HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-08-04 Town Board Minutes
AUGUST 4, 2021 5:08 P.M.
TOWN BOARD MEETING
The Regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville was held at the
Town of Cortlandville’s Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex, 3111 Byrne Hollow Crossing,
Cortland, New York with Supervisor Williams presiding.
Members present: Supervisor, Thomas A. Williams
Councilman, Jay E. Cobb
Councilman, Jeffrey D. Guido
Councilman, Theodore V. Testa
Councilman, Douglas E. Withey
Town Clerk, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella
Others present were: Town Attorney, John DelVecchio; Deputy Town Clerk, Abigail
Albro; Highway Sup’t. Larry Drach; Town Justice, Lenore LeFevre; Town Bookkeeper, Megan
Johnson; Assistant Bookkeeper, Marcia Hicks; Deputy Town Clerk, Amanda Rainbow; Chief
Court Clerk, Mary Caufield; Court Clerk, Pamela Bassett; Highway Department Employees: Todd
Bassett; Daniel Head; Code Enforcement Officer, Desiree Campbell; State Senator, Peter
Oberacker; Luann King; Machell Phelps from the Cortland Regional Sports Council; John
McNerney, Cortlandville Recreation Director and Director of the Cortland Youth Bureau; Village
of McGraw Mayor, Al Stauber; Jared Carrier, PBR New York; Tim Whelan; Bill McConnell,
Coach of the Cortland Crush; Jeff Breed from Gutchess Lumber; Robert Nasiatka, Homer Baseball
Coach; Chris Newell, Chair of the Town Planning Board and County Legislator; John Finn, Chair
of the Cortlandville Zoning Board of Appeals; ZBA Member, Bernice Potter-Masler; Amelia
McLean-Robertson; Christella Yonta, Director of Cortland County United Way; Former Town
Attorney, John Folmer; Former Planning Board Chair, Katherine Wickwire; Former Town
Highway Sup’t. Glen Bassett; Former Town Councilmen: John Proud and Greg Leach; Town
Residents: John and Yvonne DelVecchio; Tracey DelVecchio; Barbara Leach; Robert Martin;
Pamela Jenkins; Matthew Petrella; Lucas and Noah Johnson; Lisa Drach; and News Reporters:
Colin Spencer from the Cortland Standard; and Kevin Smith from the Cortland Voice.
Supervisor Williams called the Regular Meeting to order.
Councilman Withey made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cobb to receive and file the
Cortlandville Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes of June 29, 2021. All voting aye, the motion was
carried.
Councilman Withey made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cobb to receive and file the
Cortlandville Planning Board Minutes of June 29, 2021. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
RESOLUTION #220 AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF VOUCHERS –AUGUST
Motion by Councilman Testa
Seconded by Councilman Guido
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the vouchers submitted have been audited and shall be paid as follows:
Funds A, B, DA, DB, Voucher #949-1020
HG, SF, SS, SW General Fund A $ 71,235.76
General Fund B $ 280.77
Highway Fund DA $ 0.00
Highway Fund DB $ 20,763.13
Gutchess Lumber SC Project HG $ 0.00
C’Ville Fire District SF $ 0.00
Sewer Fund SS $ 166,592.65
Water Fund SW $ 41,175.93
Funds CD1, CD3, CD4 Voucher #(None)
BMills Rehab CD1 $ 0.00
Town Wide Rehab CD3 $ 0.00
Business Devl CD4 $ 0.00
Funds TA, TE Voucher #24-25
Trust & Agency TA $ 6,656.76
Expendable Trust TE $ 0.00
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 2
Supervisor Williams offered privilege of the floor to John Folmer.
Former Town Attorney and Town resident, John Folmer stated the following:
John Folmer: Mr. Supervisor and members of the Board. For a long time where I sat where Mr.
