Mr. Joseph called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m.

Presentation – Airport Capital Project Request

Mr. Nicholas provided the Committee with an overhead presentation showing the condition of the General Aviation Facility that is located in the old terminal building at the Tompkins County Airport. Mr. Nicholas said the condition of the building is extremely poor. He spoke of wall panels being made of asbestos and said because it is uninhabitable, the top floor is unoccupied at this time. Mr. Nicholas said he has applied for three grants. Last year legislation was adopted to spread $2.5 million through airports throughout New York State. The second grant is for demolition of the old terminal building. The third grant is part of the Transportation Bond Act. He has been told by the Department of Transportation that the Tompkins County Airport has been included in that and it would cover project costs, including demolition. He said this would depend on whether or not the Bond Act is passed in November.

The structure comprises two hangars with offices, workshops and reception area sandwiched between two hangars. Two parts of the structure date back to the early 1940’s. The north hangar was the last addition (1948), but was not new when it was purchased in Utica for $1 and moved down to Ithaca. The airport was purchased by the County in 1956. Taughannock Aviation has a lease covering this building, a new hangar, and the fuel farm that expires on December 31, 2016.

Inspection of the building reveals an advanced state of decrepitude beyond any point where refurbishment might be an option. There are large areas of the building where ceilings, walls and/or floors have deteriorated and are now uninhabitable. Much of the electrical wiring is original and large quantities of asbestos are present. When it rains the lower level becomes flooded. For a better impression of the conditions, a physical inspection is recommended.

In addition to concerns about general appearance, he has concerns about the County’s liability in the event of an accident caused by deterioration of the building and fines that may be levied by OSHA for an unsafe work environment.

The recommendation by the Airport Manager is as follows:

The General Aviation Facility is a service center for corporate and private aircraft. Many of these people fly in to conduct business in Tompkins County. Though difficult to quantify the influence a decrepit facility might have on these people, is clear from their comments over the past few years, that it does nothing to enhance our image.

Not withstanding the general appearance of the building whatever effects it might have on important visitors, the more urgent the need is to address the building’s rapid deterioration and concerns about the liability.

Finally, there is the concern that the County should provide some kind of facility so that the important contribution made by general aviation can continue.

Options:

1. The demolition of the Old Terminal and construction of a new General Aviation Facility have been submitted to the New York State Department of Transportation for funding. Neither project is eligible under the Federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP). There are three possible sources of State funding with the most likely being the Transportation Bond Act that will come before voters in November.
2. The owners of Taughannock Aviation are currently trying to assemble tenants who would sub-lease parts of a new facility from them. They are looking at a two-story General Aviation Terminal and another hangar, occupying 6,000 sq. ft. of a 30,000 sq. ft. terminal and sub-leasing the other 24,000 sq. ft. This would provide enough revenue to pay off the debt service and replace the income the Airport gets from the old facility.
3. If Taughnnock Aviation is unable to find enough tenants to provide the necessary revenues, the County could attempt to find tenants.
4. The County could build a "bare bones" facility to meet Taugannock Aviation’s needs. Under this scenario it is unlikely that Taughannock would be able to cover the cost of debt service, leaving some of it to come from the Airport Fund Balance and some from the General Fund.
5. Do nothing. Let Taughannock Aviation continue to fix up the areas they use.

Mr. Nicholas said a strong interest has been expressed by two businessmen in Tompkins County in opening and operating a restaurant there. He said they have also expressed an interest in being part of the new facility.

Ms. Kiefer asked if this has been discussed with the Town of Lansing. Mr. Nicholas said it had not because it is only in the discussion stage right now; however, he is aware of the Town’s concerns and they will be involved in whatever is done.

Mr. Joseph said he agrees the Old Terminal building at the Airport is in very poor shape. His main concern is who is going to pay for this. He said all options outlined by Mr. Nicholas are alright with him; however, the main principle of the Airport being an enterprise operation was so that the taxpayers are not responsible for paying for it. He would like the current practice of having the users pay for the Airport to continue.

Mr. Nicholas said he will endeavor to make sure the last case scenario would be coming to the Board and asking for money from the County’s General Fund.

Changes to the Agenda

Mr. Proto asked that the Committee discuss the Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance rebate the County recently received.

Approval of Minutes of July 20, 2000

It was MOVED by Mr. Proto, seconded by Mr. Penniman, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the minutes of July 20, 2000 as submitted. MINUTES APPROVED.

Chairman’s Report

Mr. Joseph had no report.

County Administrator’s Report

Mr. Erb reported he is in receipt of information from Paine Weber on tobacco securitization and will have copies distributed to all Board members. He said the proposal states that a County has to commit itself going into the sale but will not know until the day of the sale what the exact amount will be. He said a "right to backout" is being incorporated into the agreement, and states that if a county’s receipts fall ten percent below the amount they were told they would receive, they will have the right to back out of the agreement.

