Present:   P. Penniman, Chair, N. Schuler,  T. Todd, D. Winch, D. Kiefer, Vice Chair (3:50
p.m.)

Staff:     R. Nicholas, Airport Manager; E. Marx, Planning/Administration; A. LeMaro, Facilities; K. Fuller, Recorder

Guests: J. Morrissey, C&S Engineers

1)  Called to Order

 Mr. Penniman called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

2)  Additions to and Deletions from the Agenda

 The following item was added:

Ms. Schuler asked that information related to Brown Road be added to the agenda.

The following item was deleted:

Executive Session - Discussion of US Airways Request for Settlement Terms from Chapter 11

3)  Chair's Report - Discussion of Additional Meeting Time

 Mr. Penniman, Chair did not have a report.

4) RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING SUPPLEMENTAL CONSULTANT AGREEMENT NO. 11 WITH C&S ENGINEERS, INC. FOR CONSTRUCTION OBSERVATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSIENT RAMP REHABILITATION - ITHACA TOMPKINS REGIONAL AIRPORT

It was MOVED by Ms. Schuler, seconded by Mr. Winch, to approve the following resolution for submission to the full Legislature for approval.   Mr. Nicholas reported this will be a 70-day project with a construction cost of $1,422,995.  The Federal Aviation Authority-required independent fee estimate has been received and is in higher than the proposed amount for C&S to do this work.  Mr. Penniman inquired whether any of this work can be done in house.  Mr. Morrissey of C&S said while the County would have the ability to do so with equipment, there is specific aviation requirements that would require individuals within the County to be trained for.  He said to his knowledge very few airports/municipalities decide to undertake this training.  Mr. Winch said his review indicates the contract would cost $2,022/day or $391/hour.  Mr. Nicholas said that of this figure the County share is 2.5% of the cost.  Mr. Todd inquired if the County would be liable in the event of a closure and was told that the County is required to maintain an airport for general aviation use for twenty years following a pull-out of major airlines.  Maintaining the airport is the lighting, snow removal, emergency workers, etc.

 A voice vote on the motion resulted as follows:  Ayes - 4; Noes - 0; Excused - 1 (Legislator Kiefer).  MOTION CARRIED

      WHEREAS, the County has awarded construction contracts for the Transient Ramp Rehabilitation, and
      WHEREAS, there is a need for Construction Observation and Administration services in relation to this project and the airport's consultants, C&S Engineers of Syracuse, New York, have proposed providing these services for $141,597, and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) procedures an Independent Fee Estimate was performed by McFarland-Johnson Engineers of Binghamton, New York, to gauge the fairness of the fee, and
WHEREAS, with the C&S Engineers fee of $141,597 being $32,197.78 less than the McFarland-Johnson's estimated fee of $173,794.78, the FAA considers the C&S Engineer's fee being fair and acceptable, now therefore be it
      RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee, That Supplemental Agreement No. 11 with C&S Engineers for Transient Ramp Rehabilitation Construction Observation and Administration services in the amount of $141,597 be approved and financing of the contract is as follows:

     Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (95.0%)                            $ 134,597.00
     New York State Department of Transportation (2.5%)                     $     3,540.00
     Local (Airport Operational Budget) (2.5%)                                        $     3,540.00

     Total                                                                                                        $ 141,597.00
       RESOLVED, further, That the County Administrator be and hereby is authorized to execute the required documents,
      RESOLVED, further, That the Finance Director be authorized to make payments for these projects until reimbursement is received from the Federal Aviation Administration and New York State Department of Transportation.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-2

Notes:
1. A contract was recently awarded to Boland's Excavating & Topsoil of Conklin, New York in the amount of $ 1,422,995.00 for construction of the Transient Ramp Rehabilitation project.
2.   The project is expected to begin in May and last for about 70 working days.
3. Representatives from C&S will be on hand at the F&I Committee to answer any       questions.