DelVecchio sits very, very competently. I was not often able to offer a personal opinion as to
matters affecting the town. Those restrictions are gone, and I came today to offer a personal opinion
only. Several years ago, Mr. Testa went to meet with Gary Gutchess at Gutchess Lumber, and I
am certain he was absolutely astounded to walk away from that meeting with the germ of the
facility that we stand in today. The Town Board then ordered a preparation of a preliminary plan
by its engineering firm that were experts in planning recreational facilities and they ordered a
feasibility study as well. And the message of that feasibility study was very simple. If you build
it, they will come. As a result of that determination and severe planning, detailed, meticulous,
fiscally responsible planning, that board, your predecessors laid the groundwork for what we are
sitting in today. And I came first of all to commend them for their perseverance and to commend
them for their forward-thinking prospects. I also want to commend this Board for following
through on the promise that was made in that feasibility study. Meticulously financially planning,
examining the public’s desire for improvements here, and evaluating the economic effect of this
facility on the community at large. You are to be congratulated. I’m here really to urge that you
continue the work that you are doing here. There were naysayers at the beginning and there are
naysayers today. But I truly believe that as my mother used to say, “the proof of the pudding is in
the eating”. What you see over here right now are baseball games being played. Over the weekend
I am told there will be a tournament with 55 teams on this site and I am told it will be the second
largest tournament of its kind in the northeast. We should be proud. We should be daring. And we
should never ever forget the message that your predecessors adopted to begin with. If you build
it, they will come. The proof is in the eating. Thank you very much.
Supervisor Williams offered privilege of the floor to Robert Nasiatka.
Robert Nasiatka, Varsity Baseball Coach for Homer High School stated the following:
Robert Nasiatka: Members of the Board thank you for allowing a Homer coach to speak at your
meeting. I would like to just thank the people who decided to put this together. The people who
thought this was a great vision. For allowing other schools and other communities to be able to
play down here. Last year we adopted this as our secondary home because we had nine games
scheduled at Homer. We played one. Because of weather, because of circumstances with busing,
because of timing we were it was better off playing here. Now we have adopted this, and this will
be the varsity’s home field next year. You don’t understand, or many of you do and that’s probably
why you are here, the feeling of awe when a team from Mexico comes down and we have played
in Mexico, and its older fields, and its tough conditions, and they come down and they see this.
And this is like playing at OCC or playing at one of the bigger complexes and a lot of these kids
don’t get that experience and they finally get it here. So, I myself, Ben Albright we are spoiled to
have this. And our goal is to not only represent this field very well, and I say that a lot of our
success last year came from playing here. But also down the road when you have the other fields,
I don’t know if anyone has ever been to a state tournament. We run the state tournament in girls’
soccer down here and it’s in four or five different areas. You will be able to run the state baseball
tournament and the championships here in the future. And as a community the draw for hotels,
business and everything that’s families, players all staying in town. I think it’s a very important
prospect that the fields are continued. And I like the idea that I know the newer fields that are
going to be built will also be softball, and I know, you know ironically we have our schedule for
next year already and knowing what everyone knows about Central New York I’m supposed to
play Mexico at Mexico on March 31st. I’m bring a snow blower. But we will have the option of
saying hey these fields are clear come on it down here. We played the Coaches vs. Cancer
tournament down here last year and the temperature was approximately 38 degrees with snow
flurries. We wouldn’t have gotten it in anywhere else. So, the opportunities for all the local kids
and the pride that everyone takes in this. You know my kids by the end of the year were calling
this their home field. So, I know we are on a time basis but if you have any questions on playing
here or whatever my email is, if you want to spell Nasiatka, is at Homer and I’d be happy to answer
any. So. And thank you for the time.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 3
Supervisor Williams offered privilege of the floor to Pamela Jenkins.
Town resident, Pamela Jenkins read from a prepared statement as follows, which she
provided to the Board along with additional documentation.
