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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB 2024-08-15 attTB 8-15-24
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TOWN OF DRYDEN
TOWN BOARD MEETING
August 15, 2024
Zoom Hybrid
Present: Supervisor Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl Leonardo Vargas-
Mendez, Cl Christina Dravis, Cl Spring Buck
Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk
Rick Young, Highway Superintendent
Other Town Staff: Ray Burger, Planning Director
*Cassie Byrnes, Secretary to the Supervisor
Ray Burger, Planning Director
Chris O’Connor, Fire Coordinator
*Indicates attendance via Zoom
Supv Leifer opened the meeting at 6:03 p.m. and board members and guests recited the
pledge of allegiance.
RESOLUTION #131 (2024) – APPROVE MINUTES
Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the meeting minutes of July 11 and
July 18, 2024.
2nd Cl Buck
Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes
Cl Buck Yes
Cl Dravis Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
PUBLIC HEARING
SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A
BUILDING EXCEEDING THE MAXIMUM PERMITTED SIZE
5 & 9 FREESE ROAD
Supv Leifer opened the meeting at 6:05 p.m. He explained that the Planning Board still
has to review the SEQR on this project. He will open the public hearing tonight and take
comments tonight. The hearing will remain open and resume on September 12.
David Weinstein, 51 Freese Road, read the following statement:
As I indicated in the letter I sent to you on June 5,
1. I understand the need for affordable housing and support it, but it should be done in smaller sizes.
2. This development is just too big with too many apartments.
a. The Varna Plan envisioned smaller developments of about 20 units instead of the 53 apartments
proposed here.
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b. INHS has told me that they could not secure the necessary funding for building the development and
for operating it unless it contained at least 50 units. I know they believe this, but to date I have not
seen any documents that show this is true.
c. This includes documenting why a 3-story building is necessary even though it doesn’t fit with the
character of the surrounding community. The building is actually 4 stories on the north side facing all
the traffic coming south across the bridge.
d. This includes a square footage (11,000) over twice as large as what is envisions as the normal goal
(5000) in the town’s zoning.
The Board’s ability to grant such a special permit was never envisioned to allow blowing the square
footage goal out of the water.
2. Can INHS maintain a general level of safety within and around the development? INHS promises to
have a supervisor on site every day to make sure that when these problems started developing they
would be dealt with immediately. We need a written commitment to this promise, and to identify
strict procedures they will follow to fix issues.
3. There is always the concern with the potential impact on Fall Creek, with its banks only 100 feet away
and of course is the water supply of Cornell University with its intake only 1 mile downstream. We’ve
already had to deal with some partying at the Creek, with noise and trash being left that goes along with
it. The Creek remains vulnerable to the kind of abuse that can come from a dense population living
right near its shores.
4. There has been a long-standing concern over whether the town will have to pay extra for the over-
capacity sewage volume being sent to the Ithaca Wastewater treatment plant. There has been a lot of
new housing in Varna since this concern was originally raised, making it likely that the allocation to
Dryden will be exceeded. No written confirmation of how close we might be to exceeding that
allocation has been provided.
At the planning board meeting last month, assurances were made to:
1. buffer the noise of the air-source units on the roof,
2. lower the height of lights,
3. provide a visual buffer hedge to lessen the impact of the lights, etc. to the neighbors across Freese
Rd, among others.
I do not see any documents posted that confirm these commitments.
Enforceable written commitments that make sure this development is a positive addition to Varna and
not a source of potential problems or a decrease in safety must be made, including size justification, on-
site project manager, and procedures for eliminating problems.
Mason Jager, Chief of the Varna Volunteer Fire Company, said he has been working
with the Planning Department and the developers regarding fire access for apparatus and those
conversations have been productive. With respect to the three-story building, he wanted to let
the board know that having this structure in their district will change the makeup of their
response and responsibilities, especially with respect to firefighter safety. They will need to
invest in bailout kits for their personnel. Because of the way the building is designed they will
have aerial access with a ladder truck from the front of the building, but not from the back. If a
firefighter is in a crisis situation at the back of the building, the only means of escape will be to
jump out of the building. It may cost tens of thousands of dollars to provide the necessary
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equipment to accommodate this building. He asked the board to keep in mind what this will
cost the town taxpayers.
They are now pushing the limit of their current ISO rating in how much their pump
capacity is for their vehicles. They may have to purchase more apparatus to meet the demand
should the town continue to develop their area.
Supv Leifer acknowledged written comments that were received by the board today:
From Laurie Snyder:
I am unable to attend August 15 Town Board Meeting, not on Zoom either. So I would like my letter
entered into the Minutes of tonight’s meeting.