5)  RESOLUTION NO.        - AUTHORIZING A SUPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH C&S ENGINEERS, INC., FOR ADDITIONAL SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH REBIDDING AND ADDITIONAL DESIGN SERVICES FOR THE TRANSIENT RAMP REHABILITATION - ITHACA TOMPKINS REGIONAL AIRPORT

 It was MOVED by Mr. Winch, seconded by Mr. Todd, to approve the following resolution for submission to the full Legislature for approval.   It was noted that although the bid is for a higher amount that originally estimated there are additional items to be completed within the scope of the agreement such as a concrete slab to provide for servicing more than one airplane as well as lavatory disposal for corporate aircraft.  This had been bid previously without success.  Mr. Nicholas said the bids are a great deal better and that while the cost of materials is increasing the timing of the bid was successful.

 A voice vote on the motion resulted as follows:  Ayes - 4; Noes - 0; Excused - 1 (Legislator Kiefer).  MOTION CARRIED

      WHEREAS, on December 2, 2003, the County approved an agreement with C&S Engineers for engineering design of the Transient Ramp rehabilitation project, and
      WHEREAS, the County received one bid on July 7, 2004, and said bid being over fifty percent higher than the engineer's estimate, was considered excessive by the County and was rejected, and
      WHEREAS, the project was revised to include two significant modifications and was subsequently re-bid in the spring of 2005, now therefore be it
      RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee, That the supplemental agreement which increases the fee by $30,000 be and hereby is approved and that the County Administrator is authorized to execute said supplemental agreement.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-2

The additional work required the design of a concrete pad for the jetway to accommodate Two aircraft at the same time (Northwest and US Airways). A lavatory disposal for General Aviation was also added for Taughannock Aviation. All paperwork and bid specs needed to be updated and re-issued.

6)  2005 Airport Goals

 Mr. Nicholas reviewed the 2005 goals and noted that in addition to the items provided he reported Ms. McPheeters assisting with the application for a federal grant.  The grant funding is a total of $20 million dollars with only fourteen awards nationwide and only three awards in any one state.  If received, the $500,000 will be used to assist with marketing the airport.  The grant is receiving support from Federal legislators as well as the local educational facilities.

 Ms. Schuler spoke of the Binghamton airport's marketing campaign recently seen connected with a Cornell-like logo.  She inquired if there is any way to stress the importance of supporting the local airport.  Mr. Nicholas said he did not believe there is anything that could be done as it is paid advertising.  He reported that Binghamton spends approximately $48,000 on advertising with Eagle Broadcasting and billboards, however there is only an estimated two percent loss of customers from this area as a result.

 Mr. Winch inquired if the increased cost of petroleum products will affect enplanements.  Mr. Nicholas said that fuel is the second highest expense for airlines, which is why the County contributed to Northwest Airlines for the first year when enplanements may be lower.

 [Ms. Kiefer arrived at 3:50 p.m.]

 Mr. Penniman asked how the cost of airline fuel compares to automobile travel.  He was informed that the average reimbursement for driving an automobile is $.56, with 15% of the cost for gasoline, the fuel cost for an airline is approximately 20% of their expenses.

 Members of the Committee were reminded of Northwest Airline's new service in May and of the www.flyithaca.com site now up and running.

7)  2005 Information Technology Services Goals

Mr. Potter informed the Committee that as part of his goals there is the transition of all network administrative responsibilities as a result of Mr. Houston's planned retirement next spring.  He indicated his thankfulness that the employee has provided such a lengthy notice to assist in this transition of a critical piece of the County's ITS responsibility.  He then reviewed each goal for Information Technology Services and highlighted the following:

