MINUTES
OTHERS: C.E.’s Office: Bill Randolph; Youth Bureau: Symra Brandon, A. Edwards; Budget Dept.: Kate Carrano, Arthur Vietro; CBAC/LWVW: Barbara Strauss; Scarsdale Town & Village Civic Club: Richard P. Streicher; Planning Dept.: Suzanne Nolan, Fran McLaughlin; Dept. of Correction: Pasquale Miscioslia; DPW: Anthony Landi, Ralph Butler; PRC: David DeLucia; DoIT: Norm Jacknis, R. Allen Elliott, Kay Foster; BOL: Sally Schecter, Barbara Dodds, Legislator Ryan, Robert Boland, Christopher Chang, Tina Seckerson
Chairman Wishnie called the Budget Committee meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.
DISCUSSION:
A1. IMA City of Peekskill: Act rescinding Act No. 185-2000 and authorizing the County to enter into an IMA with the City of Peekskill in order to provide reimbursement for prisoner transportation to the Westchester County Jail. (2/26/01)
· This legislation will rescind Act 185-2000 adopted on October 10, 2000, which authorized the County to enter into an IMA with the City of Peekskill to reimburse an amount “not to exceed” $185,976.00 to Peekskill for the term commencing January 1, 2000 and terminating December 31, 2001, in order to correct a mistake in the reimbursement rates for Peekskill police officers.
On motion of Legislator Kaplowitz, seconded by Legislator Young, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0.
A2. Safe and Accessible Places to Learn and Play: Proposed Act authorizing the County to enter into an IMA with the City of Mount Vernon to operate a Safe and Accessible Places to Learn and Play After School Program. (3/12/01)
· Total amount of this program is $166,666 of which $66,666 will be provided by the agency, $50,000 by the NYS Office of Children and Family Services and $50,000 by the Westchester County Urban Youth Initiative “Invest in Kids”.
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· This particular program is sponsored by the County, Mt. Vernon Youth Bureau and the Mt. Vernon Public Library. It is a co-ed after school program for children in grades 2-6 and is held at the Mt. Vernon Public Library.
On motion of Legislator Young, seconded by Legislator Stewart-Cousins, the motion to approve this tem was carried by a vote of 8-0.
BOND ACTS:
C11: RYON1: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $1,010,000 in Serial Bonds for the
Yonkers Waterfront Plan. (2/16/01)
· This is required to finance the design and construction of specialized site improvements, as well as the second phase of site improvements for a County park on the Yonkers Waterfront.
· Area of work consists of the former Habirshaw Club property and a portion of the former Naval Militia site, both of which are county-owned and are collectively referred to as the “Northern Park Terminus”.
· Site improvements, required by Scenic Hudson as a condition of their participation in the site acquisition, will serve to increase public access to the Hudson River. The park is the subject of an agreement with Scenic Hudson.
· The overall project implements the County waterfront park component of the Yonkers Downtown Waterfront Master Plan.
· A prior appropriation (Bond Act 63-2000) funded the overall design of the northern park terminus, as well as Phase I improvements to the Habirshaw portion of the project area consisting of soil remediation, grading, and parking lot improvements.
On motion of Legislator Stewart-Cousins, seconded by Legislator Kaplowitz, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0.
C2: RBR01: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $1,000,000 in Serial Bonds for Bronx
River Reservation Pathways. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance Phase I construction in the form of repaving and widening the existing pathways on the Bronx River Parkway Reservation between Harney Road and Bronxville.
· Project will include the placement of asphalt, replacement of pedestrian bridges, installation of benches, tree plantings and associated work, as well as associated site work.
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· Some dredging work will be involved.
On motion of Legislator LaMotte, seconded by Legislator Young, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0.
23. P0006: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $550,000 in Serial Bonds for Bronx River Reservation Pond Rehabilitation & Bank Stabilization. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the design of certain waterway and drainage improvements, including: the design of the rehabilitation of the lakes of Ann’s Way, Bronxville and Crestwood, within the Bronx River Reservation, in the form of dredging and related bank stabilization, in the amount of 200,000; and the funding match for the Army Corps of Engineers Regional flood Control and Ecosystem Restoration Study, which will provide information towards a basin wide watershed plan for the Bronx River, as well as feasibility studies for the ecosystem restoration projects along the river, resulting in increased water quality and decreased storm flows along the river, in the amount of $350,000.
· This is not a flooding project but rather one that will create new areas for wildlife.
On motion of Legislator LaMotte, seconded by Legislator Wishnie, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 7-0 with Legislator Carsky out for the vote.
22. P0004: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $250,000 in Serial Bonds for Bronx River Parkway Repaving Program. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the design for the repaving of the Bronx River Parkway for the sections of the parkway consisting of Harney Road/Strathmore Road to River Road and Main Street to Cemetery Road, Phase Ii and Phase III, respectively, of the Bronx River Parkway repaving program.
On motion of Legislator Kaplowitz, seconded by Legislator Noto, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0 with Legislator Carsky signing “Without Prejudice”.
