Public Works committee approves nine resolutions; discusses landfill plan, airport terminal and road projects

The Sullivan County Public Works Committee approved nine resolutions in two blocks at the end of its meeting and heard detailed staff reports on paving, guide rails, airport work and landfill operations, including earlier receipt of 7 pages of comments from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on the county's draft solid waste management plan.

Committee members approved resolutions 1–4 in a block, moved by Matt McPhillips and seconded by Nick Salimone, and then approved resolutions 5–9 in a block, moved by Terry Blaser Bernardo and seconded by Louie Alvarez. Committee members voiced routine questions during reports but did not ask for separate roll-call votes on the individual resolutions; the chair recorded each block as approved by voice vote ("Aye," 6 yes).

Why it matters: the items approved and discussed include projects and spending that shape the county's roads and airport access, routine landfill maintenance and operations, and policy direction for municipal cleanup and solid waste planning. Several agenda items also include federal or state grant shares, making the projects contingent on outside funding.

Staff report highlights

Ed, a public works staff member, presented the municipal separate storm sewer system annual report for 1.5 miles of county roads in the Mamakating area and said the county has applied for a DEC waiver because the area was removed from the urbanized designation in recent census data. "We have also submitted for a waiver," he said, adding the DEC had not yet responded and that the county would post the annual report on its website.

Ed and other staff described this construction season's pipeline: a new list of 15 approved consultants for local design services; a guide-rail bid expected to total roughly $1.5 million this year; work on unstable embankments; and a 34-mile paving contract awarded to Sullivan County Paving for $8,480,000. Ed said the county expects to use CHIPS and extreme-weather and pothole-repair funding to cover about $4.5 million of that contract, leaving roughly $3.9 million in county funds.

Airport and related finance

Staff reported continued progress on the new airport terminal, with a target completion in May and final change orders expected. For one apron/paving item, staff said the federal grant share would be $2,090,000, with county and state shares of $55,000 each. Staff noted they had been coordinating with the FAA on grant terms and that, so far, federal and state funding programs were continuing to disburse money despite broader concerns about federal transportation funding.

Landfill operations, contracts and solid-waste planning

The committee reviewed a $66,182 contract award to Wind River Environmental to clean leachate lines and haul leachate for annual DEC permit compliance. Staff also presented a design authorization with H2M for telemetry and controls associated with a redundant potable water tower at the Liberty Complex; construction for the tower is expected to start in the fall with completion in spring of the following year.

Mark, a staff member responsible for landfill operations, reported the county had submitted its local solid waste management plan to the DEC in October and had received a seven-page list of questions and requested changes; the county has 60 days to respond. During public comment, several residents urged policy changes: one speaker urged local adoption of "accessories-on-request" rules for takeout (to reduce disposable utensils and cups), and another speaker opposed incineration and cited a lifecycle analysis she said showed incineration's negative health and climate impacts. The committee asked staff to circulate the DEC comments to legislators and indicated they would review policy and funding implications.

Municipal cleanup tonnage and a new village

Committee discussion included how to allocate municipal cleanup tonnage to a newly incorporated village (referred to during the meeting as Ataris/Atirius/Atarius in the record). After discussion, the committee agreed to provisionally allocate 3 tons of municipal cleanup credit to the new village for the coming season and to draft a resolution to formalize that allocation; staff noted any additional tonnage could be billed at county cost if used and that adjustments to the published town allotments would be considered next year.

Personnel and seasonal rates

The committee approved a modest hourly increase for some seasonal landfill positions — staff recommended raising a seasonal rate to $20 per hour for certain positions to improve recruitment — and discussed aligning seasonal pay rates across departments to avoid internal competition for workers.

Votes at a glance: - Resolution 1 (setting public hearing for hangar lease): moved by Matt McPhillips; approved as part of block 1–4 (voice vote, aye, 6 yes). - Resolution 2 (pile driving / Pflugertown Road contract to Sullivan County Paving): moved by Matt McPhillips; approved as part of block 1–4. Staff reported the pile driving item was $117,920 (contract figure stated in meeting). - Resolution 3 (MS4 annual report posting / related compliance): moved by Matt McPhillips; approved as part of block 1–4. - Resolution 4 (leachate cleaning contract to Wind River Environmental, $66,182): moved by Matt McPhillips; approved as part of block 1–4. - Resolutions 5–9 (including H2M design for new potable-water tower telemetry, seasonal rate increases, striping contract adjustments, the Sullivan County Paving 34-mile paving contract at $8,480,000, and airport terminal change orders not-to-exceed $450,000): moved by Terry Blaser Bernardo, seconded by Louie Alvarez; approved as part of block 5–9 (voice vote, aye, 6 yes).

What the committee directed next

Staff were asked to prepare a resolution to formalize the 3-ton municipal cleanup allotment for the new village and to place the item on the executive agenda for the next meeting. Staff also said they would circulate the DEC comments on the solid waste plan to legislators. Several committee members asked staff to continue tracking federal grant confirmations for airport and highway projects and to return with any changes required if grant awards are adjusted.

Closing

The committee entered a short executive-session/adjournment sequence after the votes and then adjourned the public meeting.