[00:00:02] GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME [PUBLIC SAFETY] TO MEETING NUMBER 8 OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. CLERK, PLEASE TAKE THE ROLL. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN? HERE. TODARO? HERE. OH, THANKS. DUPRE? PRESENT. CHAIR GILMOUR? HERE. SCHOEN? ALL MEMBERS PRESENT. ALL RIGHT, ON PAGE 1, ITEMS 1 THROUGH 4 REMAIN TABLED UNDER MY AUTHORITY AS CHAIR. ITEM 5 IS AN ACTUAL ITEM. IT'S COMMUNICATION 11E-19, 2026. CHRIS, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU, SIR. WE ARE ASKING THE LEGISLATURE TO APPROVE THIS ITEM AND AUTHORIZE A CONTRACT WITH THE, BEG YOUR PARDON WITH URBAN INSTITUTE TO SERVE AS THIRD-PARTY EVALUATOR FOR THE KINSHIP HOUSING BUFFALO PROGRAM. YOU'LL RECALL, UH, IN LATE 2024, THIS BODY AUTHORIZED US TO ACCEPT A GRANT FROM THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE FOR $1 MILLION TO BEGIN THE KINSHIP HOUSING BUFFALO PROGRAM. THIS IS A PROGRAM WHERE, FOR THE DURATION OF THE GRANT, 3 YEARS, EVERY YEAR WE PROVIDE FUNDING FOR HOUSING FOR RELEASED INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS. HOUSING IS A BARRIER FOR MANY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS WHEN THEY'RE RELEASED. THE IDEA IS TO GET THEM INTO STABLE HOUSING, KEEP THEM IN STABLE HOUSING DECREASE THE CHANCE THAT THEY'LL BE REINCARCERATED. THIS GRANT, WE WILL BE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE OSBORNE ASSOCIATION OUT OF NEW YORK CITY AND PEACE PRINCE OF WESTERN NEW YORK. IT'S A REQUIREMENT OF THE GRANT THAT WE CONTRACT WITH A THIRD-PARTY EVALUATOR TO MONITOR THIS GRANT OVER THE DURATION OF THE 3-YEAR PERIOD. WE'RE WITHIN PROBABLY A HANDFUL OF WEEKS FROM GETTING GOING, AND SO THIS IS ONE OF THE LAST- ITEMS THAT WE NEED APPROVED BEFORE WE CAN START THIS PROGRAM. LIEUTENANT HOWELL FROM OUR COMMUNITY REINTEGRATION DIVISION WITH ME TO MY RIGHT TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. ONE QUESTION. LINDSAY. I JUST HAD A QUESTION. HOW MANY WHAT IS LIKE THE IMPACT OF THIS PROGRAM? LIKE HOW MANY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE COMING OUT ARE BENEFITED FROM THE PROGRAM? WE'RE ENROLLING 25 A YEAR, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY ENROLLING OUR FIRST GROUP OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. WE'RE GOING TO START WITH A GROUP OF 15 JUST FOR THE CASE MANAGER TO START WITH, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE 10 MORE FOR THE YEAR, AND THEN NEXT YEAR WE'LL ENROLL ANOTHER 25. AND WHAT DOES THE QUALIFICATION PROCESS LOOK LIKE? SO THEY'RE GETTING SCREENED BY OUR CURRENT PROGRAM, PROJECT BLUE, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT. SO EVERY INDIVIDUAL IS GOING TO GET ENROLLED WITH PROJECT BLUE, SO THEY GO THROUGH THEIR ASSESSMENT SCREENING PROCESS AS PART OF THAT ENROLLMENT. OKAY, THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. CERTAINLY, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE ANY GRANT INFORMATION. NO, I THINK IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM. I APPRECIATE WHAT'S GOING ON. I'D LIKE TO GET THAT INFORMATION SO I CAN TELL MORE PEOPLE ABOUT IT. ABSOLUTELY. WE ALSO HAVE A PIECE OF SUCCESS STUDY. EXCELLENT. YEAH, WE ARE HAPPY TO SHARE THE EVALUATION MATERIAL WHEN IT COMES OUT. ANYONE ELSE? MOTION APPROVED. PROPER SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANKS, GUYS. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO PAGE 2. ITEM 6 WILL BE TABLED UNDER MY AUTHORITY AS CHAIR. ITEM 7 WILL BE RECEIVED AND FILED UNDER MY AUTHORITY AS CHAIR. AND THAT'S ALL WE HAVE. MOTION TO ADJOURN. MOTION TO ADJOURN. PROPER SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? WE STAND ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. [ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT] CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MEETING NUMBER 9, JUNE JUNE 18TH, 2026. CLERK? SENATOR LORIGO? HERE. LEGISLATOR TODARO? HERE. CHAIR? HERE. LEGISLATOR DUPRE? PRESENT. LEGISLATOR RONALD? HERE. CHAIR MEYERS IS ABSENT. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT. THANK YOU. ITEMS 1 THROUGH 8 ARE TABLED UNDER MY AUTHORITY AS CHAIR. ITEMS 9 THROUGH 13 ARE ACTIONABLE. ITEM 9, COMMUNICATION 11E-14. I BELIEVE WE HAVE TROY HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM. TROY, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD MORNING. TODAY I'M IN FRONT OF YOU REQUESTING YOUR AUTHORIZATION TO AMEND AN EXISTING AGREEMENT WITH DIDONATO ASSOCIATES TO ADD CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION TO THEIR SERVICES AT SENECA BLUFFS. THIS IS AN EXCITING PROJECT, ONE THAT IS MOSTLY GRANT-FUNDED. IT'S ABOUT A $1.4 MILLION PROJECT, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT, ONLY $145,000 OF ERIE COUNTY FUNDS. AND BECAUSE OF THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE OF IT, WILL ALSO BE DOING THE CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION, UH, SIDE FOR, FOR WHEN THE PROJECT BEGINS LATER THIS YEAR. OKAY, AWESOME. ON THE QUESTION? NOPE. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE BY LEGISLATOR VINAL, SECONDED BY LEGISLATOR DUPRE? ALL IN FAVOR? ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ITEM NUMBER 10, COMMUNICATION 11E-15. TRACY, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU, CHAIR. GOOD MORNING, LEGISLATORS. I'M HERE BEFORE THIS HONORABLE BODY REQUESTING AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE FIRM OF ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DESIGN AND LIFECYCLE STUDY SERVICES ON THE COUNTY HALL SERVICE [00:05:02] ELEVATOR MODERNIZATION AND THE ELEVATOR LIFECYCLE STUDY PROJECT. SCOPE OF WORK WILL INCLUDE THE MODERNIZATION DESIGN FOR THE FREIGHT ELEVATOR, WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY INSTALLED IN 1964 AND IS IN QUITE ROUGH SHAPE AND JUST BECOMING INCREASINGLY PROBLEMATIC. ALSO, A LIFECYCLE STUDY WILL BE DONE ON THE OTHER 15 ELEVATORS IN OLD COUNTY AND NEW COUNTY HALL SEE EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, 'CAUSE THEY'VE BEEN INSTALLED IN A RANGE OF DIFFERENT YEARS. AND THAT'S GONNA HELP US COME UP WITH LIKE A STRATEGIC DESIGN AND PRIORITIZATION FOR FUTURE CAPITAL DOLLAR ASKS. AND I'M ASKING TO UTILIZE THE OGS ELEVATOR DESIGN TERM CONTRACT NUMBER SG227 WITH ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES IN THE AMOUNT OF $195,000, WHICH INCLUDES A $13,500 $13,500. DOLLAR DESIGN CONTINGENCY FOR THE AFOREMENTIONED SERVICES. WELL, I WILL SAY THIS. THIS MORNING, SOMEONE ALMOST GOT HIT WITH THE ELEVATOR GETTING IN, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. YEAH. BUT ON THE QUESTION, ANY NOPE. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION TO APPROVE BY LEGISLATOR DUPRE, SECONDED BY LEGISLATOR TODARO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU, TRACY. LET'S MAKE SURE THOSE ELEVATORS ARE OKAY SO WE WON'T GET STUCK IT WORKED OUT OKAY AT THE RATH BUILDING. HAD GOOD LUCK WITH THEM. ITEM 11, COMMUNICATION 11E-16. TRACY, THE FLOOR IS YOURS AGAIN. THANK YOU. UH, IN THIS RESOLUTION, I'M SEEKING AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER AN AGREEMENT WITH WENDELL ENGINEERING UTILIZING THE ERIE COUNTY DPW ENVIRONMENTAL TERM AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE DESIGN SERVICES FOR THE SUNY ERIE NORTH CAMPUS SALT STORAGE BUILDING. SCOPE OF WORK INCLUDES, UH, PROVIDING STRUCTURAL, CIVIL, AND ELECTRICAL DESIGN FOR THE SALT SALT BARN. FUNDING REQUEST IS FOR $63,500 AND THAT INCLUDES A $10,000 BORE ALLOWANCE AND A DESIGN CONTINGENCY OF $5,000. THIS PROJECT IS ALSO ELIGIBLE FOR 50% REIMBURSEMENT FROM NEW YORK STATE. AND THIS IS TO REPLACE THE THE SALT BARN WAS TAKEN DOWN AT SOUTH CAMPUS AND PART OF THAT AGREEMENT WAS TO HAVE ONE FOR ALL 3 CAMPUSES. INSTALLED AT NORTH CAMPUS. OKAY, ON THE QUESTION, I KNOW I SEEN LEGISLATOR FINALE HAS A QUESTION. TRACY, I WAS WANTING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE SALT ANYWAY. I WAS WONDERING, I KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE SALT STORED NOT ON THE GROUND BECAUSE IT CAN LEACH INTO THE GROUND, AND WHEN IT BREAKS DOWN, IT BREAKS DOWN INTO THINGS INCLUDING CYANIDE AND CAN GET INTO THE DRINKING WATER. BUT I WAS WONDERING IF ARE THERE HAS THE COUNTY CONSIDERED OTHER ALTERNATIVES? TO SALT SO THAT IT WOULD BE APPLICABLE AT EVERY TEMPERATURE AND ALSO WON'T ATTRACT BECAUSE I HEARD THAT SOMETIMES SALT ATTRACTS ANIMALS TO THE ROAD TO LICK THE SALT, AND THAT'S SOME REASON WHY IT ACTUALLY ATTRACTS ANIMALS. ALSO, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF SALT ON THE ADJACENT SURFACES. AND I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT THAT. FOR EXAMPLE, SOME PLACES USE CRUSHED GRAVEL AND SAND MIXTURE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND THEN IT GOES AT EVERY TEMPERATURE. YEAH. THE MAIN ALTERNATIVE WE'RE LOOKING INTO RIGHT NOW, AND THIS IS MAINLY ON THE BUILDINGS AND GROUND SIDE KAREN COULD PROBABLY SPEAK BETTER TO HIGHWAYS, WHAT THEY'RE DOING BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY JUST ORDERING SOME BRINE SPREADERS. THAT'S TO COMPLY WITH SOME NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATION THAT CAME DOWN, OR JUST ALTERNATIVES. YOU KNOW, WE, WITH THE DESIGN, WE USE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL TERM AGREEMENT JUST TO KIND OF BATTLE ALL THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS WITH THAT. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE PAD, THE PROPER DRAINAGE, ALL THE SITE WORK THAT NEEDS TO GET DONE TO MITIGATE THOSE CONCERNS. BUT OTHER THAN BRINE, THAT'S THE MAIN ALTERNATIVE WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT. WE'RE ACTUALLY PURCHASING EQUIPMENT NOW FOR THIS UPCOMING WINTER. RIGHT. IS IT SO WHAT'S THAT MADE OUT OF, THAT ALTERNATIVE SUBSTANCE? BRINE? THAT'S IS IT LIKE GRAVEL AND SAND OR SOMETHING ELSE? I CAN HELP. NO. WE DO, JUST FROM THE HIGHWAY SIDE, WE DO, I MEAN, WE PRIMARILY USE SALT, AND WE'RE LOOKING INTO SALT REDUCTION TECHNIQUES AND EFFORTS BECAUSE OF THE LEGISLATION THAT TRACY REFERRED TO. WE DO USE SAND IN SOME DISTRICTS WHERE IT'S APPLICABLE. YOU KNOW, ON SOME OF OUR MORE HILLIER AREAS IN AURORA AND CONCORD, WE WILL USE A SAND SALT MIX TO CUT DOWN ON THE AMOUNT OF SALT THAT WE USE, BUT IT'S ONLY ON PARTICULAR ROADS WHERE IT'S APPLICABLE. SOLUTION IS REDUCING. REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF SALT THAT WE USE BECAUSE YOU USE LIQUID ADDITIVES TO ACT AS A DE-ICING AGENT. SO IT WOULD STILL BE USING SALT, BUT YOU'D BE USING FAR LESS IN OUR DE-ICING EFFORTS. SO THEN IS IT IN YOUR OPINION THAT EVEN WITH THAT SALT REDUCTION THAT IT WOULD STILL BE NECESSARY TO HAVE THE SALT STORAGE BUILDINGS DONE FOR SAFETY'S SAKE? NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS WITH ABSOLUTELY. YEAH, AND WE ARE, I MEAN, HAVE TO HAVE A PROPER STORAGE FACILITY TO KEEP IT, YOU KNOW, EXPOSED OR AWAY FROM THE ELEMENTS, THINGS LIKE THAT. OURS ARE IN PRETTY BAD DISREPAIR, [00:10:01] BUT WE'VE REPLACED A FEW OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. BUT WE'LL STILL NEED SALT. WE'RE TRYING TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE USING. THANK YOU. YEAH. LEGISLATOR BARNASI, DID SHE ALREADY ASK A QUESTION? YEAH, I WAS JUST GOING TO CLARIFY A FEW THINGS, BUT I THINK, I THINK SHE'S ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED. OKAY, LEGISLATOR GREEN. I KNOW IT'S PROBABLY A TOUGH QUESTION TO ASK YOU, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE EXPECTED COST WILL BE OF THE ACTUAL FIRE SCHOOL? UM, I CAN ACTUALLY GET THAT FOR YOU. WE, UH, WE JUST PUT UP 3 OF THEM, SO I HAVE PRETTY FIRM PRICES. SO IT'S GOING TO BE A SIMILAR DESIGN? UH, YEAH, WE'RE LOOKING TO DO THAT SAME DESIGN. THAT'S A USE 'EM, ONE, DON'T LET'S. PRETTY STANDARD DESIGN, IT'S JUST THE SIZE. I CAN COME UP WITH A PRETTY ACCURATE NUMBER FOR YOU BASED ON WHAT WE PAID FOR THE LAST ONES THOUGH. ALL RIGHT, THEN I'LL HAND IT TO YOU, I THINK. YOU KNOW, I ECHO A LOT OF WHAT, YOU KNOW, JEANNIE VINALS, YOU KNOW, WAS TALKING ABOUT, THAT DOWN IN, YOU KNOW, THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, LIMITING SALT IS PROBABLY A GOOD THING, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT FARMERS, THINGS LIKE THAT. THERE'S CERTAINLY AREAS OF NORTHERN CANADA WHERE THE FARMERS DON'T WANT, OR NORTHERN ONTARIO, THEY WE DON'T WANT IT ANYWHERE NEAR. BUT IF WE PUT THIS SALT BARN UP AND WE FIND ALTERNATIVES, WE WOULD STILL NEED TO STORE THOSE ALTERNATIVES. YEAH, SORRY. THANK YOU. OKAY, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND BY, UH, LESLIE TADARO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT, MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ITEM NUMBER 10. 13, COMMUNICATION 11E-18. WE HAVE KAREN TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM. DID I SKIP? I HAVE LIED. ITEM NUMBER 12, COMMUNICATION 11E-17. KAREN, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS IS REQUESTING AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO A LOCALLY ADMINISTERED FEDERAL AID AGREEMENT WITH THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR THE 2025 VERTICAL DOWN SUBSTRUCTURE REPAIRS OF 3 BRIDGES. THESE 3 BRIDGES ARE LOCATED IN AMHERST, ORCHARD PARK, AND WEST SENECA. YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE MAPLE ROAD BRIDGE AND THE EXCESSIVE COMPLAINTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED ON THAT. THEY HAVE DONE SOME TEMPORARY PAVING ON THERE, BUT FURTHER REPAIRS TO THE SUBSTRUCTURE, THE GUIDE RAIL, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, A PERMANENT OVERLAY NEED TO BE FINISHED. THE OTHER ONE IS LYDECKER BRIDGE IN WEST SENECA. THAT'S GOING TO BE MORE CONCRETE SUBSTRUCTURE REPAIRS, ALSO REPLACEMENT OF NEW BEARINGS, AND WEBSTER ROAD AND ORCHARD PARK AGAIN WITH THE SAME CONCRETE SUBSTRUCTURE REPAIRS. THIS IS MOSTLY FEDERALLY FUNDED. THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE IS AT $2.6 MILLION WITH THE FEDERAL AID REIMBURSEMENT OF $2,080,000. WE ALSO HAVE SOME MARCH OF SALLY REIMBURSEMENT AVAILABLE AT $390,000, AND THE LOCAL SHARE FOR THIS PROJECT IS $130,000. THIS, THIS PROJECT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LET EARLIER. SINCE IT IS ADMINISTERED THROUGH NEW YORK STATE, WE HAD TO WAIT FOR THEIR APPROVAL. SO IT WASN'T LET AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, IT WAS LET EARLIER THIS YEAR. WE'RE READY TO MOVE FORWARD AND, AND LOOKING TO GET THIS APPROVED, PRIMARILY SO THEY CAN ORDER SOME OF THE BEARINGS THAT TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO COME IN, SO WE CAN GET TO CONSTRUCTION THIS YEAR AND COMPLETE BEFORE THE SNOW STARTS. ALL RIGHT, ON THE QUESTION. MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND BY LEGISLATOR TODARO. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. OKAY, NOW ITEM 13, COMMUNICATION 11E-18. KAREN, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU. UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS IS SEEKING AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH A DESIGN FIRM, LABELLA ASSOCIATES, IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $220,000 FOR THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PHASE SERVICES, INCLUDING A CONTINGENCY FOR THE YOUNG ROAD BRIDGE OVER ELLICOTT CREEK. THIS IS FOR THE HOLD ON ONE SECOND THIS IS FOR THE REPAIR OF THIS BRIDGE. IT WAS BUILT IN 1946. IT DOES NOT MEET OUR CURRENT DESIGN STANDARDS. IT HAS A GENERAL RECOMMENDATION OF 3. OUR BRIDGE RECS GO FROM 1 TO 7, 7 BEING, YOU KNOW, BRAND NEW AND PERFECT. SO CERTAINLY IS IN NEED OF REPAIR. WE HAD A 2022 LOAD RATING RED FLAG THAT WAS ISSUED THAT HAD US REDUCING THE LOAD RATING TO 24 TONS. SO THIS WOULD NOT BE THIS IS FOR DESIGN MONEY. IT WOULD NOT BE BID UNTIL THE FALL OF 2027, WHICH WOULD PUT CONSTRUCTION IN 2028. BUT THIS PASSAGE OF THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GET GOING ON THE DESIGN. ALL RIGHT. ON THE QUESTION, GO AHEAD, LEGISLATOR VERWEGELE. IN THE MEANTIME, ARE THERE SIGNIFICANT SAFETY CONCERNS, OR IS THE BRIDGE OPERABLE RIGHT NOW, WE JUST NEED TO GET TO THIS POINT? IT'S OPERABLE RIGHT NOW. SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, DURING OUR BIANNUAL BRIDGE INSPECTIONS, IF WE GET A RED FLAG, A YELLOW FLAG, OR A SAFETY PIA FLAG RED FLAG'S THE MOST URGENT, AND THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED WITHIN 24 HOURS. THIS ONE [00:15:02] RESULTED IN CHANGING THE LOAD RATING. SO THEY REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF LOAD THAT COULD GO OVER THE BRIDGE, AND NOW THAT'S POSTED FOR THAT SIGNAGE. BUT OBVIOUSLY, ONCE WE ADDRESS IT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO REMOVE THAT LOAD RATING RESTRICTION AND ALLOW MORE ACCESS. OKAY, THANK YOU. I KNOW I HAD A MOTION TO APPROVE BY LEGISLATOR VINAL, SECONDED BY LEGISLATOR DUPRE. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU SO MUCH, KAREN. ALL RIGHT, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? MOTION TO ADJOURN. MOTION TO ADJOURN BY REPRESENTATIVE DUPRE, SECONDED BY REPRESENTATIVE TODARO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. WE ARE ADJOURNED. [ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT] ALL RIGHT, LET'S CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT MEETING, UH, NUMBER 10. CLERK, PLEASE TAKE THE ROLL. LEGISLATURE MILLS? HERE. TODARO? PRESENT. CHAIR BARGNASI? HERE. LEGISLATURE GILMOUR? HERE. LEGISLATURE ST. JEAN-TARD? HERE. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT. ALL RIGHT, ITEMS 1 THROUGH 7. ITEMS 7 AND 10 ARE TABLED. ITEMS 8, 9, AND 11 ARE ACTIONABLE. SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR ACTIONABLE ITEMS. ITEM NUMBER 4, DEPEW PUMPING STATION, AND WE HAVE JOE FIEGEL TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM. GOOD MORNING. GOOD TO SEE YOU, JOE. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD TO SEE YOU. UH, SO, UH, WE'RE REQUESTING AN AMENDMENT AND, UH, THEN APPROVAL FOR, FOR THIS ITEM. YEP. THERE'S CERTAIN FACILITIES IN OUR SYSTEM WHERE, YOU KNOW, I GET AN OFF-HOURS EMAIL AND I TAKE A DEEP BREATH WHEN I SEE THE TITLE OF IT. AND THE PEW PUMP STATION IS ONE OF IT. IT'S OUR LARGEST PUMPING STATION THAT WE HAVE. IT HAS A CAPACITY UP TO 75 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY. IT'S A REALLY CRITICAL FACILITY THAT WE HAVE. AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE THAT IT PROVIDES RESILIENT SERVICE. SO WE HAVE SOME ISSUES WITH THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. WE ALSO HAVE A FEW ISSUES WITH SOME OF THE VALVES AND THE PUMPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE WORKED TOGETHER WITH OUR ENGINEERING CONSULTING FIRM, GHD, AND PUT TOGETHER A DESIGN FOR CONTRACT NUMBER 61, WHICH IS IMPROVEMENTS TO THAT PUMPING STATION. WE OPENED BIDS. BIDS CAME IN UNDERNEATH THE ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE, INCLUDING WITH SOME OF THE ALTERNATES THAT WE HAD ED INCLUDED INTO THE BID BECAUSE THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WE WEREN'T QUITE SURE WE'D BE ABLE TO AFFORD. FORTUNATELY, WE WERE ABLE TO. SO IT'S OUR RECOMMENDATION TO PROCEED WITH AWARD TO THE CONTRACTORS, WHICH ARE SDC CONSTRUCTION, QUACKENBUSH, AND CONQUEROR ELECTRIC. AND THE FUNDING WILL BE A MIX OF CAPITAL RESERVES AND WILL BE GOING THROUGH BONDING FOR THE REMAINDER. GREAT. ANY QUESTIONS? DO I? I HAVE A MOTION. I HAVE A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? OPPOSED. I NEED A MOTION TO AMEND. I'M SORRY, I NEEDED A MOTION TO AMEND. AND I HAVE A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? OPPOSED. WE'RE AMENDED. WE ARE AMENDED. SO NOW I NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE AS AMENDED, CORRECT? WE'RE GOOD. LET'S MOVE ON. SORRY I SCREWED THAT UP. ALL RIGHT, UH, ITEM NUMBER 2. JOE, THIS IS YOU AGAIN. YEP. EVANS PUMPING STATION. IT'S ANOTHER AMENDMENT AND REQUEST FOR APPROVAL. WE OPENED BIDS FOR THE BACKUP ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR THE NORTH EVANS AND HER ROAD PUMPING STATIONS DOWN IN ERIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER 2. INSTEAD OF DIESEL GENERATORS. WE'RE ACTUALLY USING BATTERY BACKUPS. WE HAD OUR FIRST PUMPING STATION WE CONVERTED TO THAT LAST YEAR. IT'S BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL. SO WE'RE AGAIN DEPLOYING THAT TECHNOLOGY TO THESE 2 LOCATIONS. THE LOWEST RESPONSIBLE BIDDER WAS MORSE SERVICE GROUP AT ABOUT $322,000. THAT CAME IN SLIGHTLY BELOW THE ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE. AND WE'RE GOING TO BE PAYING FOR THIS THROUGH OUR 2026 SO WE ARE SO THAT'S NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT THE DIESEL BACKUP GENERATORS ARE GOING TO BE ELIMINATED. WE'RE GOING TO GO TO BATTERY? FOR CERTAIN APPLICATIONS. SO LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE DEBUT PUMPING STATION, THE AMOUNT OF NUMBER OF BATTERIES THAT'D BE REQUIRED FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD BE ASTRONOMICAL. HUGE, RIGHT? BUT FOR THESE SMALLER PUMPING STATIONS, IT'S KIND OF A REALLY GOOD FIT. AND WHILE, YOU KNOW, BATTERY BACKUPS HAVE BEEN USED IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS, YOU KNOW, LIKE HOSPITALS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. REALLY NOT MUCH IN THE WASTEWATER INDUSTRY, ACTUALLY. FROM WHAT MORSE SERVICE GROUP AND VERITY, WHO'S, YOU KNOW, IN THE NORTHLAND CAMPUS, HAVE SAID, THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST APPLICATIONS FOR THAT USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY. BUT SO, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR HER ROAD, IT'S ACTUALLY A PUMPING STATION. IT'S RIGHT IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY, VERY CLOSE TO A HOME. RIGHT. SO YEAH, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU LOSE, WHEN YOU LOSE POWER, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE NOISE AND THE FUMES FROM A DIESEL GENERATOR VERSUS, YOU KNOW, BATTERY, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IT'S RUNNING. IS THERE A BATTERY LIFE CONCERN? SO THERE'S WE ACTUALLY, AS PART OF THIS BID, [00:20:01] WE RECEIVED A LONGER WARRANTY. SO WE HAVE ACTUALLY A 10-YEAR WARRANTY ON THOSE BATTERIES. BUT THERE'S INSTALLATIONS THAT WE EXPECT WILL BE MUCH LONGER THAN THAT. INTERESTING. ANY QUESTIONS? MOTION. I HAVE A MOTION. OH, OH, LEGISLATOR MILLS, YOU HAVE A QUESTION? WHAT'S THE REPLACEMENT COST ON THE BATTERY? I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW. I KNOW THAT THEY COME IN MODULES. SO SAY IF ONE DOES FAIL, YOU CAN REPLACE A MODULE. BUT I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE SOME OF THE COST HERE IS ALSO FOR YOU KNOW, RETROFITTING FOR THE ELECTRICAL TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THE BATTERY AS OPPOSED TO THE BACKUP GENERATOR. BUT I'M NOT CERTAIN ON THE REPLACEMENT ON THE BATTERY ITSELF. SO COULD THOSE OLD DIESEL ENGINES BE USED ANYWHERE ELSE? SO THE ONE AT NORTH EVANS, IT'S I MEAN, IT'S 40 YEARS OLD. IT'S WE CAN'T FIND REPLACEMENT PARTS. YOU KNOW, IT'S HAD ITS DAY. WE'RE DONE WITH THAT. LET'S SEE, MR. YOU ALSO HAD I'M SORRY I INTERRUPTED YOU. COULD YOU GIVE ME A COST REPLACEMENT? YEAH, I CAN CERTAINLY GET THAT BACK TO YOU. ABSOLUTELY. AND ANTICIPATED SHELF LIFE OF THE BATTERY? YEP. OKAY, THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU, CHAIR. COMMISSIONER, GOOD MORNING. JUST WRITING THAT DOWN, MAKE SURE. YEAH, YEAH, GO AHEAD. MULTITASKING, I GET IT. YEAH, THOSE ARE GOOD QUESTIONS FROM LEGISLATOR MILLS THAT I WAS GONNA ASK. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE MAINTENANCE DURING THAT 10-YEAR WILL BE MUCH LESS, I WOULD EXPECT, RATHER THAN DIESEL. YEAH. THE QUESTION I HAVE IS, I'M SURE IN 10 YEARS THE BATTERY TECHNOLOGY WILL IMPROVE OVER 10 YEARS FROM THAT, DURING THAT LIFESPAN WHEN WE HAVE TO REPLACE IT. DID THEY TALK ABOUT ANY ANYTHING IN THE FUTURE, LIKE IF THERE'S I MEAN, I WILL TELL YOU OUR ENGINEERS DID A VERY DETAILED REVIEW ON THIS. THEY LOOKED AT THE LIFECYCLE COST ANALYSES. YOU TALKED ABOUT THE OPERATION MAINTENANCE. I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE 40-YEAR-OLD GENERATORS THAT WE HAVE LASTED BECAUSE THEY WERE REALLY CONSTRUCTED WELL. I'M CONCERNED THE DIESEL GENERATORS THAT WE'RE NOW INSTALLING ARE NOT GONNA BE LASTING THAT 40 TO 50 YEARS. 50 YEARS THAT WE SAW BECAUSE THE MATERIALS ARE TOO OLD. IT'S JUST NOT AS ROBUST, RIGHT? SO I DON'T LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 10 YEARS ON THESE BATTERIES, YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T RECALL WHAT THE LIFESPAN WAS ON IT AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND I DON'T KNOW IF OUR ENGINEERS HAD THOSE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS WITH REGARD TO, YOU KNOW, WILL THEY BE ABLE TO GO WITH NEWER TECHNOLOGIES AND THINGS LIKE WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS VIRIDI, WHO MANUFACTURES THESE BATTERIES, HAS KIND OF A MORE OF A PROPRIETARY SYSTEM THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE CONCERNS WERE, FOR EXAMPLE, FIRE AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT COULD HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF CASCADING EFFECT. AND THEY HAVE SOME PROTECTIONS IN THEIR BATTERIES THAT SIGNIFICANTLY MITIGATE THOSE TYPE OF RISKS. SO WE ACTUALLY WE TALKED WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE BID OUT THIS PROJECT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SET ASIDE THEIR CONCERNS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO THIS IS A NEWER BATTERY TECHNOLOGY. WHAT COULD BE COMING IN THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT QUITE SURE. NO PROBLEM. YEAH. AND THEN DO YOU EXPECT OKAY, THAT'S FINE. YEAH, I'M ALL SET. GOOD. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I NEED A MOTION TO AMEND. I NEED A SECOND. WE GOT A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? WE'RE AMENDED. I NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE. ALL IN FAVOR? WE ARE APPROVED. YES, AND I'LL GET BACK WITH THOSE, THOSE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, JOE. ALL RIGHT, UH, ITEM NUMBER 11. WE HAVE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ZACH HERE. WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR US, ZACH? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. WE, UH, ARE I AM HERE TO PRESENT, UM, THE SELECTED BY THE ARTS AND PUBLIC PLACES REVIEW COMMITTEE, UH, THE MAJOR WORK FOR ISLE VIEW PARK, WHICH IF YOU ALL RECALL, WE PRESENTED ANNUAL MASTER PLAN EARLIER THIS YEAR. SO THIS WILL IS THE ARTIST WILLIAM QUINTANA. ONE, ONE SLIGHT CHANGE TO THIS RENDERING, JUST FOR YOU ALL TO KNOW, IN CONSULTATION WITH DPW AND PARKS, THIS WILL BE PUT ON SOME SORT OF A CONCRETE PAD, THE EXACT SHAPE OF WHICH WE'RE NOT SURE. IT MIGHT BE A CIRCLE, IT MIGHT BE A DIAMOND, IT MIGHT HAVE SOME STIPPLING IN IT, SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE, JUST TO AVOID HAVING TO GET MOWERS THROUGH THOSE, THOSE NOOKS AND CRANNIES AND WEED WHACKERS IN THERE. SO IT'D BE EASIER FOR ONGOING MAINTENANCE. BUT THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES REVIEW COMMITTEE HAD VERY GOOD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE, THE 4 SUBMISSIONS WE GOT. THIS WAS SELECTED AS THE WINNER FOR THE MAJOR WORK AT ISLE VIEW PARK. AS I MENTIONED, PARKS AND DPW HAVE DONE LOTS OF DUE DILIGENCE. WE'VE DONE SITE WALKTHROUGHS TO MAKE SURE MAINTENANCE AND STRUCTURAL ISSUES ARE TAKEN CARE OF. THIS IS, UH, THIS WILL BE PAID FOR BY $75,000, WHICH WAS ALREADY [00:25:01] IN THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES LAW FUND. $10,000 OF THAT IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE OFFSET BY A SUBMERSE NEW YORK GRANT FROM CORNELL IN NEW YORK STATE. SO WE ARE SUBMITTING THIS TO THIS HONORABLE BODY, UH, TO APPROVE AUTHORIZING INTO OR ENTERING INTO CONTRACT WITH THE SELECTED ARTIST. ZACH, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE TIMEFRAME ON THIS? SO, UH, HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO SITE WORK THIS YEAR, BUT IF THE FUNDING GETS APPROVED, YOU KNOW HOW SHORT THE CONSTRUCTION WINDOW IS. UH, LIKE WITH SOME OF THE OTHER MAJOR WORKS, IT MAY BLEED INTO NEXT CONSTRUCTION SEASON, BUT HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE UP AND FULLY READY FOR THE PUBLIC BY NEXT YEAR. AND CAN YOU GIVE ME A BALLPARK IDEA WHERE IN THE PARK THIS IS GOING TO GO? I IF I HAD A MAP, I PROBABLY COULD, BUT SORT OF, I THINK LIKE DEAD CENTER, IT'S IT'S GOT TO BE FAR ENOUGH BACK FROM THE WALL THOUGH, FROM THE RIVER THERE, JUST TO DEAL WITH ANY SPRAY OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE OR WEATHER. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE UP BY THE ROAD THOUGH. IT'S GOING TO BE MORE TOWARDS THE WATER. OKAY. IS THIS THE FIRST ART PROJECT THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PARKS? NOT IN THE PARKS, BUT IN ISLE VIEW, YES. IT IS IN ISLE VIEW. I KNOW THAT FOR A FACT. BUT WE'VE DONE OTHER ART SCULPTURES. YES. WE'VE DONE SOME SMALLER WORKS AT SOME OF THE PARKS, AND I BELIEVE CHESTNUT RIDGE HAS ANOTHER SMALLER WORK AS WELL. YEAH, THIS IS QUITE LARGE. YEAH, IT IS. AND IT'S STRICTLY YARD. IT'S NOT THIS IS NOT, UH, SOMETHING FOR CHILDREN TO PLAY ON. NO. AND, UH, PARKS BROUGHT THAT UP AS A, AS A QUESTION. YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT KIDS DON'T CLIMB ON IT. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COME AT NIGHT AND PUT GRAFFITI ON IT. SO SECURITY AND UPKEEP WAS A VERY ROBUST DISCUSSION. THAT WAS ONE OF THE THOUGHTS ALSO, IF YOU PUT IT ON A PAD AND MAYBE ELEVATE THOSE CONCRETE FOOTERS, THE SORT OF SWIRLS, THAT WOULD HELP. THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE ANY CABLE STAYS OR ANYTHING THAT ANYONE COULD GET HURT ON. IT'LL ALL BE THROUGH THOSE FOOTERS FOR STRUCTURAL REASONS, AND AGAIN, SO PEOPLE CAN'T CLIMB ON EXTERIOR, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTS. IS THERE GOING TO BE SIGNAGE? YES. SAYING WHAT IT IS, THE ARTIST, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AROUND THE PERIMETER DETAILS ABOUT THE ARTISTS, AND PART OF SUBMERSE NEW YORK IS EDUCATIONAL AND INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SEICHES, WEATHER, THE WESTERN NEW YORK WATERWAYS, ALL OF THAT STUFF. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. QUESTIONS? IS THIS EXPECTED TO BE PERMANENT? YEAH. ALL RIGHT, SO YOU TALKED ABOUT A CONCRETE BASE POTENTIALLY UNDER THE WHOLE THING. I GUESS THE TWO QUESTIONS I WOULD HAVE IS WHAT THE ADDITIONAL COST OF THAT CONCRETE MIGHT BE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, AND I THINK LEGISLATOR BARNESE KIND OF YOU KNOW TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU KNOW TRYING TO KEEP THE PUBLIC OFF OF IT, AND I JUST I LOOK AT THIS AND I WOULD THINK SKATEBOARDERS WOULD LOVE A CONCRETE BASE AROUND THERE. YES, THAT THAT WAS A DISCUSSION POINT. YEAH. IS THERE A NON-PERMEABLE SURFACE OPTION THAT YOU GUYS COULD LOOK AT THAT MIGHT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CONCRETE, TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION, UM, COULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS BUDGET OR PART OF PARKS' ALREADY ONGOING, YOU KNOW, CONCRETE BUDGET. SO THAT WAS NOT A HUGE COST ENCUMBRANCE. UM, SKATE QUARTERS DID COME UP, AND ALSO THE THOUGHT OF WOULD IT BE BETTER IF WE HAD A NON-CONCRETE PAD JUST FOR RUNOFF. YOU KNOW, IF WE HAD A RAIN LIKE TODAY, YEAH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S GOING TO RUN RIGHT OFF THE CONCRETE PAD. SO THOSE DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN HAD. I CAN GET BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE IF WE SAY, HEY, IS THERE A WORKAROUND? THAT WAS ONE OF THE OTHER THOUGHTS OF PUTTING SOME SORT OF PATTERN OR SCORING ON THE CONCRETE TO DISCOURAGE SKATEBOARDING OR ROLLERBLADING ON IT. RIGHT. UM, JUST, I MEAN, IT WAS JUST, JUST THOUGHTS, YOU KNOW. SOUNDS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY ON TOP OF IT. IT'S A COUPLE IDEAS. YEAH, NO, THOSE ARE GOOD THOUGHTS. THANK YOU, ROGERS. THANK YOU. ONE OTHER QUICK QUESTION. THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE LOCATED WHERE SOMEONE'S GOING TO COMPLAIN THAT WE'RE BLOCKING THE VIEW OF THE RIVER. NO, NO. AND I WILL, I WILL GET A MAP AND SHOW YOU WHERE PARKS THOUGHT IT WOULD BEST FIT, AND I'LL SEND THAT OVER. I CAN SEND THAT OVER TO EVERYONE. OKAY, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE'RE GOOD. I HAVE A MOTION. I NEED A SECOND. I HAVE A SECOND. SO WE ARE WE AMENDING THIS? NO, WE'RE JUST APPROVING. ALL IN FAVOR? WE ARE APPROVED. THANK YOU GUYS, APPRECIATE IT. WELL, I NEED A MOTION TO ADJOURN. SECOND. WE ARE ADJOURNED. [HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES] WANT TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEETING NUMBER 9. CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE THE ROLL? LEGISLATOR LORIGO? HERE. TODARO? HERE. DUPRE? HERE. BARNESE? HERE. FINAL? HERE. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT. THANK YOU. ITEMS 1 THROUGH 3 ARE TABLED UNDER MY AUTHORITY AS CHAIR. ITEMS 4, 8, AND 9 ARE RECEIVED AND FILED, AND WE HAVE ITEMS 5 THROUGH 7 ARE ACTIONABLE. FOR ITEM 5, COMMUNICATION 11E-8, AUTHORIZATION TO CONTRACT WITH HEALTHLINK. WE HAVE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER TERRANOVA HERE TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM. THE FLOOR IS YOURS, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. SO COMMUNICATION 11E-8 SEEKS AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER [00:30:01] INTO CONTRACT WITH HEALTH ELINK TO FACILITATE ACCESS TO PATIENT RECORDS AND POPULATION HEALTH DATA. WE CURRENTLY WORK CLOSELY WITH HEALTH ELINK. THEY'RE NOW ASKING FOR CONTRACTING. IT IS A NO-COST SERVICE. HEALTH ELINK IS WESTERN NEW YORK'S REGIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION ORGANIZATION. THEY SUPPORT AN ELECTRONIC HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE. WE USE PATIENT RECORDS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIVITY, INCLUDING TEST RESULTS AND VACCINATION STATUS. THANK YOU. ON THE QUESTION, LEGISLATOR RIEGEL. I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED. DO WE HAVE PERMISSION TO SHARE THIS TYPE OF DATA? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE JUST, UH, LIKE GIVING AWAY PERSONAL INFORMATION. I DON'T KNOW WHY, LIKE, HOW WE WOULD HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO THAT. SO HEALTHYLINK IS A SEPARATE ENTITY, AND AS PUBLIC HEALTH, WE ARE ALLOWED A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ACCESS, MOSTLY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INVESTIGATIONS. ONE EXAMPLE WOULD BE FOR A TB INVESTIGATION, LOOKING AT THE LAB RESULTS IN HEALTH-ELINK THAT HAVE BEEN ORDERED, A CHEST X-RAY, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, INSTEAD OF STAFF HAVING TO TAKE THE TIME TO REACH OUT AND GET COPIES DIRECTLY FROM THE FACILITY. THANK YOU. SO IS THIS AN EXISTING CONTRACT OR IS THIS A NEW CONTRACT THAT WE'RE ENTERING INTO? WE ALREADY DO IT. HEALTHYLINK HAS CHANGED THEIR THEY GOT A NEW ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD. AND SO THEY'RE NOW GOING BACK TO THEIR PARTNERS AND ASKING FOR AN OFFICIAL CONTRACT. BUT WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THEM. WE'VE HAD ACCESS TO THIS DATA FOR YEARS. IT'S THE SAME SYSTEM THAT MOST HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN WESTERN NEW YORK USE. SO WHEN YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR, THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS YOU SIGN OFF ON, SHARING THIS DATA. IT'S REALLY HELPFUL, PARTICULARLY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT ALSO FOR EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS. THEY'RE ABLE TO LOOK UP PATIENTS' MEDICATIONS THEY'RE CURRENTLY ON, IF THEY HAVE ALLERGIES, THAT SORT OF THING. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP THIS DATA FOR? WE DON'T KEEP IT AT ALL. IT'S HOUSED BY HEALTHYLINK. WE JUST LOG INTO THEIR SYSTEM. LOOK UP WHAT WE NEED. EVERYTHING IS TRACKED. IT'S ALSO THEN SENT BACK, AND WE HAVE TO LOOK IT UP AND ATTEST THAT EVERY SINGLE USE WAS FOR A PUBLIC HEALTH PURPOSE. SO WHEN YOU SAY YOU HAVE TO ATTEST THAT EVERY SINGLE USE IS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, HOW WHAT DOES THAT PROCESS LOOK LIKE? THAT LOOKS LIKE, UM, WE GET A LINE LIST OF EVERY SINGLE STAFF AND WHO WAS AND WHAT THEY ACCESSED IN THE RECORD. FOR THE MOST PART, THEY'RE ALL RELATED TO EITHER INVESTIGATIONS, WHICH WE KNOW, OR PATIENTS, WHICH WE SEE IN OUR CLINIC. SO THEY WE WOULD HAVE THOSE NAMES. WE CROSS-CHECK THOSE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS NO UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS. AND WHO HAS ACCESS TO THIS? FOR THE MOST PART, WE HAVE PROVIDERS, HEAD NURSES AT THE CLINIC, OUR EPIDEMIOLOGY STAFF THAT DO INVESTIGATIONS. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THAT'S IT. OH, THERE ARE A FEW NURSES IN ENVIRONMENTAL THAT DO LEAD BECAUSE THEY'RE TRACKING THE LEAD LEVELS FOR CHILDREN THAT ARE UNDER INVESTIGATION OR THAT ARE PART OF THE MONITORING. SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT INVESTIGATIONS, COULD YOU JUST GIVE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LIKE WHAT TYPE OF SO IS IT JUST WHEN WE HAVE LIKE LIKE A RABIES BITE, RIGHT? AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS PERSON ACTUALLY WENT AND WAS TREATED. THIS JUST HELPS US LOOK IT UP, MAKE SURE THAT THEY DID GET WHAT THEY NEEDED. WE ALSO CONFIRM WITH THE PATIENT, BUT SOMETIMES THEY'RE DIFFICULT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH. ALSO, IF WE HAVE AN EXPOSURE OF A VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASE, WE HAVE A LIST OF NAMES FROM AN ORGANIZATION OR A PARTNER WHERE PEOPLE WERE EXPOSED, WE'RE ABLE TO GO IN AND SEE WHO ALREADY HAS THEIR VACCINE, WHO WOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED AT RISK. OKAY. THANK YOU. ONCE FOR YOUR PATIENTS THAT YOU'RE USING IT FOR THERE, ARE YOU GETTING AUTHORIZATIONS FROM THEM TO ACCESS IT? YEP. IF YOU SO WHEN YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR OR ANYWHERE, IF YOU DECLINE TO GIVE CONSENT, THEN NOBODY CAN ACCESS THAT DATA. THE ONLY TIME THEY CAN ACCESS IT, THEY CALL IT BREAKING THE GLASS, IS IN AN EMERGENCY SETTING. SO OCCASIONALLY THE ER WILL BREAK THE GLASS, AND THEN THEY HAVE TO SEND THAT OUT TO EVERY ORGANIZATION TO SAY THEY BROKE THE GLASS FOR THIS PATIENT FOR THIS REASON. BUT IT'S NORMALLY YEAH. EMERGENCY SITUATION WHERE THE PERSON'S NOT CONSCIOUS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. SO, BUT I MEAN, [00:35:01] ARE YOU GETTING AUTHORIZATIONS FROM YOUR PATIENTS FOR YOU TO GIVE THE INFORMATION ON THE PATIENT SIDE? WE ARE, YES. OKAY. AND IS THAT IS THERE ANY INDEMNIFICATION OF THE COUNTY FOR VIOLATIONS OF PRIVACY, AND THAT THEY THAT HEALTHY LINK WILL INDEMNIFY THE COUNTY FOR ANY VIOLATIONS? NO, NO. ANY FOR ANY VIOLATIONS, GENERALLY, THEY RELY ON THE ORGANIZATION TO HANDLE IT UNLESS IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS EGREGIOUS, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING. BUT LIKE IF WE'RE, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THEY'RE NOT INDEMNIFIED, LIKE THEY'RE SAYING THAT WE'RE ON THE HOOK THEN, BUT WHAT ABOUT IF THEY GIVE INFORMATION THAT THE PERSON MAYBE PUT SO THE PROVIDER PUT THEIR RECORDS IN ERROR TO HEALTHYLINK WHEN THERE WAS NO AUTHORIZATION? THEY'RE NOT WE CAN'T. ACCESS IT. SO IF IT'S NOT CONSENTED, WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT. BUT WHAT IF IT WAS BY ERROR? LIKE IF THE PERSON CONSENTED, THEN WITHDREW THE CONSENT, AND HEALTHYLINK DIDN'T TAKE IT OFF? THEN THAT WOULD BE ON HEALTHYLINK. BUT IS THERE INDEMNIFICATION? I'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT LANGUAGE IS IN THE CONTRACT. YEAH, IT'S PROBABLY SOME KIND OF INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT BY THEM, DEFENSE AND INDEMNIFICATION, BECAUSE PEOPLE DO BRING CASES UNDER, YOU KNOW, THE HEALTH INSURANCE CLAIMS ACT. ANY QUESTIONS? YES. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 6, COMMUNICATION 11E-9, ACCEPTANCE OF NEW YORK STATE DOH PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PROGRAM. COMMISSIONER HUCKLEBERRY, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER TURNER, WILL YOU ADDRESS? THANK YOU. COMMUNICATION 11E-9 SEEKS AUTHORIZATION TO ACCEPT $27,334 IN ADDITIONAL STATE AID FUNDS FROM NEW YORK STATE FOR THEIR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PROGRAM. THIS YEAR'S PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PROGRAM WAS IDENTIFIED AS EDUCATION AND PROMOTION OF EXTREME WEATHER AWARENESS AND CLIMATE HEALTH. WE HAVE HAVE PLANNED FOR THIS, THESE FUNDS TO BE USED ON BILLBOARD AND DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN. SECOND. OKAY. I'M CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME EXACTLY WHY WE WOULD BE WHY WE WOULD BE DOING BILLBOARDS FOR THIS OR LIKE I'M NOT SEEING THE VALUE OF THE DOLLARS SPENT. YES, THEY ARE REALLY STRICT WITH THESE DOLLARS, AND WE'VE STRUGGLED IN PREVIOUS YEARS TO FIND SOMETHING THAT THEY WILL AGREE TO SUPPORT. THEY WILL NOT SUPPORT STAFF TIME. THEY WILL NOT SUPPORT ANY SORT OF PURCHASING OF THINGS THAT WOULD BE SHIPPED TO US TO HAND OUT. SO THE ONLY THING THAT THAT WE CAN REALLY IDENTIFY IS SOME SORT OF MEDIA AND PROMOTIONAL. SO WHAT EXACTLY WOULD WE BE PROMOTING? THEY WOULD WORK WITH OUR INTERNAL PARTNERS ON EXTREME WEATHER AWARENESS, CLIMATE HEALTH, INCLUDING WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS, SUMMER HEAT PREPAREDNESS, THERE ARE A LOT OF PUBLIC HEALTH MESSAGES ABOUT BOTH, AND I THINK THAT'S THE MAIN FOCUS FOR THIS. WE HAVE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT THE STATE RECOMMENDED HEAP COOLING BENEFIT, ENERGY-EFFICIENT PROGRAMMING, AND CLIMATE-SMART COMMUNITIES. SO IN THE $27,000 THAT WE'RE GETTING HERE, WE WOULD BE IT LOOKS LIKE WE'D BE CONTRACTING WITH SOMEBODY. WHO WOULD WE BE CONTRACTING WITH? I THINK THE CONTRACTING IS WITH THE BILLBOARD COMPANY, AND THE DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN AS WELL, I DON'T THINK WE DO THAT INTERNALLY. I THINK WE CONTRACT THAT OUT. OTHERWISE, IT'S A LOT OF STAFF TIME STUFFING ENVELOPES. SURE. SO THIS IS ALL STATE FUNDING? CORRECT. AND THIS IS AN AWARD THAT GOES OUT THIS YEAR, 48 LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS RECEIVED RECEIVED AN AWARD, AND WE WERE ONE OF THEM. OKAY. I MEAN, I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND, LIKE, WHAT THIS IS GOING TO DO. SO IT'S A BILLBOARD AND DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN. WHO WOULD THE MAIL BE GOING TO? I THINK IT DEPENDS ON THE COST. IDEALLY, FULL COUNTY, BUT I THINK THAT THE COSTS ARE REALLY HIGH FOR DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGNS. SO DEPENDING ON WHAT THE MESSAGING IS, THEY WOULD HAVE TO PRIORITIZE CERTAIN AREAS. AND WHERE WOULD WE BE GETTING THAT DATA FROM, THAT THEY'D BE TARGETING CERTAIN AREAS? I GUESS IT DEPENDS WHAT THE MESSAGING IS. IF THEY WANT TO TARGET COMMUNITIES THAT COULD [00:40:02] BENEFIT FROM HEAP, THEN THEY WOULD PROBABLY LOOK AT COMMUNITIES THAT HAD ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS THAT WEREN'T CURRENTLY USING THAT. SO THAT WOULD BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DSS BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE WHO WERE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN THAT SERVICE. OKAY, SO WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THIS $27,000, BUT WE'RE ACCEPTING IT AND WE'RE SAYING THAT WE'RE GOING TO USE IT FOR WEATHER AWARENESS BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHO WOULD BE GETTING THE MAIL OR WHAT THE MAIL WOULD SAY. YEAH, IS THAT CORRECT? I THINK WE'RE WAITING TO ACCEPT IT AND THEN TO COME UP WITH A PLAN. WE ALSO IN PREVIOUS YEARS HAD DIFFICULTY GETTING OUR PLAN APPROVED BY NEW YORK STATE, AND THEY TOLD THEY'VE TOLD US MULTIPLE TIMES TO COME BACK WITH SOMETHING ELSE TO USE THE FUNDS. SO I THINK WE'RE KIND OF HOPING TO ACCEPT IT, WORK WITH THE STATE, SEE WHAT THEY WILL APPROVE FOR THE USE OF THESE FUNDS, AND THEN MOVE FORWARD FROM THERE. SO EVEN IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS RESOLUTION TODAY, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE STATE WILL ACCEPT OUR PLAN? EXACTLY. SO THEN WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE FUNDS? WELL, THE STATE WILL SAY THIS IS AN ACCEPTABLE USE, THIS IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE USE. COME BACK WITH YOUR NEXT PLAN. IT'S SIMILAR TO A LOT OF GRANTS THAT WE GET. OUR GRANTEES OUR GRANTOR DOESN'T OFTEN LIKE EXACTLY WHAT OUR FIRST PLAN IS, AND THEY TELL US THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN COSTS THAT ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE, AND SO WE HAVE TO REALLOCATE THEM. AND WE DO A LOT OF THAT THROUGH OUR THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS WITH I'M SORRY. OKAY. I MEAN, THIS JUST I MEAN, WE HAD SIMILAR THINGS HAVE COME OVER HERE IN THE PAST WHERE THEN, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A MARKETING CAMPAIGN ABOUT OPIOIDS THAT WE SPENT LIKE $300,000 TO AN AGENCY. AND THIS FEELS KIND OF THE SAME. LIKE THIS IS JUST ACCEPTING MONEY THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY PLAN FOR. I THINK THAT'S A FAIR POINT. I GET THAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH THE STATE ON THIS, BUT IT JUST DOESN'T I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY WE WOULD BE DOING THIS, ESPECIALLY WITHOUT A PLAN. BUT I UNDERSTAND THE POSITION YOU'RE IN WITH YOU'RE JUST KIND OF STUCK UNTIL THE STATE APPROVES. BUT THANK YOU. OTHER QUESTIONS? MR. ATTORNEY GENERAL, ARE YOU ON A TIMELINE? FOR THIS FUNDING? I THINK FOR THIS FUNDING IT'S PRETTY OPEN, AND I THINK LAST TIME THEY ALLOWED US TO HAVE AN EXTENSION. THIS ONE SAYS WE AN EXPENDITURE REPORT IS DUE MARCH 2027. OKAY, SO YOU HAVE TIME TO REESTABLISH A PLAN AND GET IT APPROVED? YES. BEFORE YOU COME BACK HERE? IF YOU WERE TO COME BACK HERE TO GET I DON'T KNOW. NORMALLY THE WAY THE PROCESS WORKS IS WE HAVE TO CONTRACT FIRST AND ACCEPT THE MONEY AND THEN SUBMIT OUR BUDGET. SO THE STATE WON'T REVIEW OUR BUDGET OR OUR PLAN UNTIL WE OFFICIALLY ACCEPT THE MONEY AND ARE IN CONTRACT WITH THEM FOR THE FUNDS. OKAY, WOW. YES. SOUNDS A LITTLE YEAH. YEAH. OKAY, THAT'S ALL I HAD FOR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. WELL, I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING SOMETHING THAT ADDS RESOURCES RATHER THAN SPENDS THEM. AND I KNOW ONE OF THE CONCERNS WE'RE ALWAYS HAVING IS MAKING SURE THE PUBLIC IS INFORMED OF WHAT'S GOING ON. AND FOR ME, IT NEEDS TO BE A MULTI-PRONGED ATTACK. YOU KNOW, WE JUST NEED TO KEEP ADDING THINGS. SO ADDING THIS OTHER RESOURCE IS SOMETHING I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING. WE'RE JUST NOT SAYING WE JUST NEED TO GO IN A NEWSPAPER OR JUST PUT IT THERE. WE NEED TO DO MORE BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE DOING DOESN'T WORK ENOUGH. ISN'T WORKING AS WELL AS WE WOULD ALL LIKE, SO I APPRECIATE THIS. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? LEGISLATOR BERNESE. SECOND, LEGISLATOR VINO. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. I'M SORRY, 2 NAYS. NO. MOTION CARRIES. NOW WE HAVE ITEM 7, COMMUNICATION 11E-10, AUTHORIZATION TO CONTRACT WITH FORENSIC DENTISTS. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER TERRANOVA, FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU. COMMUNICATION 11E-10 SEEKS AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO CONTRACT WITH FORENSIC DENTISTS TO PROVIDE FORENSIC DENTISTRY SERVICES TO THE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE. THE DENTISTS PROVIDE THIS SERVICE AT NO COST. WE HAVE FOUND THAT THE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE FROM TIME TO TIME NEEDS THE SERVICES OF A FORENSIC DENTIST [00:45:01] TO PROVIDE DENTAL AGE ANALYSIS, BIOLOGICAL PROFILING, AND DENTAL IDENTIFICATION TECHNIQUES. ON THE QUESTION, WHO IS TO APPROVE? REPRESENTATIVE MARTINEZ. SECOND, REPRESENTATIVE VINO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. MOTION TO ADJOURN. SENATOR WEINER. SECOND. SENATOR STARRO. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. [FINANCE & MANAGEMENT] WELCOME TO MEETING NUMBER 8 OF THE FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. CLERK, PLEASE TAKE THE ROLL. LEGISLATURE GREEN. LEGISLATURE MILLS. LEGISLATURE BARGNESE. LEGISLATURE COOK. I'M HERE. LEGISLATOR BYNUM? HERE. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT. THANK YOU. ITEMS 1 THROUGH 6 WILL BE TABLED. ITEM NUMBER 07, WE HAVE SCOTT BELUSKI HERE, THE DIRECTOR OF REAL PROPERTY TAX SERVICES, TO DISCUSS AN OPEN ITEM. GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE. YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU PETITIONS 28-0073 THROUGH 28-0099. ASK THAT THEY BE APPROVED OR DENIED BASED UPON THE RECOMMENDATIONS AS SET FORTH. IS THERE AN AMENDMENT ALSO? OH, THAT WOULD BE THE AMENDMENT FIRST. GOTCHA. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? WE GOT A MOTION TO AMEND BY LEGISLATOR MILLS, SECONDED BY LEGISLATOR VINAL. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THAT PASSES. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE AS AMENDED? SECOND. WE GOT MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE AS AMENDED. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THAT IS APPROVED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ITEMS 8 THROUGH 13 ARE TABLED, AS WELL AS ITEMS 14 THROUGH 21 WILL ALSO BE TABLED. ITEM 22 THROUGH 27 IS TABLED. THEY'RE ALL TABLED. ITEM 28 IS RECEIVED AND FILED. ITEMS 29 THROUGH 32 ARE RECEIVED AND FILED. ITEM 33 IS TABLED. ITEM ITEMS 34 AND 35 ARE RECEIVED AND FILED. ITEM 36 FROM THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, SUNY ECC '26-'27 BUDGET. WE HAVE DR. SEGAI AND ERIC NEELANDS HERE FROM ECC. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD AFTERNOON. CAN YOU HEAR ME? HI. GOOD AFTERNOON. JUST AS A WAY OF INTRODUCTION, I KNOW EVERY YEAR I HAVE MS. ARDA PLANAR, THAT PRESENTS THE BUDGET WITH ME. UNFORTUNATELY, ARDA IS DEALING WITH A SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUE. KEEP HER IN YOUR PRAYER. SHE IS WORKING WITH US STILL, BUT SO WITH THAT, DR. NEALON IS HERE FILLING THAT ROLE FOR ME RIGHT NOW FOR THE COLLEGE. SO I THANK HIM. SO JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE DR. NEALON TO THE COMMITTEE. THANK YOU. ON THAT NOTE, GOOD AFTERNOON. IT IS REALLY A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TODAY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT. I'M GRATEFUL FOR SUPPORTING SUNY ERIE. WE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS AND SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. AND TODAY WE HAVE THE '26-'27 BUDGET OF SUNY ERIE TO PRESENT TO YOU, AND I KNOW YOU HAVE THE INFORMATION IN FRONT OF YOU. AND SO TODAY OUR INTENT IS TO GO HIGH LEVEL AND KIND OF GIVE YOU A PERSPECTIVE JUST AS A WAY OF CONTEXT, THIS IS REALLY FOUNDATIONALLY DEPENDENT ON ADVANCING STUDENT SUCCESS AND INSTITUTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY. EXCUSE ME. REALLY, THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION THAT WE ASK AT THE COLLEGE IS THAT ANYTHING THAT WE DO AT THE COLLEGE, HOW DOES IT IMPACT AND SUPPORT STUDENTS? HOW DOES IT IMPACT, SUPPORT THE COLLEGE? HOW DOES IT IMPACT, SUPPORT THE FACULTY AND STAFF? AND AND HOW DOES IT IMPACT AND SUPPORT THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY AT LARGE? SO THAT IS THE QUESTION THAT WE ASK EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, INCLUDING OUR BUDGET. SO WITH THAT, I WILL GIVE IT TO DR. NIELSEN TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HIGH LEVEL AS TO HOW WE CAME TO THE BUDGET IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU AND GOOD AFTERNOON. IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK ABOUT OUR '26-'27 BUDGET. IF YOU LOOK AT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET HERE. SO IN TERMS OF OUR TUITION AND FEES, WE ARE LOOKING AT A MODEST INCREASE EXPECTATION IN TERMS OF THE TUITION COMING IN, MAINLY BECAUSE OF THEN, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW FROM THE SUNY RECONNECT PROGRAM, ERIE COUNTY AS WELL AS WESTERN NEW YORK IS VERY NICELY POSITIONED TO REALLY TRAIN AND UPSKILL THE ADULT LEARNER POPULATION. SO WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO BE A PART OF AND HONORED TO BE A PART OF THE SUNY RECONNECT PROGRAM, WHICH AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, OR ALL OF YOU KNOW, WAS THEN CONTINUED WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE STATE BUDGET A FEW WEEKS AGO. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ARE CONTINUING TO RECRUIT AS WELL AS BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS FOR OUR TRADITIONAL STUDENT POPULATION. LOOKING AT FORECASTING IN TERMS OF THE POPULATION TRENDS FOR THAT TRADITIONAL STUDENT POPULATION RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, WE ARE FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE [00:50:01] TO SEE THAT IN ERIE COUNTY, A SUSTAINED ENROLLMENT TRAJECTORY IN THAT REGARD. SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, YOU DO SEE THAT THE NUMBERS THAT ARE OUTLINED HERE, WE ARE EXPECTED TO SEE THEN ALSO WITH THE STATE BUDGET APPROVAL IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS, A CONTINUATION OF THE FUNDING FLOOR. IT WAS APPROVED THEN AT 100% OF THE FUNDING FLOOR TO BE MATCHED AGAIN FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR, AS WELL AS THEN THE CONTINUED SPONSORSHIP HERE FROM THE COUNTY. THERE ARE SOME INCREASED REVENUE THAT ARE EXPECTED TO HELP WITH OUR OPERATIONS COMING FROM THE STATE, PREDOMINANTLY THROUGH THE SUNY RECONNECT PROGRAM THAT THE LEADERSHIP TEAM IS WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF HOW WE ENHANCE, AS DR. SEGAI HIGHLIGHTED, THOSE STUDENT SERVICES. IF I BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER THEN IN TERMS OF THEN ANY OF THE EXPENSES, ANY QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF THE REVENUE THAT I CAN PROVIDE AT LEAST AT THIS TIME? ALL RIGHT. IN TERMS OF EXPENSES, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE EXPECTED TO SEE HERE IS AN INCREASE AS WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS, UM, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, THAT DOES THEN, UH, IMPACT THE EXPENSES THAT ARE ANTICIPATED FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR, AS WELL AS FORECASTING OUT INTO FUTURE YEARS AS WELL. UH, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NOTED NOT ONLY FOR THE '26-'27 BUT ALSO INTO THEN SUBSEQUENT YEAR PROJECTIONS, UH, AND THE USE OF LOOKING AT THAT ENROLLMENT TREND, UM, BUT ALSO THEN THE POTENTIAL USE OF THE FUND BALANCE TO NOT ONLY BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THE THE NEGOTIATIONS OF THOSE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS, BUT ALSO INVESTMENTS THAT WE ARE THEN MAKING AT THE INSTITUTION, NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF FACILITIES, BUT ALSO THEN OUR INTERNAL STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, OUR ERP SYSTEM WITHIN WORKDAY, ALL WITH THE INTENT TO OPTIMIZE THAT STUDENT EXPERIENCE AT SUNY ERIE. ON THE 2 ITEMS I HAD QUESTIONS ON, ON MARKETING, IS MARKETING A LINE ITEM ON THE BUDGET? IT IS NOT A SPECIFIC LINE ITEM IN THE BUDGET. HOWEVER, IT IS WHERE MARKETING IS INCLUDED IN THE OPERATING DOLLARS OF THE BUDGET. SO IT FALLS TYPICALLY UNDER CONTRACTS, CONTRACTUAL EXPENSES BASED ON THE WORK THAT WE THEN DO EITHER WITH OUR INTERNAL TEAM THROUGH PROCUREMENT FOR OUR EXTERNAL PARTNERS. AND JUST TO ADD TO THAT, WE HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN INVESTING IN MARKETING AND BEING VERY SPECIFIC AND SPECIFICALLY BY PROGRAM. AND SO WE HAVE SEEN, AS YOU WOULD SEE, IN TERMS OF NEW STUDENT RECRUITMENT, THAT HAS GONE UP TREMENDOUSLY BECAUSE OF THE MARKETING THAT WE HAVE BEEN INVESTING IN. 'CAUSE I WAS WONDERING IF, LIKE, THIS YEAR, IF THERE'S AN INCREASE, IS THERE INCREASE THIS YEAR THE COST IN THE ALLOCATION TO MARKETING? I WAS WONDERING IF LIKE YOU COULD TREND IT OVER TIME TO SEE IF WITH INCREASED DOLLARS TO MARKETING IF THAT INCREASES THE ENROLLMENT. GREAT QUESTION ON THAT. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO OVERSEE MARKETING FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AS WE NOW HAVE A MARKETING INDIVIDUAL WHO'S DOING A TREMENDOUS JOB. CERTAINLY THERE IS A CORRELATION IN TERMS OF OUR MARKETING EFFORTS. WHAT I WOULD SAY IS MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY ONLY THE ALLOCATION OF RAW DOLLARS, BUT HOW THOSE DOLLARS ARE USED AND TRACKING THE METRICS OF THOSE, WHICH I WOULD SAY HAS IMPROVED OVER THE RECENT YEARS AND AS A RESULT BEING ABLE TO TARGET THOSE DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, AS I WAS MENTIONING ABOUT THE 2 DEMOGRAPHICS WE SERVE, THE TRADITIONAL STUDENT POPULATION AND THEN OUR NONTRADITIONAL STUDENT POPULATION, WE CAN USE THEN A COMBINATION OF WE'LL SAY DIRECT MAILING TO BE ABLE TO GET SOMETHING PRINT IN HAND. BUT ALSO THEN USE OF BILLBOARDS, BUT ALSO THEN DIGITAL STREAMING TYPE ADS DEPENDING ON THE DEMOGRAPHIC THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO SERVE. SO IT IS A REALLY DYNAMIC PROCESS IN TERMS OF OUR MARKETING EVALUATION SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HITTING THE APPROPRIATE DEMOGRAPHIC AND HIGHLIGHTING THE WORK THAT SUNY ERIE CAN DO. AND I WOULD SAY THAT THAT'S IMPROVED IN RECENT YEARS. IS IT YOUR OPINION THAT THERE'S SUFFICIENT MONEY IN THE BUDGET FOR MARKETING, OR WOULD YOU WANT MORE MONEY FOR MARKETING? ABSOLUTELY. SO I THINK SHE ASKED YOU IF YOU WANT MORE MONEY. PREVIOUSLY, THE ONE. SO WE COULD ALWAYS USE MONEY IN TERMS OF MARKETING, ABSOLUTELY. BUT WE HAVE ALSO INVESTED IN HUMAN CAPITAL. THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE DID NOT HAVE EXPERTISE IN STAFFING. SO A WEB DESIGNER, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT IS A VERY SPECIFIC SKILL SET. AND SO WE HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF THAT WORK, NOT ONLY MARKETING FOR EXTERNAL BUT INTERNAL AT THE COLLEGE. THE GOOD WORK THAT THE COLLEGE IS DOING, WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REALLY BE SUCCESSFUL ABOUT REALLY TALKING ABOUT THAT AND MARKETING THAT. SO WE HAVE INVESTED IN STAFFING AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE OPTIMIZING THAT AREA OF THE COLLEGE. AND THE SECOND THING I WAS WONDERING ABOUT IS LIKE, DO YOU HAVE TRACKING OF LIKE YOU HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, THE PROFESSORS AND YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT STAFF OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED THERE. BUT THEN YOU ALSO HAVE THOSE PEOPLE WHO HELP FILL UP GAPS PEOPLE HAVE IN MAKING THEM TO BE ABLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL, BREAKING DOWN [00:55:01] BARRIERS AND HELPING THEM EXTRA WITH SCHOOL, LIKE TO TAKE A KID WHO TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GRADUATE, YOU KNOW, AND TIMELY. SO AS FAR AS, DO YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE SPENDING ENOUGH MONEY ON THAT ASPECT OF HAVING THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON'T TEACH A PARTICULAR PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, THOSE PEOPLE I FORGOT WHAT YOU GUYS CALL IT, BUT TO MAKE IT SO PEOPLE CAN BREAK DOWN BARRIERS SO THAT THEY CAN GRADUATE EVEN IF THEY NEED MORE HELP OR FUNDAMENTAL CLASSES OR THINGS LIKE THAT. SO IF I'M HEARING CORRECTLY, IN TERMS OF TITLES AND POSITIONS THAT SUPPORT STUDENTS WHO ARE AT DIFFERENT PARTS, DIFFERENT POINTS IN THEIR ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE, YES, WE