VILLAGE OF TRUMANSBURG

MAIN STREET PROJECT

ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

December 11, 2003

A joint meeting of the Trumansburg Village Board and the Main Street Advisory Committee was held in the Main Meeting Room of the Village Office at 56 East Main Street, Trumansburg, NY 14886.

VILLAGE BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Rod Ferrentino, Rick Willers, Mark Rich, Carl Potter. ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Paula Horrigan, Jim Constantin, Scott Sears, Fran Maguire, John Ullberg, Bruce Vann.

MINUTES TAKEN BY: Susan Henninger, Main Street Project Assistant, Karin Lanning, Deputy Clerk, Carolyn Bennett, Clerk Treasurer.

The meeting opened at 7:00 PM. The Project Assistant was not present until 7:30 PM so please reference the Village Office minutes for the latest developments from SHPPO and the DOT.

DESIGN REPORT:

* The Mayor reported that he had a meeting with the Department of Transportation regarding the two bridges that are in need of repair. These repairs will result in detours that will substantially increase the amount of truck traffic on Main Street. During the meeting the Mayor also brought up the bridge on Main Street, which is in need of attention as well. The DOT representatives asked that they be provided with the traffic data that Paula's students collected. Paula stated that this is on CD and that she would get it to Susan to pass onto Rod as soon as possible as a second meeting has been scheduled with the DOT next week.

* The group then reviewed the revised budget provided by Jim and Scott. The budget is based on new numbers provided by C&S on 12/09/03. It was noted that the deleted numbers in red are all “extras” and that it may be possible to obtain them through other sources (i.e. donations or volunteers). Jim stated that the figures provided for survey, maintenance and protection of traffic, mobilization, and design contingency were all firm costs and would not change. He also mentioned that the money budgeted for the AE fee was negotiated a year ago and might need to be updated. After reviewing the AE estimate for services for lighting design that C&S supplied for the meeting, Jim recommended that the group not accept this but instead negotiate with a “design- build” contractor for a lower fee. Jim and Paula discussed whether it would be best to put in conduits and wires without the footers but were not able to come to an agreement at this time. The Mayor stated that, looking at these figures, the Village initially committed to a certain portion of the Project and now it seems like they are being asked to contribute substantially more and he wondered where the money would come from. Scott assured the Village Board that the Advisory Committee understood the Village's position and that the Committee would work with Board members to determine how best to accommodate needs for additional funding. Jim and Scott noted that, using the current projected budget, more money would need to be fund-raised.

*Bruce noted that, in regard to the information supplied by Don Schlather at the last meeting, it is the DPW's opinion that there is no way to get three to five good quality people to do the work for $15-$20 an hour in the same amount of time that a contractor would. Rod stated that prevailing wage is a state issue and that all numbers would have to take that into consideration. Paula mentioned that work could be subcontracted out to a local contractor as well, though they might require more supervision. Rod offered the idea of having a local mason group doing the flat work and then letting the DPW use their expertise to do the grading and seeding work.

*The Village's relationship with C&S was also discussed. It was noted that the TEA-21 grant was for the sidewalks to go from the Post Office to Shursave on both sides of the street. Jim plans to explore with C&S how far along this stretch will be paid for by the grant and what portion will be funded by other revenues. The Mayor questioned why C&S needs to be paid to manage this work. It was explained that they have a lot of experience with the permitting and paperwork associated with this type of project and that the improvements are in their corridor (Syracuse region) as well.

*It was also clarified that, under “capital funding sources”, the Town of Ulysses has not, and is not, planning to donate any amount of cash to the Main Street Project. The Town will be contributing “in kind” labor. The group all felt that it would be reasonable to ask the Town to contribute a percentage of this as cash at some point in time.

*Scott summarized the discussion by stating that if appears that three things need to occur in the near future:

>There needs to be a conversation with C&S and the State regarding “Budget chunking” options. The idea would be to break the construction into three sections-the Post Office to South Street, South Street to Smith Woods, and Smith Woods to Ulysses. The option of putting in sidewalks on one side of the street only for a larger distance was also raised, however no decisions were reached at this time.