Pamela Jenkins: Greetings everyone. My name is Pamela Jenkins. And by the way I am no
stranger to baseball. I grew up with Whitey Fords sons Tommy and Eddie. And I went to school
with them and spent many Saturdays at Yankee Stadium. But, before the Town Board moves ahead
with agenda item I-8 here are some things you must consider. General Municipal Law 239 requires
you to send this entire Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex project phase to the Cortland County
Planning Department and Board for review and recommendations. You have not done that to date.
It also required you to send it to the Cortlandville Planning Board. You have not done that to date.
It is also required that you to send it to the ZBA and you have not done that to date. You have
effectively excluded the public from participating in any decision-making for this project.
Regarding parkland alienation, you can see, and it is absolutely clear from the documents I
provided to you from the New York State Comptroller and the Office of Parks and Recreations
that prior authorization by the New York State Legislature and the Governor’s signature is required
before you can enter into any type of contract or management agreement with the for-profit PBR
company which is based in the Midwest. Additionally, compliance with SEQR is also required.
Twice, you submitted the Environmental Assessment Forms for a project or action which you
called in your documents and which are in your packets “Gutchess Land Acquisition and Sale”.
That was in February and June of 2017 but you never prepared SEQR documents for the project
or action which would be called “Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex” or “Gutchess Park”. That
document does not exist. Therefore, you have not complied with New York State Environmental
Conservation Law 617. Again, those copies of documents are in your packet. Absolutely, there
needs to be an analysis of the PBR management agreement and contract by an independent
accountant who is also preferably a lawyer. I can give you a referral to an accountant attorney if
you ask me for it. He has helped me out before. I FOIL requested and received the management
agreement today. Here it is, about 17 pages, I think. This needs to be the subject of several public
hearings. There needs to be a cost-benefit analysis. There has not been. An example the 2017
Market Feasibility Study uses a $12 per hour wage for a laborer, when on average the hourly wage
for a Cortlandville laborer is $28 per hour not $12 per hour. They also used a medical
professional’s wage at $25 per hour. I don’t know of any medical professionals who work for less
than $50 to $100 per hour. Please see page 56 of the Market Feasibility Study. You have not
informed the public that you intend to plunge Cortlandville into more multi-million dollars of long-
term debt and that there is no chance that the revenues received by Cortlandville can cover the cost
of financing the massive debt or the costs of labor, maintenance, replacement and equipment costs.
So please, you must halt any further action on Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex until you can
demonstrate to the taxpayers of this town that you are in compliance with the laws which you are
sworn to uphold. Thank you.
Supervisor Williams offered privilege of the floor to Robert Martin.
Town resident, Robert Martin read from a prepared statement as follows, which he
provided to the Town Clerk for the record.
Robert Martin: Good evening. It’s nice to see so many people at a Town Board meeting. It would
be great to have maybe not this much participation but maybe more participation by the community
is certainly welcome. Nice to see John Proud and Greg Leach, former Town Board members here
also. I also have not seen the contract until tonight just before this so my comments are based on
the letter of intent that I had seen previously. Letter of Intent agreement with PBR. Target closing
date is May 1, 2022 for all 4-field complex. Is this even possible? Is there a penalty for inability to
meet that target date? I see there is some clauses in there related if you don’t have the fields
prepared by that time. The term is 10 years with two 5-year renewal options at $230,000. I believe
it has been reduced to $218,000 now. Does this account for inflation over 20 years? If you consider
inflation at a low rate of 1.5% the annual amount at year 20 should be $309,000, not $230,000.
Sponsorships and Advertising 50% to PBR. That just seems a little excessive. I think Cortlandville
should get more of that. Little League. It’s great. I played little league. I don’t have the illustrious
background of knowing Whitey Fords kids. I grew up in Cleveland Ohio. We haven’t won a world
series in many, many years. But little league fields will need to be adjustable so that Little League
teams can use them, or will they only be allowed to be used by PBR or other teams that use the
full distance as far as the pitching. Pitcher’s mound to home plate is 46 ft for Little League, correct
Ted? And 60.6 feet for baseball. Regulation distances between bases is 60 ft for Little League,
versus 90 ft for PBR. Turf maintenance, again I think it’s been clarified in there, but it said a
maintenance company will have the responsibility for fixing and maintaining. Who pays for this?