Information Technology Services

· GOAL 1 - Criminal Justice Data Communications program (formerly CISNET) - this general direction and efforts needed to support the program need to be determined prior to the 2006 budget process.  It is anticipated that an over-target request will be required for this program that is utilized by the county and municipal public safety officials; attempts are being made to seek partial funding from those benefiting from the work being completed.  Mr. Potter noted the City had indicated utilizing this program and transitional work had been started toward this goal; however, he has since discovered that the City has decided not to choose the program.
· GOAL 2 - as a result of the Network Administrative responsibility position becoming vacant within a year the department is working on continuous training and knowledge transfer from the individual to the departmental workgroup.  During this period all aspects of this position will be reviewed to determine if further shifting of responsibility would benefit the department.
· GOAL 3 - NYS Bio-Terrorism Program and Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA) - The final piece of equipment funded from Bio-Terrorism funds is being installed.  There is still work to be done for the HIPAA requirements.  A great deal of the work being done is security related; documentation of each change is required, however it is time-consuming.  He reported that as part of the virtual private network (VPN) Windows program updates are taking place; security controls are done in part by departments and some measures are controlled totally by departments.  It was noted that the new Windows programs are not anticipated to create functional difficulties.
· GOAL 4 - Increased efforts will be taken to discuss and document changes to the projects undertaken by the department.  Mr. Potter reported approximately 80 percent of staff's time is used for maintenance/repairs.  He is also reviewing projects to determine the time and level of departmental responsibility that would occur prior to committing resources.  It was noted the PAR forms are being refined by administration and a potential revised form is forthcoming.
· GOAL 6 - Continue work on the policy, standards, and guidelines relating to network use within the County.  As individuals are utilizing personal laptop computers additional security measures are required.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

· GOAL 2 - The project with the City of Ithaca for internet GIS service is almost complete.  It will provide a model in the event other municipalities desire service.  It may be utilized in the future for the CJS information.
· GOAL 3 - Work is on-going to update core data sets that can be utilized with Emergency Response services.  This work will utilize the program "Looking Glass".
· GOAL 4 - Work will continue on GIS accessibility.  This information is one of the top three sites on the County web to be used.

Mr. Potter noted that information within the County would not provide personal data of the residents as outlined within the present policies.

8)  GASB

 Mr. Squires, Finance Director, provided a chart of the fixed assets for the County.  He said that the major change is from a fund schedule to an activity-based schedule.  The importance of this is that once the baseline of the value of the infrastructure was determined it provides for depreciation, this should show the net cost of maintaining items such as the transportation function, however it is a broad view.  Mr. Squires said it is good for analyzing the infrastructure and how you are maintaining it.  He reviewed information indicating that at the end of 2003 the County had total assets of $193,390,686, which through additions and depreciation showed a net total asset figure of $197,142,509 at the end of 2004.

Mr. Squires explained the report allows the County to see if it is adding to the value in excess of depreciation, noting that 2004 was a bad year due to the cyclical nature of work completed.  The infrastructure value was broken out into three categories, airport, road, and bridges.  He explained that the addition to infrastructure is determined by a permanent improvement; for highway work it is the CHIPS work completed.  If a contract completed by for bridge-work but does not have supporting documentation it may not be included.  Mr. Squires believes that 2005 will have increased infrastructure due to the schedule of work.  The hope is that the debt is less than the total cost of facilities.

Ms. Kiefer said she feels that there is an inconsistency in how capital projects are valued based upon whether the work is done in-house or contracted.  She doesn't believe it is fair or accurate.  Mr. Winch asked if the Administration should work with highway personnel to better document work completed; Mr. Penniman asked if the system would assist in determining if the work completed is adequate to maintain the infrastructure.  Mr. Squires did not believe the documentation is inappropriate.  Mr. Winch asked that the administration, Mr. Squires, and the highway division review and determine if there is a way to better document projects to more accurately reflect all costs.  Mr. Penniman and Mr. Winch believe that the GASB does not prove a useful tool for the division given the manner in which it is determined.  Ms. Kiefer would like information that determines the State definitions as used for GASB.

9)  Photovoltaic Report

 Mr. LeMaro reviewed the Photovoltaic report with the Committee.  Highlighted items are as follows:

· The panels produced 119,488 kilowatt hours in 2004 which was slightly reduced from the previous year's production of approximately 120,000.
· The energy produced is 90% of the simulated output of 132,881 kilowatt hours.
· An unplanned outage occurred September 4-6 and the cause was undetermined.
· The energy savings for the panels is $12,000 per year, less than was anticipated prior to construction.
· Powerlight will be contacted to see if restoration of the original educational information in the kiosk can occur.  Members felt the immediate information such as energy production on overcast days was useful.

 Mr. Todd left at this time 4:55 p.m.

10)  Adjournment

 On motion, the meeting adjourned at 4:56 p.m.

Respectfully submitted - Karen Fuller, Deputy Clerk