Archive: News

Awarded for Human Services Annex Renovation
The Legislature, by unanimous vote, awarded construction contracts for the renovation of the Human Services Annex, located in the 200 block of Ithaca’s West Martin Luther King, Jr./State Street, new home for the County Office for the Aging.  (Legislators Kathy Luz Herrera and Nathan Shinagawa were excused.)  Contracts were awarded to F.E. Jones Construction, Inc., of Binghamton, as General Contractor; Climate Control Technologies, Inc., of Endwell, Mechanical Contractor; Richardson Brothers of Ithaca, Electrical Contractor; and Ackerman Plumbing, Inc., Plumbing Contractor, for a total contract cost of $1,092,444.

Capital Program Review Committee Chair Mike Lane reported that, although initial bids had come in about $200,000 over budget, modification in some project features have brought the cost down to a level where the County can accept the bids, and avoid the need to re-bid or delay the start of construction.  Such delays would prevent the relocation of the Office for the Aging from the County Courthouse by the end of the year.  Lane said the Committee will continue to work with staff and architects to examine the project plan, and may come back to the Legislature at a later time, to ask for contingency funding for the project, as needed.

Tourism Capital Grant Awarded for Emerald Necklace Enhancement Project
The Legislature, by unanimous vote, awarded a $15,000 Tourism Capital Grant to a project, sponsored by the Finger Lakes Land Trust, to enhance access to a portion of the Emerald Necklace greenway.  (Legislators Kathy Luz Herrera and Nathan Shinagawa were excused.)  The Emerald Necklace is a crescent of forest lands that stretch in an arc around the City of Ithaca, through Schuyler, Seneca, Tompkins, and Tioga Counties, from the Finger Lakes Natural Forest to Hammond Hill State Forest.  The grant, supported entirely through County Room Occupancy Tax funds, will be used primarily to help support construction of an elevated boardwalk above a wetland ecosystem, providing access and connection between the Yellow Barn and Hammond Hill State Forests in Dryden, linking two elements of the Emerald Necklace.  The Strategic Tourism Planning Board also has recommended award of another $5,000 in grant funds in 2013.

Among other actions, the Legislature

• Awarded G. DeVincentis & Son Construction Company, Inc., of Binghamton, the construction contract to replace the West Seneca Road Bridge over Boardman Creek in the Town of Ulysses for the firm’s bid of $689,160, pending approval and confirmation of funding by the New York State Department of Transportation.  The Legislature also authorized a contract with C&S Engineers, Inc., of Syracuse, of an amount not to exceed $122,752, for bridge construction inspection and supervision services related to the project.  The $845,000 project is 80% supported by Federal aid, with the Town of Ulysses contributing 4% of project cost.  Tompkins County’s share is 16% ($135,200).
• Adopted a new Local Law to amend Article 9 of the County Charter related to the Department of Health, reflecting the closure of the County’s Certified Home Health Agency, and the operation of a Licensed Home Care Services Agency, and approved amended bylaws for the County Board of Health to reflect current procedures.
• Authorized the County to file an application for a State Grant-Aid for Municipal Waste Reduction and Recycling that would fund up to half of the cost of capital improvements to the County’s Solid Waste and Recycling Center—$1.3 million of the project’s $2.6 million cost—and to sign the associated contract with the State of New York.
• Authorized acceptance of a grant from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services of a $40,000 grant to the Department of Social Services (no local match) to develop and implement a program to identify, investigate, and prosecute instances of day care fraud.
• Authorized the County to submit a $750,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to continue the County’s Homeownership Program.
• Approved a contract with the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District for stream corridor and flood hazard mitigation program projects, at an amount not to exceed $25,000 for 2012.

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