1. I am concerned that the “Recreation Area + bus stop” is at the busy intersection of Hwy 366 and
Freese Road. The planners should provide more recreation area for the families of this housing
complex. The recreation area should have a playground with picnic tables and sun/rain shelters.
2. I am concerned that the single family home sites will face a busy highway! With very little set
back. How will the elevation of the highway side connect to the lower elevation of the parking
lots and apartments? This was discussed at the Planning Board Mtg and the INHS team was
going to look into this.
3. How will traffic from Route 366 onto Freese Road be managed? Again there is significant
elevation at the corner. In winter, cars have frequently gotten stuck on the Freese Road slope.
This will be aggravated by an increase in traffic.
4. How will the retention ponds be protected from children and pets? Will pets be allowed?
5. How will lighting affect neighbors on Freese Road, in particular Kim Klein at 14 Freese Road?
6. How will landscaping shield the heating and cooling units on the Freese Road side. Will there be
noise mitigation?
7. I strongly feel this development proposal is too big for this site….It is at least 10 percent larger
than the previously approved Maifly proposal.
From Kim Klein:
I attended the Dryden Town Planning Board meeting a few weeks ago, where I voiced my concerns
about the proposed development on Freese Road.
I am concerned that this development is too large.
There needs to be a buffer between the buildings and Freese Road.
The heat pumps are located at the end of my driveway, very close by, so they need sound proofing
added.
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The proposed light poles in the parking lot are 25 feet tall. They need to be smaller, situated away from
the windows at my house.
A four-story building is out of character with the neighborhood.
Not enough green space included for the buildings.
At 6:15 p.m. Supv Leifer said this hearing will be held open for comments and resume
on September 12.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There will be a memorial service for Bob Beck at 2:30 on Saturday, August 24, at the
Pavilion at Dryden Lake Park and everyone is invited.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Highway Superintendent Rick Young reported that all but two roads listed on the §284
have been completed. Once the stream bank stabilization is done on Lower Creek Road, they
will try to get that road in shape for the winter. He has submitted to CHIPS for reimbursement
for a lot of the paving that has been done. Road striping is underway and should be complete
in the next few days. They are doing a little more mowing at the dam and the dam inspection
is scheduled for the 21st when they will run a camera through the tunnel. They have done a lot
of shoulders and ditching and a couple of sewer repairs. They are hoping to get the force main
fixed because there is no room left on the pipe for straps.
There have been issues with the air conditioning in town hall. R Young said trouble
with the transformer at the road left the building with half power. Two of the motors upstairs
burned out because of the low power and VanHee is looking for parts to finish the repair. R
Young will reach out to NYSEG to find out if there is something they can do to help with
expenses, as it was due to their problem.
The Jim Schug trail is maintained by the town (mowing, bridge work, etc.) and there is
currently a problem with wheel ruts. The town needs to figure out what to do with the surface
and the cost to repair it. He is looking for ideas and will put together some options, because it
will continue to deteriorate.
The bathrooms at Dryden Lake Park have been locked due to continued vandalism.
They will be open for a few of the pavilion reservations, but until they can come up with a
solution to the vandalism, the bathrooms will remain closed.
The DPW has started a second round of mowing shoulders. They are picking up signs
from highway right-of-way and ditches because they can ruin the mower blades.
Cl Lamb noted that the Rail Trail Task Force is reorganizing and forming
subcommittees. He said people used to bring their concerns to Bob Beck and then Bob would
relay those necessary to Rick Young. They would like to let people know they can contact R
Young directly, and he said that would be fine.
5 and 9 Freese Road (continued)
Jorge, a resident of Ithaca for many years who has also lived in the Village of Dryden,
said he has heard of a possibility of an apartment complex being built on Freese Road. He
understands that there will be some houses that will be built for possible sale. He is interested
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in this aspect. He has the means to buy a small house at an affordable price and would like to
know details so he can follow up. Supv Leifer said if the project is approved, INHS will have the
details. Cl Lamb said it is an affordable housing project, so there may be some qualifying
limits on the purchaser. Jorge said homes have increased in price so much, but this he may
be able to afford. He added that there are many r etirees that are looking for a small, affordable
house.
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
Ray Burger said the department’s monthly report has been distributed. He noted that
the town has received its Pro-Housing Certification. Being a Pro-Housing Community opens up
availability to a lot of funding streams and grant opportunities made available from New York
State.
Cl Lamb said it looks like the Caswell Road solar project is off track. It may come back
in a smaller form, but the cost of the interconnection turned out to be cost prohibitive (about
nine million dollars). A lot of time was spent on this potential project by NYSERDA and
Tompkins County, together with some review by our Planning Board.
