- By Marcia E. Lynch
- News
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County Accepts Aging Master Program Grant
The Legislature without dissent (Legislators Mike Sigler and Leslyn McBean-Clairborne were excused) authorized the County's Office for the Aging to accept an Aging Master Program grant from the New York State Office for the Aging. The program strives to help older adults take key steps to improve their well-being, add stability to their lives, and strengthen their ties the community. The $5,550 grant will support start-up expenses to host the Aging Master Program in collaboration with the aging services organization Lifelong. The ten-week program combines goal-setting, daily practices, and peer support to help participants make meaningful changes in the lives of older adults.
Agreement Authorized for Dodge Road Bridge Reconstruction
The Legislature, by unanimous vote, authorized the County to execute an agreement with the Town of Dryden for reconstruction of the Dodge Road Bridge over Cascadilla Creek. (Legislators Mike Sigler and Leslyn McBean-Clairborne were excused) The agreement funds reconstruction of the bridge and delegates future responsibilities for maintenance. The project will replace the existing bridge, built in 1935, which is considered "scour critical," meaning its foundations could be unstable in flood conditions. Silverline Construction, Inc. was awarded the construction contract last month. Total project cost is $567,015, with the Town of Dryden supporting 20% of the cost ($113,403). The design and bidding process have yielded costs 23% below those anticipated, translating to a $138,388 saving in the County's share.
Among other business:
- Finance Director Rick Snyder reported on County sales tax receipts for July. Non-reconciled numbers for the month show monthly receipts up by just over 10% compared 2017, and year-to-date figures up by 6.63%
- Legislature Chair Martha Robertson reported that she and Legislators Deborah Dawson and Anne Koreman will travel to the White House on Thursday, invited to a half-day conference of New York and New Jersey county officials with members of the Trump administration, sponsored by the National Association of Counties. Among issues expected to be raised by the New York officials, infrastructure; federal tax reform and the cap on State and local tax deduction; protecting the Federal-State partnership on Medicaid; immigration reform; passage of the Farm Bill; Internet sales tax; and environmental cleanup funding.
- County Attorney Jonathan Wood explained to Legislators how the County's hydropower purchase arrangement works with Gravity Renewables. The County purchases the hydroelectricity produced by the historic Waterloo hydroelectric project and receives credits for the purchase on its electric bill. Wood said that credits are exceeding the County's cost by about 4%. Last year, he reported, about 80% of the County's electricity consumption came from hydropower.