DO HAVE THAT. AND I THINK PART OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IS THAT A LOT OF THE JOBS ARE OR TITLES ARE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, IN EACH OF THE UNION, YOU KIND OF SEE THERE'S MIMIC OF THOSE POSITION OR THE RESPONSIBILITY. SO WE ARE TRYING TO PARSE THAT OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A CLEAR RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN A PARTICULAR POSITION, BUT ALSO ACCOUNTABILITY THAT IS ASSIGNED TO IT. SO AS AN EXAMPLE, WE HAVE COUNSELORS, ACADEMIC COUNSELORS, AS WELL AS ADMISSION COUNSELORS. SO REALLY BEING DEFINED ABOUT WHAT ACADEMIC COUNSELORS' RESPONSIBILITIES ARE, AS WELL AS THE ADMISSION COUNSELOR. WE HAVE COORDINATORS AS WELL, AND REALLY THINKING THROUGH THAT, WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO AND HOW THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO ASSIST THE STUDENTS. SO A STUDENT HAS ABOUT ROUGHLY ON THE AVERAGE 3 INDIVIDUALS THAT THEY'RE SUPPORTED, THAT PARTICULAR STUDENT, AND THAT'S ALL STUDENTS. BUT AS IT RELATES TO THE SPECIALTY, THEN WE HAVE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THAT. BUT THE KEY FOR US, AND THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AT THE COLLEGE, IS REALLY IDENTIFYING WHAT EACH OF THE INDIVIDUALS DO, 'CAUSE ALL OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE ALSO INTO THE 4 DIFFERENT UNIONS THAT WE HAVE AT THE COLLEGE. SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH WITH OUR HR TEAM. IS THERE, LIKE, HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN, I'M SURE YOU HAVE, BUT HAVE YOU BEEN ANALYZING, LIKE, FOR STUDENTS WHO DON'T SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE, LIKE, TO FIGURE OUT WHY? TO TRY TO CORRECT THAT, WHETHER IT'S IN ADDITIONAL STAFF OR MONEY OR OTHER THINGS AND DIFFERENT TYPES? ABSOLUTELY. AGAIN, THE SUNY, SPECIFICALLY SUNY CHANCELLOR, HAS BEEN BIG ON THIS. SO WE ARE PART OF A PROJECT CALLED ACADEMIC MOMENTUM. THIS IS A PILOT IN LOOKING AT TRADITIONAL STUDENTS SPECIFICALLY AND REALLY TAKING, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY COME IN AT THE COLLEGE FROM THE ENROLLMENT SIDE TO ALL THE WAY UP TO THE POINT GRADUATION. SO WE HAVE METRICS FOR THAT. WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THAT AND HAVE A TEAM OF PEOPLE, AND WE ALSO HAVE FUNDING TO SUPPORT THAT. SO THAT IS A PILOT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. WE HAVE ABOUT 400 STUDENTS AT THIS POINT THAT WILL IMPACT THE FALL. SO THAT'S A NEW INITIATIVE. THE OTHER THING IS WHAT ERIC SPOKE ABOUT, THE RECONNECT. THAT'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE REALLY CASE MANAGING THAT THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE COMING UNDER THAT. SO WE'RE TAKING IT NOT AS A WHOLE, BUT WE'RE TAKING THESE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING, 'CAUSE ALL OF THE STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE, THEY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT ISSUES AS TO WHY THEY DON'T COMPLETE OR, YOU KNOW, WHY THEY DON'T GRADUATE FROM THE COLLEGE. SO THAT IS THE WORK THAT THE COLLEGE IS DOING WITH A LOT OF THE SUPPORT FROM SUNY. DO YOU FEEL SATISFIED WITH THE BUDGET AS IT IS, THE BOTH OF YOU? YES. YES, WE DO. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE. SO I HAVE JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS REGARDING I KNOW YOU ASKED ABOUT REVENUE IF WE HAD QUESTIONS, BUT I WANTED TO HEAR FIRST YOUR FULL PRESENTATION. UNDER SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMS, I'VE SEEN THAT THERE'S A CHART WHERE YOU HAVE 2 SEPARATE SECTIONS. I WILL TELL YOU THE PAGE IN LESS THAN A SECOND. OKAY. BUT I'D SEEN THAT THERE WAS A LOWER PERCENTAGE SPONSORS OF PROGRAMS AND THEN THE HIGHER PERCENTAGE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN? SO IT'S UNDER YOUR PAGE, 23 OUT OF 54. UM, SO IT SAYS OTHER SPONSORED PROGRAMS, 0.3%. THEN YOU HAVE SPONSORS' CONTRIBUTION, WHICH IS PRETTY HIGH, 22%. CAN YOU GIVE ME A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT THAT TRULY IS? AND IF I MAY, I THINK I MAY HAVE IT ON PAGE 17 OF MINE. DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS? YES, THAT IS IT. IF I MAY, IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUESTIONS. OH, I LOVE IT. SO THIS ACTUALLY IS PART OF STATE CONSTITUTION. IN STATE CONSTITUTION, THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE FUNDED SUCH AS A 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 MODEL. SO IDEALLY, IT IS SUCH THAT THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE AND THE OPERATIONS OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES SHOULD BE FUNDED SUCH THAT 33% OF THE REVENUE OF THE OPERATING BUDGET COMES FROM THE STUDENT TUITION, 1/3, 33%, COMES FROM THE STATE AID, AND 1/3 FROM YOUR COUNTY CONTRIBUTION. MM-HMM. WE RECOGNIZE THAT THAT IS AN IDEAL, THAT IS AN INTENT IN TERMS OF THEN THE STATE LAW, AND CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT COLLABORATIVE AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT THAT HAS CONTINUED TO ALLOW THE SCHOOL TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE. HOWEVER, WE ALSO [01:00:02] RECOGNIZE THAT THOSE PERCENTAGES THEN MAY NOT EQUATE TO EXACTLY 33%. MM-HMM. SO WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT IF YOU DO LOOK AT THOSE LAST 3 LINES, THE SPONSOR'S CONTRIBUTION, STATE AID VERSUS TUITION AND FEES, IT IS AT THIS TIME THAT WE ARE PUTTING MORE OF THAT PERCENTAGE ON THE STUDENTS. HOWEVER, WE ARE ALSO PRIDEFUL IN BEING ABLE TO KEEP OUR TUITION FLAT FOR THE LAST YEARS WHILE STILL BEING ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR FISCAL OPERATIONS AND IT IS WHERE WE ARE PROPOSING AGAIN TO HAVE OUR TUITION FLAT FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. SO WHILE DOES IT CREATE THOSE PRESSURES, YES, BUT IT IS SOMETHING WHERE WE RECOGNIZE THE PERCENTAGE THAT'S PUT ON STUDENTS RIGHT NOW AND IF WE ARE STUDENT-CENTERED, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THAT IN MIND IF WE'RE GONNA OPERATE MOVING FORWARD. YOU WALKED INTO MY NEXT QUESTION BECAUSE I NOTICED THAT YOU GUYS ARE THE LOWEST COMPARED FOR INCREASE, 9.9%. IF I'M CORRECT. AND THEN KNOWING THAT THERE WILL BE SOME INCREASES WITH SOME BARGAINING CONTRACTS, THE COST OF LIVING, YOU KNOW, JUST THE PERCENTAGES THAT YOU HAVE COMING UP, EVERYTHING'S MORE EXPENSIVE, CAPITAL PROJECTS, YOU NAME IT. DO YOU GUYS THINK THIS IS REALISTIC TO STAY FLAT FOR THE AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT 2 YEARS, OR YOU THINK IT'S JUST THIS YEAR AND THEN YOU'LL REEVALUATE? SO I'LL ANSWER THAT. I SAID THAT 2 WAYS. NUMBER ONE, I THINK IT IS IT WOULD BE INJUSTICE AT THIS POINT TO INCREASE TUITION FOR OUR STUDENTS ACROSS THE BOARD. OUR LEARNING SPACES AND FACILITIES ARE NOT IDEAL. THEY'RE NOT CONSISTENT. THERE ARE SOME. OUR NEW LOCATION IS WONDERFUL. OUR CITY LOCATION IS AN ISSUE. THE OTHER AREA, PROGRAMMING, WE ARE WORKING ON THAT. WHILE WE MADE A LOT OF GOOD PROGRESS, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY WORK ON THAT. SO IT WOULD BE INJUSTICE ACROSS THE BOARD TO TRY TO INCREASE TUITION FOR OUR STUDENTS AT THIS POINT. HOWEVER, AS WE ARE MAKING THESE IMPROVEMENTS, WE ARE MORE THAN PREPARED TO DO THAT. ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, STUDENT SUPPORT, THAT ADVISEMENT MODEL, WHILE WE HAVE THAT ADVISEMENT MODEL, IT IS NOT APPLICABLE, IT'S NOT BEING APPLIED ACROSS THE BOARD. SO FOR US, IN ORDER TO REALLY THINK ABOUT INCREASING AND JUSTIFY TO OUR STUDENTS ABOUT THAT, WE REALLY NEED TO WORK ON MAKING SURE THAT ACROSS THE BOARD THAT THERE'S EQUALITY IN TERMS OF HOW STUDENTS EXPERIENCE BOTH THEIR IN-CLASSROOM AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE. SO AT THIS POINT, I'M CERTAINLY NOT CONFIDENT TO GO IN THAT DIRECTION, BUT IN THE FUTURE, I DO THINK WITH ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE PUTTING FORWARD AND MAKING THE PROGRESS, I DO THINK WE COULD JUSTIFY DOING SO. YES, MA'AM. AT THIS TIME, DR. SUGAI, ARE YOU WORKING ON A PLAN FOR THOSE IMPROVEMENTS? I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME CONVERSATIONS, BUT SPECIFICALLY FOR RETENTION OF STUDENTS, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE OUTREACH AND HELPING STUDENTS WITH CURRENT BARRIERS THAT THEY HAVE. EXCELLENT. SO I THINK ONE OF THE, THE, THE THINGS THAT THE COLLEGE IS DOING I DON'T KNOW IF YOU RECALL, BUT WHEN I WAS AN INTERIM PRESIDENT, I WAS TASKED BY THE BOARD TO DO OUR NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE COLLEGE. IT WAS A BRIDGE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE PLAN THAT WE PUT TOGETHER. IT DID EXPIRE. OUR BOARD GAVE US AN EXTENSION TO DO THAT, TO REDO THAT. WE ARE WORKING ON DOING OUR STRATEGIC PLAN RIGHT NOW. IF YOU PARTICIPATED, AND A LOT OF YOU DID, THANK YOU. WE DID GET A LISTENING SESSION FOR THE COMMUNITY TO INPUT, TO GIVE US AN INPUT ON THAT. SO THE PLAN IS YES. THANK YOU. AND PART OF THAT IS TO PUT STUDENT FIRST. THAT IS OUR FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE, EMPOWERING STUDENT. THAT IS OUR FOCUS, AND REALLY THINKING ABOUT RETENTION AS THE NEW ENROLLMENT. OUR COLLEGE DOES NOT HAVE AN ISSUE. I'M VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT BECAUSE ERIC AND OTHERS WHO HAVE SUPPORT, WE DO NOT HAVE ISSUES OF BRINGING STUDENTS AT THE COLLEGE, WHICH IS WHICH IS SOMETHING POWERFUL TO SAY. THE ISSUE THAT WE HAVE AT THE COLLEGE THOUGH IS. RETAINING AND GETTING OUR STUDENTS TO THE FINISH LINE. RIGHT. AND SO WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION IF WE ARE BRINGING OUR STUDENTS, WE HAVE TO DO THE WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE BEST EXPERIENCE WHILE THEY'RE WITH US AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY GET INTO THAT FINISH LINE, EITHER GO TO THE WORKFORCE OR TRANSFER TO BUFF STATE AND UB, WHICH MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS DO SO. SO THAT IS THE MODEL AND REALLY FOCUSING ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN OF THE COLLEGE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF US ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO GET THE STUDENTS TO THE FINISH LINE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YEAH, UM, SEEING THAT YOU GOT SIGNIFICANT, UM, INCREASES IN SOME EXPENSES HERE, PARTICULARLY, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE DISCUSSING, UH, THE ADDITIONAL CONTRACTS AND THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES. WHY THE DELAY FOR, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD SEEM THAT IF YOU'RE GONNA GO UP 3% IN OUT-YEARS FOR TUITION, A 3% INCREASE WOULD BASICALLY PUT US ON PARITY WITH MONROE COUNTY. WHY THE DELAY IN THAT PIECE IF [01:05:05] THAT MIGHT HELP GAP THE BUDGET THIS YEAR? OH. I THINK WHEN LOOKING AT THE TUITION COSTS, IT IS AN IMPORTANT ONE TO CONSIDER. AND I DON'T DISAGREE WITH YOU. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT AND I SHOULD ALSO SAY, I'M SOMEONE THAT PAYS THAT TUITION. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WHERE IF YOU LOOK AT OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM, THE CONVERSATION AROUND TUITION AND TUITION INCREASE HAS BEEN ONE HAD FOR THE LAST NUMBER OF MONTHS. THERE HAVE BEEN THOSE WHO HAVE PROPOSED, YES, MOVE THIS SUCH THAT 2 TO 3% INCREASE. UM, BUT THE FINAL BUDGET, THE DECISION WAS AT THIS CURRENT TIME IN TERMS OF THE OPERATING DOLLARS AND I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION ABOUT THAT RELATIVE BREAKDOWN IN THE PERCENTAGES ADDING MORE TO THOSE STUDENTS I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE CONTRADICTORY TO OUR STRATEGIC PRINCIPLE OF STUDENT-CENTEREDNESS, UM, AS WELL AS ALSO INSTITUTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY. SO WHILE WE RECOGNIZE THOSE, UM, FORECASTED EXPENSES. I THINK IT PUTS THEN THE ONUS ON US TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO OPERATE AS OPPOSED TO PUTTING THAT PRESSURE ON THE STUDENT MOVING FORWARD. AND SO I THINK IT IS WHERE, TO DR. SUGAI'S POINT, WE ARE AT THAT INFLECTION POINT FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR TO LOOK AT THEN OUR OPERATING REVENUE COMING FROM THE TUITION AND THEN MAKE THAT DECISION AT SUCH TIME TO POTENTIALLY INCREASE THAT. JUST THE OTHER THING TO ADD TO THAT, I THINK WE STARTED THE WORK OF RIGHT-SIZING, AND I'M NOT SAYING LAYING OFF PEOPLE OR AREA, BUT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE DO MUCH DIFFERENTLY. SO I THINK THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US BY WAY OF SERVICES AND OTHER THINGS, INCLUDING EQUIPMENT, FOR US TO THINK ABOUT THAT MUCH DIFFERENTLY. WE HAVE BEEN REALLY FORCEFUL IN TERMS OF GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY. SO AN EXAMPLE IS THE WHOLE NORTHLAND PROJECT, HAVING NORTHLAND NORTHLAND. SITE IN TERMS OF THE FACILITY AS WELL AS THE EQUIPMENT, THE COLLEGE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD THAT. SO GOING FORWARD AS IT RELATES TO PROGRAMMING AND BEING ABLE TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY, THE THINKING IS TO REALLY THINK ABOUT GOING INTO THE COMMUNITY. SO LOOKING AT DIFFERENT INSTITUTES THAT ARE COMING, AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE THE HISPANIC INSTITUTE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS REALLY GOING THERE AND HAVING A PRESENCE FROM THE COLLEGE. SO THE FACILITY IS THERE, RIGHT? SO WE WOULD PAY RENT. YES. BUT WE'RE NOT TAKING OVER THE OVERHEAD IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE COLLEGE HAS BEEN DOING. SO THE WORK, AT LEAST WE STARTED, BUT WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO. SO I SEE AN OPPORTUNITY THERE OF SAVING TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT DIFFERENTLY. BUT I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH, AS ALL OF YOU KNOW, I GRADUATED FROM SUNY ERIE, AND THE FACT THAT EVERYTHING IS THE SAME OR WORSE AT THE CITY CAMPUS IS A CONCERN. SO IT WOULD BE JUST INJUSTICE, AND I'VE BEEN THANK YOU. VOCAL ON THIS, A STRONG VOCAL ON THIS IS THAT WE CANNOT DO THAT TO OUR STUDENTS YET. BUT AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, I THINK IT MAKES SENSE IN TERMS OF HAVING THAT ABILITY TO DO THAT AND BE ABLE TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS. SO I THINK IT'S KEY THAT WE DO THE WORK NOW AND WE ARE DOING THE WORK. AND SO WE DO SEE SOME SAVINGS, I DO SEE SOME SAVINGS IN THOSE AREAS. AND I GUESS, YOU KNOW, MY SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, CONCERN IS REALLY BASED IN OTHER AREAS OF GOVERNMENT WHERE WE'VE DELAYED AND KEPT AREAS FLAT. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, FOR A GOOD EXAMPLE, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, YOUR PREDECESSOR HAD INCREASED TUITION LIKE $70 A YEAR. MM-HMM. AND I THINK I WAS THE ONLY PERSON ON MY SIDE OF THE AISLE THAT SUPPORTED THAT BUDGET. UNDERSTOOD WHERE THE RATIONALE WAS WITH THAT, AND MY CONCERN IS THAT WHEN YOU GO FLAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN A ROW, THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU END UP KIND OF RIGHT ON THE BRINK OF THAT FISCAL CLIFF. AND INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT A THREE PERCENT, $156 INCREASE, YOU END UP LOOKING AT A SEVEN OR EIGHT PERCENT JUST TO MAKE THE BUDGET HAPPEN. THAT'S THAT, THAT'S WHY I EXPRESSED THAT CONCERN, IS, IS ARE WE KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE A MUCH LARGER INCREASE DOWN, UH, YOU KNOW, A YEAR OR TWO FROM NOW? AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY THOUGHTS. YEAH, WELL, WELL NOTED. I, I COULD SEE THAT AS WELL. BUT AGAIN, I, I THINK THERE ARE IF I, IF, IF I DIDN'T AND THE TEAM DIDN'T SEE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY, UH, DO BUSINESS DIFFERENTLY, UM, YES, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A CONCERN. BUT I DO SEE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO OUR BUSINESS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. THE OTHER THING I WANNA NOTE, TECHNOLOGY, WORKDAY IS A HUGE INVESTMENT IN HERE AS YOU SEE. WE HAVE NOT OPTIMIZED WORKDAY AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER AREA FOR THE COLLEGE TO REALLY OPTIMIZE WORKDAY BECAUSE WE DID INVEST A LOT ON THAT TO BE ABLE TO STREAMLINE A LOT OF THE WORKS. AND KIND OF UNDER THAT SAME UMBRELLA OF OVERALL COSTS, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, WE ARE NOT SEEING ANY INCREASE OF STATE AID? YES, THAT'S CORRECT. WHAT WAS APPROVED AGAIN, THAT'S NOT AT LEAST IN THE TUITION SIDE. LET ME [01:10:01] I'LL CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT. SO THE TUITION IS AT THAT 100% FUNDING FLOOR. THERE IS AN INCREASE IN THE OPERATING AID THAT WAS PROVIDED AND FOR THE '26-'27 YEAR. ALL RIGHT, IS THAT SEEMINGLY, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IS THAT STATEWIDE WITH ALL, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY COLLEGES THAT ALL THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES, YES, ALL THE ONES THAT ARE BENEFITING THROUGH THE RECONNECT PROGRAM. SO WHAT IT IS IS A NEW CYCLE OF FUNDING. THERE'S, THERE'S 2 SOURCES OF IT. THERE WAS AN $8 MILLION AND A $4 MILLION DIVIDED UP AMONGST THE COLLEGES WITH RECONNECT IN ADDITION TO WHAT WAS THEN PROVIDED IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR. AND THEN ONE OF THE QUESTIONS ALWAYS COMES UP IS REGARDING YOU KNOW, CHARGEBACKS, WHAT ARE WE SEEING AS FAR AS TRENDS WITH NEIGHBORING COMMUNITY COLLEGES? I THINK CHARGEBACKS ARE A REALITY. IT'S SOMETHING WHERE YOU'RE AND I, YOU KNOW, TO BE HONEST, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I LOOK AT IN THE ENROLLMENT OFFICE. THE REALITY IS WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SHEER POPULATION SIZE BETWEEN ERIE COUNTY AND NIAGARA, CHAUTAUQUA, WHICH WOULD BE OUR JAMESTOWN PARTNER, GENESEE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE RAW NUMBERS YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT BASED ON THE SIZE OF ERIE COUNTY ALONE, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN THOSE CHARGEBACKS RELATIVE TO THOSE BASED ON THE SHEER NUMBERS TO THEM. RIGHT, SO THAT WAS KIND OF THE QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE TREND? ARE WE SEEING FLAT OR IS IT CONSISTENT? YEAH, CORRECT, CONSISTENT AT LEAST IN TERMS OF THE ENROLLMENT THAT WE'RE SEEING AT THIS TIME. AND PART OF IT, UH, AGAIN IS THE EXPERIENCE THAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE OR LACK OF AT OUR SCHOOL, AND SO CHOOSING TO GO TO NIAGARA COMMUNITY COLLEGE AS AN EXAMPLE FOR NURSING PROGRAMS BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME, OR BETTER YET, THEY'RE NOT HAVING THE IDEAL EXPERIENCE. SO REALLY FOCUSING ON THAT STUDENT EXPERIENCE IS GONNA BE KEY FOR US TO KEEP OUR STUDENTS WITH US AND TO KEEP THEM IN OUR COUNTY. SO THAT IS STILL A REALITY AS TO WHY SOME OF OUR STUDENTS LEAVE US AND GO TO, FOR EXAMPLE, NIAGARA COMMUNITY COLLEGE. SO WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO. YEAH, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF YOUR YOU KNOW, YOUR IMPROVED SPORTS FACILITIES. NIAGARA COUNTY OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, SPENDS A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT ON THEIR BASEBALL PROGRAM. YOU KNOW, THOSE FACILITIES ARE MUCH IMPROVED OVER WHAT YOU HAVE, AND MAYBE WE GET A FEW MORE STUDENTS TO STAY HERE. YEAH, OUR COLORS ARE BETTER THOUGH THAN NIAGARA COMMUNITY COLLEGE. NO DISAGREEMENT THERE. THEY'RE BRIGHTER, I THINK, BUT YES. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THIS ITEM WILL BE TABLED UNTIL AN UPCOMING PUBLIC HEARING IS SCHEDULED. THANK YOU. ITEMS 37, 38, AND 39 WILL BE RECEIVED AND FILED. THAT CONCLUDES OUR BUSINESS. IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? MOTION. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. WE ARE ADJOURNED. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.