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 4
PBR or Cortlandville? I think it has been clarified that Cortlandville pays for that. What is the
estimated cost for replacement in 8-10 years? Are funds being set aside? I understand looking at
the contract that each PBR and the Town of Cortlandville is going to be putting in $15,000 a year
into an escrow account. Who pays for Phase 2? Cortlandville residents through increased taxes?
Cortlandville would get a small percentage of sales tax revenues. An article in the paper I think in
2019 we had $1.5 million dollars in revenue. I’m saying if $2,000,000 in revenue being generated,
at 4% sales tax that our portion is. That is $80,000. Cortlandville’s share of that at 28.25%. So,
we would get $22,600 out of that $2 million dollars revenue. Not even enough to cover the cost of
one laborer’s salary. Is regional funding available? This does serve a region. Cortland County,
Tompkins County, the City, Lansing, and Dryden. And donations for the general public. Could
that be used for funding this. Phase 1 is estimated at $4.3 million dollars; it may be higher than
that. This was based on a Cortland Standard article of 12/11/2020. The entire park is estimated
was $18 million. This needs to be put on the ballot for a referendum. Alienation. Parkland
alienation occurs when a municipality wishes to sell, lease, or discontinue use of municipal
parkland. The Town must receive prior authorization from the New York State Office of Parks
and Recreation in the form of legislation enacted by the New York State Legislature and signed
by the Governor. If the town has accepted New York State funding, such as the $862,000 Empire
State Development Grant, additional restrictions must be considered. New York State outlines a
10-step process to be followed when officials are considering a change of use in parkland. This
includes notifying the public and involving, notifying the State’s Park Office. The core legal basis
governing this law for parkland comes from the Common Law, “The Public Trust Doctrine.” Phase
2 construction. Consider other engineering firms besides Clough Harbour Associates. Generate
an RFP and solicit bids from qualified engineering firms with experience dealing with athletic
fields. For example, there is CPL in Binghamton, or design/build companies such as Clark
Companies in Delhi. Look at multiple companies for turf materials, for example, Sports Turf
Synthetics, A-Turf, or Field Turf. You want to have turf surface that meets the specific needs of
baseball. A surface that replicates best ballparks, ball surface interaction and speed and
consistency. These requirements may be different for Little League fields. Has the contract with
CHA for proposal No. X69574 dated April 9, 2021 for $81,725 been signed? Recreation
Commission. This was formed May 5, 2021. Their first meeting was yesterday, August 3rd. Have
they been involved in the review and recommendations of Phase 2 and PBR? I recommend that
you table the agenda item I-8. I’m done. Thank you.
Supervisor Williams offered privilege of the floor to Jared Carrier.
