| COUNTY INITIATES APPRENTICESHIP POLICY By a vote of 9 to 5, the Legislature approved a policy change that will require contractors working on County construction projects to have an apprenticeship program to train new workers. For any County project which awards three or more general contracts and which costs more than $1 million, contractors must have a New York State-certified apprenticeship program; and all subcontractors must also participate in state Department of Labor-approved apprenticeship training. To allow small and specialty non-union contractors - for whom apprentice training may not be feasible - to compete in bidding or subcontracting, the policy exempts a total of 25 percent of the value of the contract from the requirement. Many union members and apprenticeship graduates spoke in favor of the resolution, which was passed after over an hour of discussion. Voting yes were Legislators Barbara Blanchard, Kathy Luz Herrera, Tim Joseph, Michael Koplinka-Loehr, Michael Lane, Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, Peter Penniman, Nancy Schuler, and Martha Robertson. Voting no were Richard Booth, Dooley Kiefer, Frank Proto, Thomas Todd, and Daniel Winch. George Totman was absent. Contact: Kathy Luz Herrera, Chair, Planning, Development, and Environmental Quality Committee, 273-8169. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN LOOKS BETTER THAN EVER Lee Shurtleff, Director of the County's Department of Emergency Response, provided the Legislature with an update on the Public Safety Communications System. Shurtleff presented a preliminary design for the planned upgrade to the countywide emergency communications network used by first responders. The Legislature accepted by unanimous vote the conceptual design, which will be used as a starting point in negotiating with Motorola, Inc. for final design and construction of the system, estimated to cost $15-20 million. Shurtleff offered some refinements to information about the system that was released two weeks ago, when a nine-site system was outlined. The preliminary nine-site design shows reuse of existing sites in the towns of Newfield, Groton, and Dryden, in addition to a rebuilt tower on South Hill in the Town of Ithaca. New sites may be located in the towns of Danby, Caroline, Newfield and/or Ulysses. The design provides radio coverage with at least 95 percent reliability, meaning that a radio transmission will be loud and clear 95 times out of 100, in at least 95 percent of the land area. In fact, said Shurtleff, the design that is being looked at now will cover 98.1 percent of the land mass. The nine-site plan included a few problem spots located in areas of rugged terrain. Since then, another design configuration has solved several of the areas where less than 95 percent coverage is predicted. Even in these areas, which total less than 8.6 square miles out of a total of 476 square miles in the county, there will be radio coverage, just not to the extent of the rest of the county. The design may change somewhat when Motorola does its technical study, but the County project team feels confident that its projections are valid enough to start securing purchase options on possible sites. Communications Capital Projects Committee Chair Peter Penniman said that even though the preliminary design exceeds the County's standards, continuing work will go into improvements. Contacts: Lee Shurtleff, Director of Emergency Response, 257-3888; Peter Penniman, Chair, Communications Capital Projects Committee, 387-3928. CONSULTANT TO HELP AIRPORT SEEK ADDITIONAL CARRIERS On recommendation of the Air Service Task Force, the Legislature unanimously approved hiring a consultant for recruitment of additional air carriers at the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. S, H & E International Air Transport Consultancy, Inc. will be contracted to collect and analyze market data, prepare proposals, and assist with negotiations with carriers. The Legislature approved a maximum cost of $50,000 to come initially from the airport's budget but to be reimbursed with anticipated state grant funds. Contacts: Bob Nicholas, Airport Manager, 257-0456; Dick Booth, Chair, Facilities and Infrastructure Committee, 272-6573. |