Planning Sub-Committee Meeting

 Thursday, September 6, 2007 – 7:30a.m.

Minutes

 

Committee Present:  Carol Tytler, Chairperson; Danny Ross, Chairman-Ag/Planning/Environ Legislative Committee; John Troy, Merwin Armstrong  -  Absent: Kay Breed

Others Present:  Angie Wyatt, Dan Dineen, Susan Feiszli, Amanda Barber, Bernie Thoma, Stephanie Perez, Jake Reagan, Eric Mulvihill, Corey Preston

The meeting was called to order at 7:30a.m. by Chairperson Carol Tytler.

MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 27, 2007 MEETING MADE BY MR. TROY - 2^ND BY MR. ROSS - ALL PRESENT VOTING IN FAVOR – MINUTES APPROVED

·        Update:  Flooding Study (Carol Tytler) – Ms. Tytler talked to C & S Engineering Company.  Ms. Tytler indicated that they received the contract and they have 90 days to complete of study.  Ms. Tytler said that since the City of Cortland is the lead agency, she requested that Ms. Feiszli speak to Mayor Tom Gallagher and City Administrator Andy Damiano to give C & S the authority to communicate with the Planning (Flooding) Committee.  Ms. Feiszli indicated that she would speak to Mayor Gallagher and Mr. Damiano.

·        Trout Brook in McGraw – Mr. Ross indicated that the Village of McGraw has been hit hard several times.  He said that there is a lot of erosion on the stream banks.  Mr. Ross provided pictures for the Committee to observe the erosion of the stream banks.  Mr. Ross asked Mr. Dineen if the Planning Department has old photos and new photos of the streams/creeks in the County.  Mr. Dineen indicated that they have aerial photos that will show the erosion over the years.  Ms. Barber said that she could identify hundreds of the same situation in the County.  Ms. Tytler said that it is not just the plan but they also need to look into the value and to look for the funding.  Ms. Tytler added that we also need a County Wide Plan that would also include all the towns and villages of the County in a cooperative effort in the managing of the water plan.

Other Comments:

·        Ms. Feiszli told the Committee that there is a retaining wall in the City that needs to be replaced and that the area it is in falls under the medium income, which would qualify for a grant.  Ms. Tytler reiterated that we need a comprehensive plan for the entire County with the cooperation of the City and surrounding municipalities.

·        Mr. Thoma indicated that if this Committee was dealing with the flooding of the Tioughnioga River 12 entities could seek funding and the grant would pay for 80% or 90% of the cost.  The key is to identify what the study would be.  The results of the study would identify the projects and what should be done first.  If we work on one area could we be adversely affecting another area.   Mr. Thoma added that to get a $500,000 to $600,000 grant, at least 2 municipalities would have to apply for the grant.

·        Ms. Tytler inquired whether they could apply for more than one grant.  Mr. Thoma answered yes but it is not likely that more than one grant would be funded.  Mr. Thoma also said that if we have the study we could shop around.

·        Ms. Tyler reiterated that we need to have a comprehensive plan – not just a study to put on the shelf.

·        Ms. Barber advised that we cannot predict on natural resources.  We need to do an inventory and prioritize projects.  We also need to constantly re-evaluating and re-visiting.

·        Ms. Tytler commented that we do not just want to identify the problem, we want to have a solution.

·        Ms. Tytler informed the Committee that the Town of Cortlandville has a stormwater plan.

·        Mr. Dineen said that all County municipalities should have  stormwater plans.

·        Ms. Barber said that we can be pro-active.

·        Ms. Tytler inquired where do we start….we should have a scope of what we want the study to be.  We need scope of services and an overall study.

·        Ms. Barber indicated the Soil & Water has information on watersheds and water bodies in the County.  She will bring the information to the next meeting.  Ms. Barber also advised the Committee that Brenda DeRusso of the Fire/Emergency Management Office has been working on an all hazard mitigation plan which will be final in June, 2009.

·        Ms. Tyler believes that we need to gather all the information and studies that are available, come up with a plan that will alleviate the flooding problems.

·        Ms. Barber stated that we should have a group to evaluate the priorities.

·        Mr. Thoma advised that this group should not just look at streams and rivers but also look at to the communities to come up with a plan.

·        Ms. Barber believes that we should establish the evaluation criteria and then develop a master plan.

·        Ms. Tytler agreed with Ms. Barber that we need to establish the evaluation criteria, create a comprehensive plan and form a community committee to review the plan every year.

·        Ms. Barber offered to develop the scope.  Mr. Thoma and Ms. Barber will talk to Consultants to determine an estimated cost.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:34a.m.

Minutes taken and prepared by Angie Wyatt, Secretary to the County Administrator