Mr. Erb said he is finishing work on making recommendations on the 2001 budget. He said the estimated revenue in tobacco funds is $1,488,540 in 2001; however, has been using $1.3 million because he feels based on history, this is a safer figure. Mr. Erb said he has included this amount in his draft budgets as annual revenue; however, if the County were to securitize it would make an impact on the budget.

Mr. Proto asked what the tax rate increase looked like at this time. Mr. Erb said his recommendation would show an increase in taxes of less than six percent while utilizing the same or a less amount of the surplus for tax reduction. He said his highest priority in making recommendations was not to defer future tax rates by increasing the usage of surplus funds to reduce the tax rate.

Mr. Penniman asked if Tompkins County was to securitize and then backed out, what bonding costs would the County be required to pay. An answer was not available, however, Mr. Erb said he would look into this.

Finance Director’s Report

Mr. Squires distributed this month’s status report on the budget and Contingency Fund report. He briefly reported on the reconciled sales tax report from the State for the second quarter of 1999. Mr. Squires said he is currently in the process of soliciting proposals for bond counsel.

The following resolution was MOVED by Ms. Davis, seconded by Mr. Penniman. Sheriff Meskill said with the exception of one employee, all of these individuals are on disability. He informed the Committee that he expects to make a similar request later in the year. A voice vote resulted as follows: Ayes – 4, Noes – 0, Excused – 1 (Representative Todd). MOTION CARRIED.

WHEREAS, the Fiscal Policy of Tompkins County allows for such replacement pay for employees who have been out longer than two months, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Public Safety Committee and Budget and Fiscal Policy Committee, That the Director of Finance appropriate a total of $88,321 to the Sheriff’s budget for replacement pay encompassing the period of January 1, 2000 through July 31, 2000,

RESOLVED, further, That the money be distributed to the following accounts:
 

FROM:		A1990.54440		$88,321
TO: Criminal Investigations		A3112.51000 Reg. Pay		5,909
		A3112.58800 Fringe		1,477
Uniform Division		A3113.51000 Reg. Pay		1,688
		A3113.58800 Fringe		422
Corrections		A3150.51000 Reg. Pay		63,060
		A3150.58800 Fringe		15,765
		TOTAL		$88,321

SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20

Report from the Deputy County Administrator

Ms. West said the large budget notebooks for Board members will be distributed at the end of next week. She noted that Capital Program requests and Over Target Requests will each be in separate books this year.

WHEREAS, a Tompkins 2020 Committee of the Board of Representatives was created in 2000 for the purpose of defining and measuring the community's quality of life as a foundational reference point for the future efforts by any group to improve the quality of life in Tompkins County over a period of time, and

WHEREAS, to achieve this a Tompkins Quality-of-Life Committee, a committee of residents, was created to carry out the details of the task and for which expenses will be incurred, and

WHEREAS, Resolution No. 75 of 2000 appropriated $2,500 for program expenses related to advertising, printing, postage, office supplies, meetings, and facilitators for the Tompkins Quality-of-Life Committee that were not available in the Board of Representatives' budget, and

WHEREAS, additional funding is needed to cover program expenses for the remainder of the year, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Tompkins 2020, Government Operations and Budget and Fiscal Policy Committees, That the following budget appropriation be made:

FROM: A1990.54400 Contingent Fund $5,500

TO: A1010.54400 Program Expense $5,500

RESOLVED, further, That these funds be appropriated for 2000 only and do not affect future Fiscal Targets.

SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20

WHEREAS, a staff member of the Fire, Disaster and EMS Office resigned and has received terminal pay at a total of $5,055, and

WHEREAS, Section 5.03(B) of the County Fiscal Policy describes Departmental Entitlements, including contingent fund requests for the unbudgeted costs of terminal pay for employees, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Public Safety and Budget and Fiscal Policy Committees, That the following budget appropriation be made:

FROM: A1990.44000 Contingency Fund $5,055

TO: A3410.51000 Regular Pay $4,044

A3410.58800 Fringe Benefits $1,011

RESOLVED, further, That this adjustment is for 2000 and does not affect the Fiscal Target for 2001.

SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20

Discussion of Public Forum on 2001 Budget

The Committee discussed public information options with Wendy Skinner, Public Information Coordinator. Ms. Skinner said it is very likely that there will be a web site available for the public to obtain information on the proposed 2001 budget. She presented the Committee with a proposed outline for a public forum. There was discussion about how the forum should be run with comments being made that there needs to be an educational component as well as opportunity for the forum to be interactive. The forum will be held on September 27^th from 5-8 p.m. at the Women’s Community Building.

Schedule – Committee of the Whole Meetings

Mr. Joseph said he distributed with the agenda copies of proposed dates for Committee of the Whole Meetings to be held in October. He will also be taking this to the full Board for discussion.

Health Insurance Rebate

Due to time constraints this issue was not discussed. Mr. Proto asked that Committee members be provided with copies of a document he received from Jackie Yoder, Benefits Manager.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 11:10 a.m.

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