FIRE COORDINATOR
Chris O’Connor has sent some emails to board members. Supv Leifer noted the grant
received by Neptune Hose Company for fire apparatus and thanked C O’Connor for helping
with discussions regarding Dryden Ambulance and how often they are called to respond
outside of their area. Cl Lamb said he had a good conversation with one of our county
legislators on the topic. It is an intolerable situation and once others in the county realize the
extent of the disparity of payments and the fact that this town has an ambulance protection
tax that most towns don’t, we may be able to get some leverage.
C O’Connor is looking at a strategic plan for the town. He will look at the demographics
and things like that to develop a town wide vision. Things are changing and we need to be
ahead of the curve and meet needs.
Cl Lamb asked if there was any feedback from the departments on Supv Leifer’s
reminder that they need to submit a SWOT analysis in advance of budget negotiations. C
O’Connor said, and Chief Yager confirmed, that he understands that Varna is working hard to
meet the deadline. Neptune has said they will start working on it, and he has heard nothing
from Etna or Freeville.
Chief Yager said the bailout equipment they are looking at would be part of a
firefighter’s equipment. Varna and Neptune are looking at grant opportunities to cover the
expense. Depending on approval of 5 & 9 Freese Road, Varna may need to make the purchase
prior to securing a grant. Having the bailout equipment will mean more training for their
people annually. INHS is willing to install standpipes in the building, not required by code,
which will make the firefighters’ jobs easier. Supv Leifer said a requirement for that can be
written into the permit.
DRYDEN FIBER
D Makar has sent board members his report (attached) that covers activity through the
end of July. Construction continues in both villages and in the Yellow Barn and Ferguson
Road area. By the end of September, he projects that all of the villages will be in the green
zone and soon after that, the areas of Yellow Barn and Ferguson Road and then Etna. Right
now, Dryden Fiber is able to serve 565 parcels, which is 748 households that have access.
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There are 66 paying customers, an increase of 14 in July. He estimates 100 customers by
September 1.
Municipal Infrastructure Program Grant Update – This grant is to expand to all
unserved and underserved locations in the town of Dryden and also provides service in the
town of Caroline (2,673 locations). They are currently finishing the Phase 3 pole applications.
Approval takes about ten months and then construction can commence. They expect to be
providing service in the Town of Caroline in September of 2025. Adding the 1200 parcels in the
town of Caroline will make the entire Dryden Fiber project more sustainable. They have done a
survey of the Caroline POP sites and have begun design development on the MIP Pha se 2
routes to serve the unserved and underserved areas in Dryden. It appears that four of the
2,673 addresses are now live with Dryden Fiber, making them the f irst four installations made
under this grant in the state. All work under this grant must be completed by December 31,
2026. It is estimated that when Dryden Fiber reaches 262 customers the income will cover the
project’s monthly expenses and then move on toward paying down the debt.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS
Accept Audit – The board had a presentation by Insero last week regarding the audit
they performed for fiscal year 2023. Supv Leifer asked if board members had any questions
and there were none.
Resolution #132 (2024) - Acceptance of Audited Financial Report for the Fiscal Year
Ended December 31, 2023
Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
Whereas, the Town of Dryden entered into a contract for auditing services with Insero &
Co, CPAs, LLP, for the purpose of conducting an external audit of the town’s financial records
for fiscal year 2023, and
Whereas, the audit firm of Insero & Co, CPAs, LLP, has completed its audit of the financial
statements of the Town of Dryden for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, and has
presented the Financial Report to the Town Board, and
Whereas, the audit firm has opined the 2023 financial statements contained in the prepared
Financial Report present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position and the results of
operations of the Town as of, and for, the year presented in the Financial Report,
Whereas, the audit team has reviewed the results with the Town Bookkeeper and presented
their findings to the Town Board,
Resolved, that the audited Town of Dryden Financial Report, pending any editing changes by
the auditors, for the period ended December 31, 2023, is hereby accepted and will be filed in
the Town Clerk’s office.
2nd Cl Dravis
Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes
Cl Buck Yes
Cl Dravis Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
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Payment Outside the Abstract – The contractor chosen to do the energy upgrades to
the DPW building is ready to proceed. The contract calls for a first payment when the
materials are ready and work can commence.
RESOLUTION #133 (2024) - Payment Outside of Abstract 8
Cl Dravis offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
WHEREAS, the Town awarded a contract with T. Lobdell for improvements to the Highway
Building in May 2024;
WHEREAS, the contract requires the first payment when the materials are ready and the work
is ready to start;
Therefore, be it resolved that the Board approves the payment of $58,000 outside of Abstract 8.
