have a super hero character named Zappella who works with kids in kindergarten through third grades. She teaches the children about relationships and how to deal with different situations in life. In fourth through eighth grades they have ZAP peer counselors who work with the kids doing the same education but on a different level. In ninth through twelfth grades there are two family planning specialists who work with the high school kids trying to help them with good decision making. They sponsor a mother daughter retreat and they have a parent son retreat coming up. She stated the eighth grade survey provides a great deal of information. This has been a valuable tool within the community that has been done since 1996. She stated some of the questions asked are regarding alcohol use and it shows that there has been a reduction in use since 1996, which is encouraging. The survey also deals with the question of how many kids in eighth grade had engaged in sexual intercourse and in 1996 - 24% of the kids answered yes but the good news is that has decreased since then. She stated they continue to work diligently with this program. Mr. Craig said he has been fortunate enough to work with the program since the survey began in 1996. They met with the Superintendents of schools just recently and one of the messages they heard was to be sure and continue with the survey. Ms. Lambert thanked the Legislature again for allowing them to present the survey results and for their continued support. Chairman Steve thanked Ms. Lambert, Ms. Gray and Mr. Little for their hard work in this area.

On motion of Mr. Allen, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, the Letter of Appointment - Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board from Mr. Steve, Chairman, was ordered received and filed.

On motion of Mrs. Breed, seconded by Mr. McKee and adopted by all members present voting aye, the Letter of Appointment, Deputy Personnel Officer from Annette Barber, Personnel Officer, was ordered received and filed.

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mrs. Breed and adopted by all members present voting aye, the Letter Regarding Sales Tax Exemption of Clothing and Footwear from Mr. Steve, Chairman, was ordered received and filed.

On motion of Mrs. Breed, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, the Order of Authority for Assistant County Attorneys as Designated from John L. Bardsley, Esq. Cortland County Attorney, was ordered received and filed.

REPORTS

On motion of Mr. Armstrong, seconded by Mr. Steger and adopted by all members present voting aye, the Sales Tax Distribution Report 2004- Treasurer’s Office, was ordered received and filed.

On motion of Mr. Cornell, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, the Occupancy Tax Report – Audit Department – Alex Fumarola, was ordered received and filed.

On motion of Mrs. Breed, seconded by Mr. Steger and adopted by all members present voting aye the, 2004 Annual Report of Director of Weights and Measures – Carl Moses, was ordered received and filed.

ARTICLE TABLED TO DAY CERTAIN:

On motion of Mrs. Breed, seconded by Mr. Elston and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 1 became Resolution No. 23-05: Authorize Subscription Plan Amendment, Data Processing (Lexis-Nexis)

On motion of Mr. Steve, seconded by Mr. Ross and adopted by a two-thirds roll call vote with all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 2 became Resolution No. 24-05: Rescind Resolution 390-04 and Attached Policy

On motion of Mr. Steve, seconded by Dr. DiGiovanni and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 3 became Resolution No. 25-05: Appoint Member, Board of Health (Tyson D. Smith, Jr., MD, JD, MBA)

On motion of Mr. Steve, seconded by Mr. Allen and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 4 became Resolution No. 26-05: Appoint/ Re-appoint Members, Community Service Board, Mental Health Subcommittee and Alcohol Subcommittee

On motion of Mr. Steve, seconded by Mr. Elston and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 5 became Resolution No. 27-05: Authorize Agreements/ Amend Budget, Cortland County (Lime Hollow Nature Center and Cortland Repertory Theatre) Mrs. Brown asked if this was approved by the Board that was set up for that purpose? Chairman Steve said no it wasn’t because this was Occupancy Tax fund balance from 2004 therefore did not get referred to them. He stated this money would help provide distribution places for tourist information to be distributed.

On motion of Mr. Steve, seconded by Mr. Elston and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 6 became Resolution No. 28-05: Create Communications Advisory Board

Chairman Steve pulled Agenda Item No. 7: Refer Appointment of Election Commissioner to Democratic Minority on the advice of the County Attorney.

On motion of Mr. Behrenfeld, seconded by Mrs. Brown and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 8 became Resolution No. 29-05: Approval of Tompkins Cortland Community College Civil Service Employees’ Association Contract for the Years 2005-2009

On motion of Mr. Behrenfeld, seconded by Mr. Steger and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 9 became Resolution No. 30-05: Authorize Payment, Treasurer’s Office (Surplus Sales Tax)

On motion of Mr. Ross, seconded by Mr. Allen and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 10 became Resolution No. 31-05: Adopt Cortland County Consolidated Agricultural District, Planning Department

On motion of Mr. Ross, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 11 became Resolution No. 32-05: Authorize Grant Application, Planning Department (Technical Assistance Program – Strategic Visioning Plans)

On motion of Mr. Ross, seconded by Mrs. Breed and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 12 became Resolution No. 33-05: Authorize Agreement, Cortland County (Cornell Cooperative Extension)

On motion of Mr. Ross, seconded by Mr. Cornell and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 13 became Resolution No. 34-05: Authorize Payment, Cortland County (Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District)

On motion of Mr. Steger, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 14 became Resolution No. 35-05: Authorize Agreement, Buildings and Grounds Department ( Davis-Ulmer)

On motion of Mr. Steger, seconded by Mr. Allen and adopted by all members present voting aye, except Mr. VanDee voting nay, Agenda Item No.15 became Resolution No. 36-05: Abolish/Create, Buildings and Grounds Department (Cleaner/Custodian)