24. RB013: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $1,200,000 in Serial Bonds for Pelham Road & Echo Avenue, CR 65A, New Rochelle & Pelham. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the construction of Pelham Road and Echo Avenue in the City of New Rochelle and Village of Pelham.
· Project includes the rehabilitation of the road surface, as well as other pertinent work including, but not limited to, adjusting street hardware and applying new pavement delineation.
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On motion of Legislator Noto, seconded by Legislator Kaplowitz, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0.
25. RB014: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $1,687,000 in Serial Bonds for Traffic Signal System Rehabilitation, Various Locations. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the upgrade and modernization of traffic signals on County roads and parkways.
· Project will include the installation of new poles, controller, loop detectors and associated equipment, as well as the interconnection of controllers.
· The traffic signals to be upgraded include nine on the Bronx River, six on the Kensico Road/Columbus Avenue and six on Mamaroneck Avenue.
· The estimated total is $4,570,000 to be financed with $2,883,000 in non-County funds from Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality Funds and $1,687,000 in bonds.
On motion of Legislator Kaplowitz, seconded by Legislator Stewart-Cousins, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0.
26. RB019: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $1,880,000 in Serial Bonds for Central Westchester Parkway, CR #150, White Plains & North Castle. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the construction of the east shoulder of Central Westchester Parkway in the City of White Plains and the Town of North Castle.
On motion of Legislator Swanson, seconded by Legislator LaMotte, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0 with Legislators Noto and Carsky signing “Without Prejudice”.
27. BIT02: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $345,000 in Serial Bonds for Electronic Government & Public Access. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance continued implementation of web-based applications including the acquisition of hardware and software for the following systems: video conferencing, multimedia, smart cards and web software.
· Dr. Jacknis explained that the smart cards have not implemented yet, but they will start with Playland.
· Dr. Jacknis stated that the status and future maintenance of the Board of Legislators website needs to be discussed. He explained that previously it had been maintained by volunteers.
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On motion of Legislator Carsky, seconded by Legislator LaMotte, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0 with Legislator Swanson signing “Without Prejudice”.
28. BIT04: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $1,325,000 in Serial Bonds for Power Tools. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the acquisition of software and consultant expertise for the continued deployment of a number of productivity tools, including power stands for productivity optimization and workflow empowerment re-engineering.
· The project will include building the foundation for future software development by providing reusable software components that can be assembled to meet particular requirements of a user.
On motion of Legislator Young, seconded by Legislator Stewart-Cousins, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0 with Legislator Swanson signing “Without Prejudice”.
29. BIT06: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $500,000 in Serial Bonds for Purchase of Computer Equipment. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance acquisition of major new server equipment and data storage devices.
· Project will include acquisitions of larger servers for multi-departmental or countywide applications, departmental servers for single departmental applications, exchange servers to support Microsoft Exchange and data storage devices.
On motion of Legislator Noto, seconded by Legislator Carsky, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0 with Legislator Swanson signing “Without Prejudice”.
30. BIT07: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $500,000 in Serial Bonds for Global Positioning System. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the development of a Global Positioning System.
· The project will include the acquisition and installation of three Continuous Operating Reference Stations to be located at sites providing optimal coverage.
· In addition, it includes the acquisition of hardware and software to interface with existing Geographic Information Systems Applications as well as training for County staff.
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On motion of Legislator Carsky, seconded by Legislator Young, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0 with Legislator Swanson signing “Without Prejudice”.
31. BIT08: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $500,000 in Serial Bonds for Financial Systems Review. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the acquisition of technical services and software upgrades for implementing the latest version of the County financial system, the American Management Systems, which is necessary to comply with the Governmental Accounting Standard Board (GASB) Statement No. 34.
· GASB Statement 34 requires a new basis of accounting and reporting of the financial activity of the County, including full accrual and fixed asset depreciation.
· Committee asked about the status of the tracking system for bond acts. Mrs. Carrano will check and get back to the Committee.
On motion of Legislator Young, seconded by Legislator Kaplowitz, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0 with Legislator Swanson signing “Without Prejudice”.
32. BIT09: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $705,000 in Serial Bonds for Geographic Information Systems. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the acquisition of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) hardware and software, GIS application and database development, to support the development of a County geographic database for mapping, environmental review, as well as other purposes.
· The project will include tax mapping, integration, consulting services and database enhancements to integrate census data with the GIS database.
On motion of Legislator Carsky, seconded by Legislator Kaplowitz, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0 with Legislator Swanson signing “Without Prejudice”.
33. BIT10: Proposed Bond Act authorizing $680,000 in Serial Bonds for a County-wide Base Mapping. (2/26/01)
· Required to finance the second and final phase of countywide base mapping, including consultant services to create a database for planimetrics and digital orthphotography to provide control and foundation for infrastructure and utility mapping.
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On motion of Legislator LaMotte, seconded by Legislator Young, the motion to approve this item was carried by a vote of 8-0.
A&C CALENDAR:
The Committee reviewed the A&C Calendar.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further items for discussion on motion of Legislator LaMotte, seconded by Legislator Young, the meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m.