Jarred Carrier from PBR New York stated the following:
Jared Carrier: Good evening members of the Board. Thank you for having me. If I’m a little
scattered, it’s because we have an event tonight and I keep peeking over at my interns to make
sure that they are following orders. So, hopefully they do. My name is Jared Carrier. I’m with Prep
Baseball Report New York. Which is a division of Prep Baseball Report. Each state is basically
their own entity and we are also separate from PBR Tournaments which the agreement is hopefully
going to be with here moving forward adding additional fields. Quick background, but before I get
into that I just want to thank John McNerney and Machell Phelps, Ben Albright, Joe Brown at
Cortland State, the Town of Tully and TC3. All these groups have been instrumental in helping us
not only run our annual events that we run here but also the tournaments that we started this
summer. Actually, dating back to last October, once we were able to get up and running again post
COVID. So, thank you. You guys have been a major help and we enjoy the relationship, and we
hope that it continues going forward. Quick background, Prep Baseball Report New York is
entering their sixth year. Year six of operation. The first four to five years we were mainly involved
in renting out college campuses, high school facilities, private indoor facilities in the winter or the
pre-season. All prior to COVID. Last summer when COVID struck, college campuses were no
longer for rent. High school facilities were no longer in play, and thankfully the Town of
Cortlandville and the City of Cortland came in. We put together a plan. A safe and effective plan
that we were able to follow last summer and we were able to run literally all of our events from
July 6th when recreational activities were allowed to resume through the end of October here in
Cortland. So, it literally became our home, and the town has been very welcoming. I know when
I talk to parents that arrive with their players, with their children, a lot of times they are just amazed
at what a beautiful and scenic location this is. They ask us where to eat. They tell us where they
are staying. I’ve got a few more places in town that I do need to eat at. So, I continue to take
recommendations for myself that I can pass along to all the players that do attend our events. The
reception from people all over the state has been phenomenal. We have teams that routinely go out
to the end of Long Island to Baseball Heaven. Which is a four to five field complex. We have
teams that go to Flemington, New Jersey which is an eight-field complex I believe at Diamond
Nation. We have teams that go out to Staten Island and play on some subpar fields but sell out
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 5
their tournaments. And every single one of those teams that have been up here, and I have had
discussions with, are absolutely in awe of the scenery, the cleanliness, and the friendliness that the
County of Cortland has provided them. So, to those in attendance thank you for that as well because
it is being recognized all over the state. To where teams from Westchester, Rockland County or
Long Island are more likely to drive four hours to be here than they are two to two and a half hours
to be elsewhere. That’s something to be said about what’s happening here. What we have now, we
run yearly events here. We have our New York State Games, which is 500 players from all across
the state. That was held at the end of June. We have done that annually and we hope to continue
to keep that here going forward. We run additional events. Tonight is just a smaller event of 15 to
20 players. That is a prelude to the tournament that is being held here this weekend, which will
have 55 teams which was mentioned before. Those teams ranging from Delaware, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey. This weekend, last weekend or two weeks ago we had a team from Virginia near the
Washington D.C. area. Three weeks prior week had a team from Providence, Rhode Island. So,
the stretch is five to six hours and we hope to continue to push that envelope and get teams beyond
that but also Canada once the boarders do open up. One thing I can speak on and I’m not privy to
the numbers and the contracts being just at the state level, but I know that there are 700 night of
hotel rooms booked this weekend in Cortland County and Tompkins County. I actually stayed in
Ithaca last weekend. I know that the trickle-down effect is astronomical. I’m not going to sit up
here and give you a number but when I personally experience it at our national facility which I just
got back from two days ago in Georgia my wallet was hurting. All right. Between me and my
daughters. So, a family of four to five are more than likely coming here to spend their money and
help that economic impact. I know the buzzer rang. I probably have a little bit more. I would invite
everyone to pull into this parking lot midday tomorrow to get a real feel of what it is like and what
it hopefully will continue to be like. Thank you.
At this time the Board proceeded with new business items on the agenda.
Councilman Withey made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cobb, to receive and file the
monthly report of the Town Clerk for the month of July 2021. All voting aye, the motion was
carried.
Attorney DelVecchio explained that the Town Board was not ready to act on the proposed
Local Law to “Amend the Zoning Code to Further Safeguard the Existing Wellhead Protection
Areas within the Town of Cortlandville’s Aquifer Protection District and Other Related
Amendments”. While the Town was in receipt of the County Planning Board’s Recommendations,
the Town Planning Board has not completed its review. He suggested the Board table the matter
until the first Board meeting in September.