2nd Cl Lamb
Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes
Cl Buck Yes
Cl Dravis Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
Charge to Planning Board – Cl Lamb has drafted and shared a resolution charging the
Planning Board with investigating the potential impacts of crypto -mining, data processing
centers and that type of industry. He said it builds off conversations had previously by the
board and he has had input from the town attorney and Planning Board chair. This will allow
the board to be more informed and let people know why we have a moratorium in place.
RESOLUTION #134 (2024) – CHARGE TO PLANNING BOARD
Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
Whereas the Town of Dryden’s zoning law was last comprehensively reviewed and updated in
2012.
Whereas the Town of Dryden began a comprehensive review and update of its zoning law in
2024.
Whereas the Town of Dryden recently placed a moratorium on commercial crypto mining and
data processing projects.
Whereas the Town of Dryden is aware that crypto -mining and data processing can require
significant energy use, potentially have other negative impacts on development and the
environment including, but not limited to noise and GHG emissions, and potentially positive
impacts such as job creation and economic development.
Be it resolved that the Town of Dryden charges the Planning Board with providing its opinion
on the following questions:
1. Are crypto-mining and data processing facilities consistent with the Town's
Comprehensive Plan?
2. Should commercial crypto-mining and data processing facilities be included in the
Town's zoning law? If yes, then what regulations does the Planning Board recommend?
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3. Can the Planning Board identify potential positive and/or negative impacts to the town
beyond the context of the comprehensive plan? If yes, then identify those potential
impacts for the Town Board’s consideration.
2nd Cl Lamb
Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes
Cl Buck Yes
Cl Dravis Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
Rail Trail Easements from Villages – R Burger said the easements are still in draft.
He expects the town attorney and village attorney will finalize them by the end of the month
and the board will be able to act in September. The board set the hearing for September 19 at
6:05 p.m.
Morris Rd Solar Project – R Burger said this project has been reviewed by the Planning
Board over the last few months, and is coming with their recommendation to the Town Board.
There were concerns expressed during that process and the Delaware River Solar team
responded with great solutions.
Matt Mihali of Delaware River Solar and Usman Chaundry of PW Grosser Consulting
explained the project. M Mihali said they have had productive meetings with the Planning
Board and considered their recommendations. The Planning Board expressed concern with the
number of trees to be cleared and necessary easements with the interconnection as originally
proposed. They were able to change the point of interconnection to utilize existing
infrastructure off of West Malloryville Road where poles already exist and the amount of tree
clearing will be minimal. This will require NYSEG to upgrade the single-phase line to a three-
phase feeder. This is a community solar project and NYSEG customers will be able to
subscribe to the project and receive a discount, usually five to ten percent.
The project size is five megawatts. The panels are single access tracking panels, so they
will track the sun from east to west to maximize their energy production. The fenced area is
roughly twenty-seven acres. There is no battery storage proposed. There are some DEC
regulated wetlands located on the project site and they will have no impact on those. They are
in the process of formulating a wetland delineation and DEC will validate that. They take into
account the wetlands as they exist now and will avoid any impact.
Cl Lamb said he is excited about the project and appreciated that the project is
positioned so as to not be highly visible, as indicated in the line-of-sight analysis. The
applicant has been very forthcoming with the Planning Board. This project will have a PILOT
agreement with the County and the town will get yearly revenue from the project.
In response to a question, M Mihali said they are not proposing to use goats, but will
use a local vendor to tend the area inside the fence and to plant the vegetative screening.
The project is anticipated to be completed in mid-2025 and they will advertise for
subscribers.
The public hearing was set for September 19, 2024, at 6:15 p.m.
RESOLUTION #135 (2024) – MORRIS ROAD SOLAR PROJECT - INITIAL SEQR
CLASSIFICATION, INTENT TO DECLARE LEAD AGENCY, SCHEDULING PUBLIC HEARING
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Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden is considering an application for a Special Use Permit
(SUP) by Delaware River Solar to construct and operate 5.0 MW ac solar photovoltaic electrical
energy generation facility, including an interconnection line to interconnect to the utility
electrical grid, at 30 Morris Road, Tax parcel 24.-1-4; and
WHEREAS, this action requires review under the State Environmental Quality Review
Act (“SEQRA”).
