Excused: P. Penniman

Staff:      J. Wood, County Attorney; S. Whicher, County Administrator; L. Shurtleff, Emergency 
Response Director; W. Skinner, Public Information; M. Shakarjian, Capital Projects  Coordinator; E. Marx, Planning Commissioner

Guests:   WHCU

Called to Order

 The meeting was called to order at 2:33 p.m.

Changes to Agenda

 There were no changes to the agenda.

Approval of Minutes

 Ms. Robertson said she would like to submit revisions to the minutes for the Committee to consider and asked if this item could be deferred to the next meeting.  The Committee had no objection to postponing action.

Emergency Response Center Building Project

 Ms. Blanchard provided an update on the progress of the project on behalf of Arel LeMaro who is away for Code training.  The brickwork is approximately 25 percent complete, roof sheathing is 100 percent complete, roof shingles are almost complete except for areas where there will be roof penetrations, and rough-in electrical and plumbing work has commenced.  Installation of the sewer line across Brown Road is slightly behind schedule but will not have an impact on other building activities;  installation should occur in the next three weeks.  Mr. Shurtleff said the project is moving along very well and commented that the coordination and relationships among the contractors is also going very well.  

 Mr. Whicher asked about the potential strike with Verizon and the impact it may have on the project.  Mr. Shurtleff said the work order was completed and submitted last week to have the 911 equipment extended to the building.  There is a meeting today at 4:30 p.m. to verify the conduit and route that will be taken.  He said Verizon has indicated that there could be a strike, however, because this is an emergency facility it will probably stay on line but cautioned there could be service delays some time later in the fall depending on the length of the strike.  At this point, he said they are still on-line to begin occupying the building in December or early January.  

 Mr. Shurtleff again commented that he is impressed with the project and the coordination among the contractors and noted that there have been no change orders submitted to date.  

Update on Recent Storm

 Ms. Blanchard asked Mr. Shurtleff to give the Committee an update on the recent storm and how the system fared.  Mr. Shurtleff said there was a direct lightening strike at Connecticut Hill which "fried" a base station.  There was also a temporary lapse in the generator, but it restored itself and worked fine.  At Mount Pleasant, there was a circuit that shut down but was restored fairly quickly.  The Microwave System remained functioning, and all the generators seemed to work and mobile data and paging systems worked as well.  He said it appears that all the towers were somehow affected by the power outage.  This event was less stressful than the snow and ice storm in January; however, there were some tense moments when two of the same base stations were not operating due to the lightning.  Staff immediately arrived to the sites and restored the power.  

 Mr. Shurtleff commented on the road closings and feels there needs to be better coordination in the public works area with identifying which municipality needs to be contacted for a road closing.  There were a number of roads closed in the first hour and it took time to determine which municipality was responsible to bring people in.  The highway crews were very responsive and did a good job.  Mr. Totman feels part of the problem was the electric company (NYSEG) not having enough people available.   

 Mr. Shurtleff briefly reported on the number of calls received during the storm.  On average 400 calls per day are received by dispatch; on Monday, July 21, well over 900 calls came in.  It was estimated that in slightly over three hours more than 500 of those calls were received.  He said the one challenge is the number of cellular calls that are received and determining where their location is. 

Update on Motorola Phase I Contract

 Mr. Wood said a meeting is scheduled for tomorrow with Motorola and he will be able to provide a detailed report following that meeting. This meeting is to refine what the County will be buying such as consoles, interim microwave link, and other necessary equipment.

Resolution - SEQR Negative Declaration Tower at Brown Road

 It was MOVED by Mr. Totman, seconded by Ms. Robertson, to submit the following resolution to the Legislature for approval.  Ms. Shakarjian said a full Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) and a visual assessment form were completed as requested and are available at the Legislature's office for review.  She commented on a letter she received from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concerning their rescission of the decision to paint the tower; it is now a policy decision of the County.  Ms. Blanchard said she asked Airport Manager Bob Nicholas to comment but has not yet received a response.  Following a brief discussion, Ms. Shakarjian clarified that FAA is not requiring the tower be painted but has recommended it.  Mr. Booth feels it would be in the County's best interest to paint the tower.  Ms. Blanchard feels legal counsel and the Airport Manager should recommend a direction.  Mr. Wood said he recommends the tower be painted.  Mr. Whicher noted that Cornell University has stated they do not wish to have the tower painted.  