RESOLUTION #221 TABLE ACTION ON THE PROPOSED LOCAL LAW OF 2021,
“A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND THE ZONING CODE TO
FURTHER SAFEGUARD THE EXISTING WELLHEAD
PROTECTION AREAS WITHIN THE TOWN OF
CORTLANDVILLE’S AQUIFER PROTECTION DISTRICT
AND OTHER RELATED AMENDMENTS” UNTIL
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
Motion by Councilman Cobb
Seconded by Councilman Withey
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board hereby tables action on the proposed Local Law of 2021, “A
Local Law to Amend the Zoning Code to Further Safeguard the Existing Wellhead Protection
Areas Within the Town of Cortlandville’s Aquifer Protection District and Other Related
Amendments” until September 1, 2021 Town Board Meeting to allow time for the Town Planning
Board to complete its review of the proposed local law.
Councilman Guido made a motion, seconded by Councilman Withey, to receive and file
correspondence from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, dated July 26, 2021,
regarding the Budget Modification Approval for the Town of Cortlandville’s Town-Wide Housing
Rehabilitation Grant Program (CDBG #287HR323-19). All voting aye, the motion was carried.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 6
RESOLUTION #222 AUTHORIZE APPROVAL OF PAYMENTS REGARDING THE
TOWN-WIDE HOUSING REHABILITATION GRANT
PROGRAM CDBG #287HR323-19
Motion by Councilman Guido
Seconded by Councilman Withey
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED the Town Board does hereby authorize approval of payment for the following
regarding the Town-Wide Housing Rehabilitation Grant Program - CDBG #287HR323-19:
Empire Construction of CNY, LLC – $11,225.00 (Homza)
Councilman Guido made a motion, seconded by Councilman Withey, to receive and file
correspondence from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, dated July 29, 2021,
regarding the Grant Agreement Completion Notice for the Town of Cortlandville’s Town-Wide
Housing Rehabilitation Grant Program (CDBG #287HR323-19), effective August 31, 2021. All
voting aye, the motion was carried.
RESOLUTION #223 AUTHORIZE PAYMENT APPLICATION NO. 4 – FINAL
PAYMENT, SUBMITTED BY G. DEVINCENTIS & SON
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. FOR THE TOWN OF
CORTLANDVILLE MISCELLANEOUS WATER AND SEWER
IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT
Motion by Councilman Withey
Seconded by Councilman Cobb
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to execute
Payment Application No. 4 – Final Payment, as recommended by CHA for the Town of
Cortlandville Miscellaneous Water and Sewer Improvements Project, for payment in the amount
of $44,240.50 to G. DeVincentis & Son Construction Company, Inc., to reflect work completed to
date ($612,920.00) minus the previous applications for payment ($568,679.50), which is the final
payment and release of the remaining funds.
RESOLUTION #224 AUTHORIZE CHANGE ORDER NO. 3 SUBMITTED BY G.
DEVINCENTIS & SON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC.
FOR THE TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE MISCELLANEOUS
WATER AND SEWER IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT
Motion by Councilman Withey
Seconded by Councilman Cobb
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to execute
Change Order No. 3 from G. DeVincentis & Son Construction Company, Inc. for the Town of
Cortlandville Miscellaneous Water and Sewer Improvements Project, decreasing the total cost of
the project by $6,120.00 to account for the final quantity adjustments for the Hillside Drive #8
sanitary sewer pipes.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 7
RESOLUTION #225 AUTHORIZE SALARY AND BENEFITS FOR AMY H. KEEFE
AS AN APPOINTED DEPUTY COURT CLERK FOR THE
TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE
Motion by Councilman Testa
Seconded by Councilman Guido
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
WHEREAS, a vacancy will occur in the office of the Town Justice for a Deputy Court Clerk
position, and
WHEREAS, Town Justice LeFevre and Town Justice Mathey have appointed Amy H. Keefe of 5
Westfield Park, Cortland, New York to the position of Deputy Court Clerk for the Town of
Cortlandville, to be effective August 16, 2021, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby agree to and authorize the salary of $38,000
along with full-time benefits, and it is further
RESOLVED, the appointment of Amy H. Keefe as Deputy Court Clerk is hereby acknowledged.