>Once these options are determined, another spreadsheet with accurate and current figures needs to be created.

>The Advisory group and Village Board need to get creative about ways to fund-raise more money. Current fund-raising strategies need to be supplemented by larger blocks of money such as grants.

FUND-RAISING REPORT:

*Fran and Susan reported that a letter was received from

Tompkins County Trust Company in which a “matching donation” of $25,000 was given toward the Sidewalk Project. Fran will speak to the bank about how they want to publicize this contribution.

*There was some discussion about grant applications. It was noted that most municipalities have a grant writer on staff. The group agreed that Susan could take this on as a job responsibility and that Rod would be her Board liaison for grant applications. Susan also mentioned that it might behoove the Board to fund appropriate trainings for her in terms of improving her ability to search for, write, and be awarded appropriate grants. The Board agreed to consider any such requests. The Deputy Clerk and Clerk Treasurer will forward any mail that has grant information to the Project Assistant and she will also look through the Mayor's mailbox on a regular basis. In addition, local grant writer Jane Hexter has agreed to help search for, and write, grants to help the Main Street Project. Susan and Jane have met and will be communicating on a regular basis. Fran will also be involved as needed. Susan and Don will also be doing some ongoing work with representatives from the Tompkins County Area Development group.

*Fran also noted that she has several other ideas that she is currently reviewing with the Fund-Raising committee. Susan and Fran will be meeting in January to create a schedule/timeline of winter and spring fund-raising events.

*The Mayor mentioned that Alan Vogel had agreed to help with the fund-raising of the original amount required. Susan noted that Alan has been involved in many fund-raising activities so far and that he has been attempting to work with the GrassRoots festival to get them to make a donation (perhaps in conjunction with the bank's donation). She and Fran will remind Alan of this in the New Year.

REVIEW OF TASK PROGRESS LIST:

* Scott went down the list item by item. Bruce noted that the Village Board has passed a resolution allowing the purchase of design work estimates for the water main and the Main Street vaults. This is to be started next week by Hunt Engineers. The final details and “specs” should be available by the end of January at which time they will be forwarded on to C&S. Rick and Rod are still working on the Right of Way letters and documentation with the Village Attorney, Dave Tyler.

Rick is also planning to schedule a Village Board meeting with the Village CPA to discuss a number of financial issues (including cash flow) involving current Village projects.

*The major item of discussion on the list was that of the hiring of an Owner Representative for the Main Street Project. The Mayor stated that he was suggesting that Doug Austic, current Village and Town employee, be considered for the position. It was decided that Doug would be interviewed by the Village Board and the Advisory Committee on 12/22/03.

Carl Potter reminded the group that the Village would be making the ultimate decision as to whether Doug would be hired or not as they would be paying his salary. Scott responded with a reminder that a successful project will require a good working relationship between all Committee and Board members as well as a feeling of ownership by everyone involved.

NEW BUSINESS: Scott requested that the two groups review the job description for the Project Assistant that he and Susan have drawn up. It was noted that the job will be shifting somewhat as there are a number of new tasks involved as the project enters the construction phase. The Village Board noted that there is no chance of the Project Assistant's hours being increased. Susan asked for clarification as to her supervision. The Mayor directed her to continue to work with Rick and Scott until the March election at which point things might change. It was agreed by all present that the Project Assistant position should remain in place until the Main Street Project has reached completion.

*Susan reported that there should be a new editor at the Free Press by the New Year. She will be limiting her column until then to insure accuracy of reporting.

*NYSERDA will be doing another Energy Star workshop at the Trumansburg Schools on February 4, 2004.

*There will be a “Main Street USA” workshop featuring a speaker from New Jersey at Cornell on January 16 th . All are encouraged to attend and may ask the Project Assistant for further information.

The meeting ended at 10:00 PM.

NEXT MEETING WILL BE 12/22/03 AT 7:00 PM