PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

MEETING MINUTES

JULY 21, 2010

 

** NOT APPROVED **

Members Present:  F. Sinclair, M. Healy, K. LaForge, P. Curran, C. Crandall

 

Absent:   D. Pullen, T. O’Grady, A. McGraw, T. Hopkins

 

Others Present:  D. Fanton, J. Margeson, M. Alger, J. Foels, K. Dirlam, C. Braack, S. Grugel, R. Taylor

 

Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order by Chairman Fred Sinclair at 11:07a.m.

 

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Legislator Healy, seconded by Legislator Curran and carried to approve the minutes of June 16, 2010.

 

A motion was made by Legislator Curran, seconded by Legislator Healy and carried to approve the Special Meeting Minutes of July 2, 2010.

 

Historical Society

Chairman Sinclair introduced Ronald Taylor from the Allegany County Historical Society who presented packets and information regarding the Society.  The invitation was extended as the County Historian reports to the Planning & Economic Development Committee.  Mr. Taylor spoke of goals and aspirations of the Society and the work involved to make it a success.  He is a native and has been a strong supporter and volunteer for Allegany County.  He created his own website for the Historical Society and has maintained it through today.  One of his goals is to form a county-wide Historical Society and has extended contacts from his website.  The Society was formed as a Not-for-Profit Corporation legally in the ‘70’s through New York State. In later years it became dormant due to inactivity.  He spoke with Albany in January 2010 and learned the charter could be revived with five new trustees, and effective April 20, 2010, the 501c3 was established.  Mr. Taylor spoke of seeking interest from the northern end of county and they are looking to purchase a new site for a museum and genealogy research center, as genealogy seems to be of great interest.  Mr. Taylor will gift his website to the new Society and has made arrangements for Alfred University to modernize and update the site.  They have received a small grant from the Allegany Area Foundation for office equipment but are looking for more funding and donations.  He opened the floor to questions and Chairman Sinclair noted it was a positive thing looking for a museum location and that our county has large numbers of records and museum pieces.  There was discussion regarding the parallel with the County Historian and the County Historical Society.  Mr. Braack commented the Historical Society was an excellent resource for Allegany County as he does not have the time or resources to coordinate a museum project of this magnitude, but will work closely with the Society and provide any assistance they may need.  He mentioned there is a lot of overlapping between townships and there is tremendous potential for this to be successful as there are many private collections waiting for a museum site, due to lack of space in the small township museums, and the County Museum.  Legislative Chairman Crandall commented on Mr. Taylor’s website and how easily you can maneuver around it and that bringing all the townships and groups together is a positive step.  Mr. Taylor noted he will be meeting with the town Historians and working to get them involved.  Site locations were discussed with two possibilities in Belmont.

 

Craig Braack invited all to attend the Allegany County Fair.  He noted that every year his booth hosts a new theme and this year he has a new item of interest, so come check it out.

 

Hazard Mitigation Plan Update

A resolution was presented authorizing funding for the completion of the multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update and authorizing an extension of the contract with Walker Business Services for performance of said work. 

 

Be it resolved that $14,000 be allocated to complete the HMP update and the contract extension include up to an additional 667 hours of work.  There was discussion on where the funds would be allocated from and County Administrator Margeson noted there were surplus funds in the Planning .1 budget and the contingency fund.

 

County Administrator John Margeson asked how many hazard mitigation projects are currently in the county.  Chairman Sinclair responded approximately 150 projects are high priority and 75 areas are sensitive to failure or flood damage.  There are four to five spots along the Genesee River that are harmful to Route 19 and the railroad.  There has been great assistance from the County DPW regarding these issues.

 

Chairman Sinclair entertained a motion to approve the resolution and refer to the Ways and Means Committee.  Motioned by Legislator Curran; seconded by Legislator Healy and carried 5-0 w/4 absent.  PREPARE RESOLUTION AND REFER TO WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE.

 

County Space Needs

A resolution was presented directing the Office of the County Administrator to prepare an assessment of the space needs in the county departments and in support of operations at the county campus. 

 

Be it resolved that the Office of the County Administrator is, hereby, directed to prepare a space needs assessment and that all Department Heads are directed to cooperate in the preparation of said assessment. 

 

Legislative Chairman Crandall noted the resolution for a space needs study update by Labella Associates was tabled at a previous Legislative Board meeting.  There was discussion regarding apprehension by committee members with architects approaching department heads without county leadership involved.  County leadership would assist with keeping department needs within reason.  This would not reduce the cost of architectural services, but provide focus and base of needs.

 

Chairman Sinclair entertained a motion to approve the resolution and refer to the Court Facilities and County Space Needs Committee.  Motioned by Legislator Healy; seconded by Legislator Curran and carried 5-0 w/4 absent.  PREPARE RESOLUTION AND REFER TO COURT FACILITIES and COUNTY SPACE NEEDS COMMITTEE

 

Transfer of Funds – Planning Department

A resolution was requested to transfer funds from the Comprehensive Planning & Implementation Group account to the Planning Department Equipment account in the amount of $7,773 for the purchase of GIS Arc Editor and Arc Publisher software.  County Planner Kier Dirlam explained the funds allocated were not sufficient in the 2010 Planning Budget, and that a future maintenance agreement fee will need to be factored in for annual updates.  If there is no maintenance, then you are looking at a $7,000 expense every two years for software.  Tax Maps currently has this software in place, however, licenses cannot be shared resulting in the Planning Department’s need to purchase software. Chairman Sinclair supports the GIS and remarked it is invaluable to the county and we are fortunate to have a Planner who knows how to operate the system.  Chairman Sinclair entertained a motion to approve the transfer of funds and refer to the Ways and Means Committee.  Motioned by Legislator Curran; seconded by Chairman Sinclair and carried 5-0 w/4-absent.  PREPARE RESOLUTION AND REFER TO WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE 

 

A second resolution was requested to transfer funds within the Planning Department budget from A8020.4 to A8020.2; in the amount of $2,790; for the purchase of a plotter.  Upon discussion of plotter costs, Chairman Sinclair motioned to accept the transfer and refer to Ways and Means Committee; seconded by Legislator Healy.  Motion was carried 5-0 w/4absent.  PREPARE RESOLUTION AND REFER TO WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE

 

A motion was made by Legislator Curran, seconded by Legislator Healy and carried to adjourn the meeting at 12:06 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted:

 

 

Cathleen L. Whitfield

Recording Secretary