Councilman Guido made a motion, seconded by Councilman Testa, to receive and file
correspondence from Town resident, William Locke, dated July 26, 2021, commenting on the
quality and efficiency of our Town Highway Department while blacktopping Cedar Crest Drive
and surrounding neighborhood roads. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
Supervisor Williams and members of the Board acknowledged and applauded Highway
Sup’t. Drach and his employees for their outstanding work.
Under new business, Town Clerk Rocco-Petrella apprised the Board she received
notification from Cortlanes Inc. and Route 281 Bowl Inc. regarding their intent to renew their
liquor licenses. She requested the Board receive and file the official notices.
Councilman Testa made a motion, seconded by Councilman Guido, to receive and file the
“Standardized Notice Form for Providing 30-day Advance Notice to a Local Municipality or
Community Board” for renewal of a liquor license with the New York State Liquor Authority from
Cortlanes Inc., dated July 28, 2021, for property located at 928 Route 13 in the Town of
Cortlandville. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
Councilman Testa made a motion, seconded by Councilman Guido, to receive and file the
“Standardized Notice Form for Providing 30-day Advance Notice to a Local Municipality or
Community Board” for renewal of a liquor license with the New York State Liquor Authority from
281 Bowl Inc., dated July 27, 2021, for property located at 3898 Route 281 in the Town of
Cortlandville. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
RESOLUTION #226 ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIVING NOTICE OF PETITION FOR
REVIEW OF ASSESSMENT
Motion by Councilman Guido
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby acknowledge, by receiving and filing, the Notice
of Petition from Benderson-Cortland Associates, for property located off Route 281 in the Town
of Cortlandville, tax map #86.17-01-08.110, regarding their current assessed valuation of real
property.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 8
Supervisor Williams reported:
Supervisor Williams recognized New York State Senator, Peter Oberacker who was in
attendance and asked if he would like to make any comments.
Peter Oberacker, NYS Senator, 51st District: Thank you! And good evening everyone. I am
State Senator Peter Oberacker. I’m your Senator. Let me say first off, I do feel the pain from the
coach from Homer. With the last name of Oberacker it has been mispronounced more times than
I care. It kind of looks intimidating but at the end of the day it’s not too bad. So coach, I feel your
pain so to speak. Listen, I want to thank everybody for coming out. I want to thank our Supervisor,
Tom, and the Town Board here. You guys do an amazing job and I want to thank you for your
service. It’s really at this level that we start to see government actually working and getting things
done so I want to say thank you to them and thank you for coming out. Just a couple of quick
words. I’m an ex-baseball player. I don’t play anymore.
Supervisor Williams: But you could if you wanted to.
Senator Oberacker: Supervisor I would sure give it a try on these fields I can tell you that. I
mean I’m not used to playing on such nice, groomed field as this which is just an amazing
accomplishment. For me, little league, we called it pony league at the time way back then. I
played high school ball and I also played collegiate ball. And I’m telling you, the lessons that I
learned, the teamwork that it instilled in me, is a prime reason why I am here today in front of you
as your Senator. I really believe that. I think those lessons that are taught and learned on those
fields cannot be overrated. And especially today, coming out of where we are coming out of, with
COVID, and with just things in general. I think this right here is truly good medicine. One of the
things I said on the Senate floor when I was proposing a bill that would make baseball the official
sport of New York. I was fortunate enough to carry this bill from my predecessor Jim Seward.