NOW THEREFORE, the Town Board of the Town of Dryden hereby resolves as follows:
1. The Town Board hereby determines that the action is subject to SEQRA; and
2. The Town Board hereby makes a preliminary classification of the action as an unlisted
action pursuant to 6 NYCRR 617; and
3. The Town Board hereby determines that it intends to serve as Lead Agency with
respect to the SEQRA review and, in that capacity, will determine if the proposed
action will have a significant adverse impact on the environment; and
4. The Town Board hereby schedules a public hearing for September 19, 2024 at 6:15
pm. Access details for the public hearing shall be posted on the Town of Dryden
website at www.dryden.ny.us twenty-four (24) hours prior to the date of the hearing.
The purpose of the public hearing is for all persons wishing to comment in favor of or
against the application to have an opportunity to provide their comments thereon.
2nd Cl Lamb
Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes
Cl Buck Yes
Cl Dravis Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
ADVISORY BOARD UPDATES
Workforce and Affordable Housing – Cl Vargas-Mendez will provide minutes when
they are available. He mentioned the visit by Lenny Skrill, Associate Commissioner of NYS
Homes & Community Renewal. The visit covered the different sites that are planned for
housing development, including Freese Road, the North Street development, and a site in the
city. It was a short visit and included a quick lunch with Mayor Murphy and Rocco Lucente
regarding potential sources for funding for Lucente’s project.
Conservation Board – Highlights from the meeting include an expressed desire that the
Rail Trail be named after Bob Beck. Craig Schutt will be liaison with the DRYC in their effort.
There was discussion about interest in drying out wetlands that have been causing problems
along Johnson Road. There was a report on a presentation on winter salt use and resulting
environmental impacts. It is much more impactful for parking lots than roadways.
Climate Smart Communities Task Force – No update since their last meeting. They
have changed their meetings to the third Tuesday of the month.
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Planning Board – They had a long discussion about the Freese Road project and there
will be more information next week about their role in site plan review. Cl Lamb said he thinks
this project is tasteful, proportional and badly needed. He said we need to keep an eye on the
overall goal of more affordable housing. Town will have to put some skin in the game and
should consider the reasonable PILOT request that INHS has made. The board should put
some thought into what it is willing to give up in revenue in order to provide this housing.
Rail Trail Task Force - Efforts continue to reorganize the group. They have formed a
project management team and will rely more on a committee structure. Members of the Task
Force will be assigned to a subcommittee. There will be notices at the trail kiosks that the
Task Force is looking for members. Cl Lamb is revising the authorizing resolution, expanding
the committees, and directing the membership.
Ag Advisory Committee – There was no meeting this month.
Recreation & Youth Commission – Four responses were received to their RFP for a
consultant to consider uses of the property behind town hall. The chair has sent them out to
the group and they will interview at least two of them. Craig Anderson (Affordable Housing
Committee) and Craig Schutt (Conservation Board) will be part of the group conducting the
interviews.
Broadband Committee – Supv Leifer said the town is fortunate to have Dave Makar on
board. He stepped forward just as the MIP application was being put together. Dryden and
Caroline each applied for a grant from ConnectAll to help cover administrative costs. There
may be a need to have someone help out as the number of customers grows. He has spoken
with Caroline about putting money aside to help cover their shared legal expenses and for their
own town attorney to do easement work if necessary.
Supv Leifer and Dave Makar will speak at an Upstate APA Conference this fall (October
9-11) about how to start municipal broadband. Cl Lamb said he had good conversations with
Senator Webb and Assemblywoman Kelles’ office about legislation we need to allow access to
multi-family housing or apartments. The process is currently very arduous.