On motion of Mr. Steger, seconded by Mrs. Brown and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 16 became Resolution No. 37-05: Authorize Agreement, Buildings and Grounds Department (Penn Power Systems)

On motion of Mr. Steger, seconded by Mr. Cornell and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No.17 became Resolution No. 38-05: Authorize Agreement, Buildings and Grounds Department (Riverside Fire Extinguisher)

On motion of Mr. Steger, seconded by Mr. Allen and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 18 became Resolution No. 39-05: Authorize Agreement, Applied Design Research Associates Feasibility Study for Mental Health Building

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 19 became Resolution No. 40-05: Amend Budget, Health Department (Grant Rollovers from 2004 to 2005 Budget)

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mrs. Brown and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 20 became Resolution No. 41-05: Authorize Agreements, Health Department/ Division of Nursing (Licensed Home Care Agencies)

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mr. Cornell and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 21 became Resolution No. 42-05: Authorize Agreements, Health Department/ Children with Special Needs (NYS Facilitated Enrollment Program)

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mr. Cornell and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 22 became Resolution No. 43-05: Authorize Agreements/ Accept Funds, Health Department (Healthy Heart Program)

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mrs. Brown and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 23 became Resolution No. 44-05: Resolution Urging Support for Medicare Rural Add-On Legislation

On motion of Mr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 24 became Resolution No. 45-05: Abolish/ Create, Health Department, Medical Typist/ Medical Services Clerk

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mrs. Breed and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 25 became Resolution No. 46-05: Amend Agreement, Mental Health Department (NYS Office of Alcohol & Substance Abuse Services)

On motion of Mr. Allen, seconded by Mr. Elston and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 26 became Resolution No. 47-05: Authorize Agreement/ New York State McLean Road and McLean Road Ext. P.I.N. – 375370 & P.I.N. – 375371

On motion of Mr. Allen, seconded by Mr. Cornell and adopted by all members present voting aye except Mr. Dafoe voting nay, Agenda Item No. 27 became Resolution No. 48-05: Abolish/ Create, Highway Department (Highway Engineering Supervisor/ Deputy County Superintendent of Highways)

On motion of Mr. Allen, seconded by Mr. Ross and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 28 became Resolution No. 49-05: Authorize Application/ Accept Grant/ Amend Budget/ Authorize Agreement, Federal Aviation Administration and New York

Mr. Elston pulled Agenda Item No. 29 Accept Grant/Amend Budget, Sheriff’s Department (Bulletproof Vest Partnership).

On motion of Mr. Elston, seconded by Mr. Cornell and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 30 became Resolution No. 50-05: A Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Integrated Computer Aided Dispatch Software from New World Software and Directing The Treasurer to Prepare a Bond Resolution in the Amount of $750,000., Sheriff’s Department

On motion of Mr. Elston, seconded by Mrs. Brown and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 31 became Resolution No. 51-05: Authorize Agreement, Probation Department/ Drug Testing (Medlab, Inc.)

On motion of Mr. Elston, seconded by Mr. Allen and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 32 became Resolution No. 52-05: Authorize Agreement, Probation Department/ Electronic Monitoring (BI Incorporated)

On motion of Mr. Elston, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 33 became Resolution No. 53-05: Authorize Service Agreement, Probation Department (Davelle Office Equipment)

On motion of Mr. Elston, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 34 became Resolution No. 54-05: Authorize Agreements, Alternatives to Incarceration (NYS Division of Probation and Correctional Services)

On motion of Mrs. Brown, seconded by Mr. Tagliente and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 35 became Resolution No. 55-05: Authorize Agreement, Department of Social Services (Shredding Services)

On motion of Mrs. Brown, seconded by Mrs. Breed and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 36 became Resolution No. 56-05: Authorize Agreement, Area Agency on Aging (Legal Services)

On motion of Mrs. Brown, seconded by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members present voting, Agenda Item No. 37 became Resolution No. 57-05: Adopt Annual Workforce Investment Act Cost Allocation Plan (Office of Employment and Training, Department of Employment and Training Grant Administration)

On motion of Mrs. Breed, seconded by Mrs. Brown and adopted by all members present voting aye, Agenda Item No. 38 became Resolution No. 58-05: Authorize Agreements, Personnel/Civil Service (Several Agencies)

On motion of Mr. Allen, seconded by Mr. Cornell and adopted by a two-thirds vote with all members present voting aye, Special Article No. 1 was moved to the floor. On motion of Mr. Behrenfeld, seconded by Mrs. Brown and adopted by all members present voting aye Special Article No. 1 became Resolution No. 59-05: Authorize Agreement, Assessment Services, Real Property Tax Office. Mr. Schrader explained the County of Cortland has a contract with three municipalities to provide assessment services and the person who did this work has left the position, therefore this contract is needed for the County to be able to perform the work required. Mr. Schrader stated the vacant position has been advertised however the rolls must be completed by July 1, therefore the work has to be done presently.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dr. DiGiovanni said that Committee Chairs would meet directly after session in room 302.

Mr. Cornell said that CTVS is already meeting in room 304.

Mr. Allen said there will be a meeting with the haulers on Friday at 4:30 pm in room 304.

Mr. Allen noted there will be a GEC meeting on March 22 at 6:30 pm.

On motion of Dr. DiGiovanni, seconded by Mr. Cornell the meeting was adjourned at 7:13.

BACK