 It was the consensus of the Committee to recommend the tower be painted.  

 Ms. Shakarjian noted that the Village has agreed to look at their ordinance language pertaining to the way towers are constructed as our proposed tower does not comply with their current regulations.  It was also noted that the tower will be built to accommodate commercial cell sites in the future, to bring in revenue.

 A voice vote resulted as follows on the resolution:  Ayes - 4; Noes - 0; Excused - 1 (Penniman).  RESOLUTION CARRIED.

RESOLUTION NO.       – TO ADOPT A NEGATIVE DECLARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL       SIGNIFICANCE IN REGARD TO TOWER CONSTRUCTION AT THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTER

 WHEREAS, pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, a long environmental assessment form, and a visual assessment form were completed to review potential environmental impacts associated with the construction of a 100’ monopole tower at the new Emergency Response Center, and
 WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Legislature has reviewed the assessment forms for the proposed unlisted action, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Communications Capital Committee, That the proposed action will result in no significant environmental impacts, 
RESOLVED, further, That the basis of this decision is set forth in the declaration of non-significance dated July 17, 2003.
SEQR ACTION: Unlisted 
 (Full Environmental Assessment form is on file in Clerk's Office)

State Wide Network Update

 Mr. Whicher updated the Committee on the status of the State Wide Network (SWN) project.  He said there has not been any further action at the State level to move this forward.  State Wide Network has received all the material from vendors for the Request for Proposals, evaluations have been completed, and they are now doing final ratings and could make an announcement of their preferred primary contractor any day.  A date has not been set for this announcement and until that is made, this project is not moving forward at the State level. Mr. Whicher said he has informed SWN that the County can no longer wait as the budget process is beginning and needs to move forward.  

 Mr. Whicher feels the County needs to begin considering Plan B.  He has met with staff and will be bringing forward a recommendation with a cost estimate for consideration to the next Committee meeting.  The plan includes:  
- improving the microwave system
- addressing the mobile data issue for the Sheriff
- replacing paging system (design is complete)  

 There are many alternatives to consider for addressing the mobile data issue and Mr. Whicher will continue to look into it.  He said the County cannot move ahead with the 800mHz system without a partner and additional funding is identified, but moving forward with the three items mentioned above will move the County forward.  The project is broken into three phases:
 Phase I - Connecting the ERC to the existing structure
 Phase II - Improving the existing infrastructure (current proposal)
 Phase III - 800mHz system (currently on hold until additional funding is available)

 Ms. Blanchard feels and the Committee agreed that the licensing protection features for the frequencies need to be included in the Phase II proposal when presented.  Mr. Whicher said he will look into this and also contact FCC.  

 Ms. Blanchard clarified that the Committee will consider Plan B, Phase II at the next meeting with the understanding that the 800mHz project will remain an option when an opportunity develops.  Mr. Whicher noted that the proposal will not disturb the time line for the project.  It was noted that whatever we decide to do, we'll need a new contract with Motorola.  Mr. Wood said he doubts they will consider Phase II as "going forward" for the sake of their incentive pricing on Phase I.

Update on Department of Transportation Project

 Mr. Marx said the public hearing on the annexation has been scheduled for August 13th at the Dryden Town Hall.  He said staff will be preparing a full presentation on the public benefit for the project at the hearing.  Mr. Marx noted that the annexation includes one parcel rather than multiple parcels.  If the annexation is approved by the town and village, it will bring water to the site.  Mr. Marx spoke of the benefits of this project including the economic impact of bringing additional workers to the Village, and increased assessments for neighboring properties.

 Mr. Wood commented that a referendum would have been required if there were more than one parcels involved; however, more parcels can be added later.  Ms. Blanchard said that if the annexation is not approved, the project will be done.  She said Department of Transportation has consistently stated that there must be public water and sewer at the site.  

Adjournment

 The meeting adjourned at 3:36 p.m.