Supv Leifer said the industry likes to complain about municipal broadband being unfair
but they have many advantages in existing law that municipal broadband doesn’t. People still
want what municipal broadband has to offer.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:32 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bambi L. Avery
Town Clerk
DRYDEN FIBER
MID-MONTH REPORT
AUGUST 2024
TOWN OF DRYDEN BOARD MEETING
AUGUST 15th, 2024
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
▪Construction Updates:
o Massive Expansion coming in the next 60 days: Village of Dryden; Village of Freeville;
this will double the number of homes with access to Dryden Fiber (By September 21st,
2024)
▪We are now able to serve 565 parcels
o We are now able to serve 748 households (apartments; mobile homes)
▪We have 66 paying customers (+14 in July);We had 65 in-bound requests in June;
33 green zone in July
▪We have 27 customers in the installation queue for this month (Aug 2024)
▪We estimate 100 total customers by Sept 1, 2024
▪Dave is estimating 100+ customers by the "end of summer" (9/21/24)
o 200 by end of year (near break-even)
o 500 by end of 2025
Municipal Infrastructure Program Grant
▪Key Discussion Topics (between Dryden Fiber Steering Committee and CAO):
o Finishing Phase 3 pole applications (estimated completion date 8/23/24)
o Location data reporting of "Now Available" and "Subscribed" addresses
o Review actions, decisions, risks, schedule, licenses, and permitting
▪Accomplishments
o Survey of Caroline POP sites
o Began Design Development on MIP Phase 2 routes
▪Wins:
o We believe 4 of the 2,673 addresses are now live with Dryden Fiber
o These are the first 4 in the entire state of New York where installation is covered by MIP
Project Highlights
Project Name:Dryden Fiber Expansion
for Towns of Dryden and Caroline
Applicant and Partner(s):Town of
Dryden dba, Dryden Fiber and Town of
Caroline
Construction Miles (Fiber): 124.6
Total Locations Served:2,674
ConnectALL Grant Amount:$ 8,995,979.00
Local Contribution:$ 906,321.00
Total Project Investment: $9,902,300.00
Difference Monthly Expense Income Customers Income per customer
$(10,945.00)$14,660.00 $3,715.00 66 $56.29
$(10,460.00)$14,660.00 $4,200.00 75 $56.00
$(9,060.00)$14,660.00 $5,600.00 100 $56.00
$(6,260.00)$14,660.00 $8,400.00 150 $56.00
$(3,460.00)$14,660.00 $11,200.00 200 $56.00
$(660.00)$14,660.00 $14,000.00 250 $56.00
$(380.00)$14,660.00 $14,280.00 255 $56.00
$(100.00)$14,660.00 $14,560.00 260 $56.00
$12.00 $14,660.00 $14,672.00 262 $56.00
$180.00 $14,660.00 $14,840.00 265 $56.00
$2,140.00 $14,660.00 $16,800.00 300 $56.00
$4,940.00 $14,660.00 $19,600.00 350 $56.00
$7,740.00 $14,660.00 $22,400.00 400 $56.00
Finance -Operations
As of July 31, 2024
Appendix A
Team Reports
Team Reports
▪Customer Base – Amanda, Town of Dryden Bookkeeper
▪Construction Permitting Updates – Hunt Engineering
▪Construction Implementation Updates – Hunt,Syracuse Utilities,Lightspeed
▪Installations – Clarity Connect, Netegrity, Gleamon
▪Sales Operations – Gleamon
▪Finance – Amanda,Town of Dryden Bookkeeper
▪Customer Service - Netegrity
▪Marketing – Exec. Dir. Dave Makar
Customer Base
As of August 1st, 2024 (billing date is 1st of month)
Speed Number of
subscriptions
Billed Monthly
Revenue
Net Change
from Prior
Month
Average
Monthly
Revenue
Residential
- Silver ($45)400 Mbps 50 $2,250 +11
- Gold ($75)700 Mbps 6 $450 +2
- Platinum ($90)1 Gbps 3 $270 +1/-1
59 $2,970 +13 $50.34
Commercial
- Silver ($75)400 Mbps 5 $345 No Change
- Gold ($150)700 Mbps 1 $150 No Change
- Platinum ($250)1 Gbps 1 $250 No Change
7 $745 $106.43
Total 66 $3,715
Construction Permitting Updates
As of August 1st, 2024
▪NYDOT: Total Permits: 21
o 20 Issued Permits (+1 for this month)
o 1 Permits under review awaiting approval
o 0 Permits pending either drawings or survey
▪Utility Pole Permits
Application Name Status ECD Location
DRY001 Attached Complete Freeville (V)
DRY002 Attached Complete Dryden (V)
DRY003 Attached Complete Dryden (V)
DRY004 EMR in construction 8/14/2024 Etna Area
DRY005 EMR Complete 8/7/2024 Caswell Rd.
DRY006 Awaiting NYSEG approval of Non-Billable EMR 11/30/2024 Bone Plain Rd.
DRY007 Waiting on EMR Package 10/30/2024 SR 38 North
DRY008 Awaiting NYSEG approval of Non-Billable EMR 11/30/2024 Peruville Rd
DRY009 Waiting on EMR Package 10/30/2024 Fall Creek &Ed Hill Rd
DRY010 EMR in construction 8/31/2024 North Rd &SR 13 North
DRY011 Awaiting NYSEG approval of Non-Billable EMR 11/30/2024 Gulf Hill, Sweetland &Bradshaw Rd
DRY012 Awaiting NYSEG approval of Non-Billable EMR 9/30/2024 SR 366,Dryden Rd &Turkey Hill Rd
▪Freeville is nearing completion with Main Street and Groton Ave scheduled to be finished next week.
▪Village of Dryden is 50% activated and are working to get this near 100% activated by the end of the
summer.
▪Underground was completed at Applewood,Wellsley,& Tannery Circle.
▪The underground is in progress on Penny Lane/Logan's Run,
▪Underground work will continue on Greystone Dr,Hilton, Goodrich, Scenic Way, Chelsey Cir, Bear Cir. and
Hanford Dr.
Construction Implementation Updates
As of August 1st, 2024
Coverage Parcels Households
New (June 2024)+167 +138
Total w/ coverage 590 775 (est.)
Total 5,839 6,036
Coverage %7.25% (+2.84%)12.9% (+2.2%)
New Fiber Aerial Underground
New (June 2024)+0 miles +2.25 miles
Total 15 miles 22.5 miles
Construction Update
Route Name Status ECD Application#Notes
Village Buildout
South Backbone Complete 8/1/2024 DRY002 MR Complete, Strand complete,
Cabling this week.
Village of Freeville (Empire Overlash Inc.)40% Complete, Splicing 8/31/2024 DRY001 60% Live, finishing Rt 366.
Village of Dryden Aerial 50% Complete, Splicing 7/14/2024 DRY002,003 25% Live, Splicing Continues
Village of Dryden Underground*60% complete, Line work and splicing 9/14/2024 Underground Applewood and Wellsley complete. .
Phase 2 Expansion
Lower Creek Rd Electrical MR Construction in process.8/14/2024 DRY004 HRS is scheduled for electrical MR
construction in July.
Tompkins County Recovery Fund Electrical MR Construction complete on
DRY005 and DRY006 is pending NYSEG
Approval of MR Costs.
9/14/2024 DRY005, 006 HRS projects electrical MR
construction in July/August.
West Dryden Rd Pending NYSEG Approval of make ready
costs.
10/31/2024 DRY007 App in process.
Rt. 38 North Pending NYSEG Approval of make ready
costs.
11/31/2024 DRY007 Bidding
Peruville Rd Pending NYSEG Approval of make ready
costs.
11/31/2024 DRY008 App in process.
Fall Creek Rd/ Ed Hill Rd/Telco Design 12/31/2024 DRY009 App in process.
West Mallory Rd/ Morris Rd Telco Design 12/31/2024 DRY009 App in process.
North Rd/ Dutcher Rd Telco Design 9/31/2024 DRY010 Bidding
Gulf Hill Rd./ Sweetland Rd Telco Design 12/31/2024 DRY011 App in process.
Rt. 366 (Freeville to Rt. 13)Electrical MR Construction in process.10/31/2024 DRY012 HRS projects electrical MR
construction in July/August.
Installations
As of August 1st, 2024 (billing date is 1st of month)
▪June Install Summary
o Number of installations completed this month:14
o Number of installations pending (as of July 31st): 27
o Installation blockers / questions:1
Finance – Capital Project
As of July 31, 2024
Balance Sheet as of 7/31/2024 2024 Year to
Date
Total Project to
Date Project Budget
Assets
- Cash 764,751.40 Inflows 123,547.83 1,509,474,96
- Due from Grants 624,614.00 Expenses
- Acct Receivable 197,309.19 Professional Fees 332,685.86 790,696.68
Total Assets 1,586,674.59 Incidental Const. Exp 3,764.73 70,055.83
Equipment Purchases 138,210.13 2,019,595.56
Liabilities and Equity Subcontractor Costs 566,264.38 2,988,850.64
- Bond Anticipation
Note
5,840,000.00 Pole and Permit Cost 352,514.42 932,480.82
Equity -4,253,325.41 Interest Payment 146,840.97 168,641.73
Total 1,586,674.59 Total Expenses 1,540,280.49 6,961,321.26 14,535,281.00
Budget Remaining 7,573,959.74 52.1%
Finance -Operations
As of July 31, 2024
July 2024 Year to Date
Residential 2,415.00 11,884.50
Balances as of 7/31/24 Commercial 700.00 5,460.00
Accounts Receivable 180.00 Misc Fees 885.00
Accounts Payable 10,870.34 Outage Credit -1,242.50 -1,242.50
Total Revenue 1,872.50 16,897.00
Expenses
Parcels Serviceable 6/30 425 Credit Card Fees 176.32 1,019.97
+ New Parcels added in July 140 Billing Program -2,320.92
Total Parcels available 7/31 565 Utilites 6,079.67 55,861.95
*does not include MDUs Subscriptions 8,405.60 55,776.77
Total Addressed Served by 7/31 66 Insurance 303.28 303.28
Total Expenses 14,660.91 115,281.89
Profit/Deficit -12,788.41 -98,384.89
Sales Operations
As of August 1, 2024 (billing date is 1st of month)
▪Multi-Use Development –working on getting agreements with Mobile home parks
throughout the town
▪Renters – We now have 9 signed agreements and 9 more waiting for signature
▪Commercial Sales - 36 possibilities and all have been contacted.
▪Prospects-We have 14 new installs and 27 pending. Also 14 potentials that have signed
up and contact has been made. These include 3 in the Ithaca Estates mobile home park
and the 2 for the Town
▪Had conversation with Dryden School District and George Junior.Both
are interested but have already made commitments to current providers
▪Made contact with owners of new apartment complex that is under
construction on Dryden Rd.They are making arangements to have our service
Customer Service
As of August 1st, 2024 (billing date is 1st of month)
Helpdesk Call Report July 2024
•Bandwidth Complaint (Speed Concerns)
•1
•Billing Related Call
•15
•Downed Drop (Damaged Service Line)
•0
•Email (Calls related to email difficulties)
•0
•No Connectivity
•2
•ONT / Power Cycle (Calls related to the
ONT where unplugging or rebooting
equipment was necessary)
•1
•Other / Unrelated (Calls looking for
unrelated departments or information)
•42
•Outage
•1
•Install Orders / Create Service
•33
•Router Issue
•1
•PC / Laptop Issue
•0
•Sporadic Connection
•0
•Streaming Related Issue
•0
•User Error / Education
•6
•Wireless
•2
Sum: 104
Note:
Install Orders denote an
incoming install scheduling
request – not a completed install
One caller can generate
numerous tickets for a single
issue (i.e. calls in 5x for same
problem)
Marketing
As of August 1st, 2024 (billing date is 1st of month)
8/10 9/8 10/5 11/2 12/1 1/1/24 2/1/24 3/1/2
4
4/1/2
4
5/1/2
4
6/1/24 7/2/2
4
8/1/2
4
Under Contract 8 22 26 32 28 28 29
(+3, -2)
32
(+3)
37
(+5)
40
(+3)
44
(+6,-2)
54
(+10)
66
(+12)
Requests (since
1/1/23)
150 174
(+11)
230
(+21)
252
(clean -
up)
274
(+9)
298
(+24)
332
(+13)
363
(+31)
389
(+26)
409
(+20)
429
(+20)
494
(+65)
552
(+58)
Available 30 38 41 43 44**44 56 TBD TBD 75 87 110
(+23)
137
(+27)
Not Available 120 136 189 209 226 250 276 TBD TBD 340~342 384 415
Serviceable Live 76.7
%
76.3%80.5%83.7%72%63.6%51.8%TBD TBD 40/70 51%
(44/87)
49%
54/110
48%
66/137
Website Visits 8/25-9/7 9/22-10/4 10/21-11/2 11/17-
11/30
12/1-
12/31
1/1-1/31 2/1-
2/29
3/1-
3/31
4/1-
4/30
5/1-
5/31
6/1-
6/30
7/1-
7/31
Users N/A 226 193 161 140 320 484 392 403 368 516 820 935
New Users N/A 211 170 137 115 288 424 346 353 315 471 755 868
Sessions N/A 324 271 515 194 448 673 617 706 601 739 1221 1373
Engagement
(secs.)
N/A 0m 46s 1m 09s 1m 10s 42s 1m 7s 1m 6s 1m
30s
1m
6s
53 s 58 s 1m
14 s
1m
3 s
Marketing
As of August 1st, 2024 (billing date is 1st of month)
▪June and July were a heavy Public Relations month
o 11 media hits (through 7/11/24)
o 2 tv interviews
▪Social Media postings
o Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor
▪Postcard outreach:"Construction / Coming Soon", "Now Available", "Business Class"
(coming soon)
▪Next up:
o Signs in the new neighborhoods (Spring Run, Dryden Village,Village of Freeville), refreshed
design
o Email Marketing
o Swag (Hats, Truck Magnets, stickers)
Appendix B
Background and Definitions
Meeting Schedule
▪Dryden Fiber Public Broadband Committee – Public reporting on project
o 1st and 3rd Friday morning, 10:30am-11:30am (except July and August, 2nd and 4th
Friday morning)
▪Dryden Fiber Operations Team Meeting – Construction and Install Collaboration
o Every other Wednesday, 10am-11:15am
▪Dryden Fiber MIP Status Call – Meet with Connect All Office to stay on track
o Every Tuesday, 1pm-1:45pm
▪Dryden Fiber MIP Steering Committee – Implementation of the Grant
o Monthly (Town of Dryden, Town of Caroline)
▪Dryden Fiber Policy Committee – Advise and Recommend on Policy
o Monthly
Permitting
NYSEG
▪Permitting Steps
Permitting
NYSDOT
▪Permitting Steps