He started it. And it actually started in Cooperstown, where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located,
from a teacher, a fourth-grade teacher, Anne Reese and her fourth-grade class. And they actually
researched all of the items in New York that are official. The official reptile is the snapping turtle
and so on and so forth. And New York did not have an official sport. And at that time, they
suggested, the fourth-grade class suggested, that we make baseball our state sport. It wasn’t
fortunate enough to make its way through. When I was looking at the bills that were left over from
my Senator, as I still call Senator James Seward to this day, my predecessor. I said ‘Jim, I’m going
to carry that bill’. I said, ‘I think it’s a feel-good bill. I think that we really at this time need
something along that line.’ And we did. We passed it in the Senate. It passed in the Assembly.
And it was signed into law this past Friday. So, baseball is our state sport. And back in on the
floor I said baseball is a living, breathing force of nature and I believe that truly to this day. I do
believe that to this day. So, I was kind of glad that I didn’t have the timer going… but I think I’m
going to stop right there. Except I’m going to leave you with this thought. I did a lot of traveling
in my business career in the far east and there was a saying in the far east that I had with some of
my business colleagues. And it was kind of a philosophical saying or phrase I guess you would
say. And it goes like this. ‘When the winds of change blow, some build walls, others build
windmills.’ I think you guys are building windmills. Good job. Thank you.
Supervisor Williams and those in attendance thanked Senator Oberacker.
Supervisor Williams: John has an addendum to add to his, whatever, he wants to say.
John Folmer: I believe I still have thirty-seconds left. … I want to correct one thing. It has been
suggested here that the State Legislature and the Governor did not approve the land deal with
Gutchess Lumber. That is inaccurate. The Assembly passed it with the help of former
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton. The Senate passed it with the help of Senator James Seward.
Governor Cuomo in more pleasant days signed that into law and Mr. DelVecchio can provide
anyone that wants it with the citation. Thank you.
Supervisor Williams drew attention to the new playground at the Gutchess Lumber Sports
Complex, which he stated was being used frequently and was appreciated by the children.
Supervisor Williams noted the absence of former Supervisor Richard Tupper who was
unable to attend the meeting and was apologetic for not being here.
Supervisor Williams acknowledged Machell Phelps, Director of the Cortland Regional
Sports Council to talk about the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 9
Machell Phelps addressed the Board as follows.
Machell Phelps: Good evening. I am Machell Phelps and I am the Director of the Cortland
Regional Sports Council and it’s been my pleasure for the last 16 years to bring sports to this
community. Strictly for the economic benefit. So, what I’m going to speak to you tonight, besides
the park being such a great place, is what it means to the community. And so, I just have two
numbers I want to throw at you. One of them is the economic impact. We keep track of the
economic impact every single year based on the events that we have here. And we are able to
track this because I know how many people stay here and I know how many people buy tickets to
different events. It’s not an exact science but I’m pretty comfortable with the numbers. So, the six
events so far that PBR has had out here this year has generated $1.3 million in economic impact
for Cortland. The return on the investment. I got numbers from the Town. I figured out what the
expenses have been. The return on the investment is 256% as it stands right now. I have a couple
of testimonials I want to read. These are people that gave these to me to read tonight and so I want
to do this quickly. The first is from Ben Albright who is the Cortland High School Baseball Coach.
“The fields have been a huge asset for us locally at the high school level to allow
us to get our games played throughout the spring. We are fortunate to have them
available to us. … As a coach for the Cortland Crush, I can tell you that this has
been the ultimate draw to get travel teams to play us and for hosting tournaments
locally as well. Any time I call a coach to play, they first ask me to see if the turf
is available and if they are going to be able to play us at GLSC or under the lights
at GLSC. From people all over the state and country are talking about Cortland and
their trips to Cortland, NY. We just completed a trip to Georgia for a National PBR
Futures Games competition with his son and the parents of many baseball players
were buzzing about how great our Complex is and how they would be returning to
Cortland the following weekend as well as later this summer. These conversations
were occurring in Cartersville, Georgia - a long ways from Cortland, NY. I can’t
imagine the economic impact that this relationship has garnered.”
I also have something from Tammy Timmerman, who is the President of Cortland County Tavern
and Restaurant Association. She couldn’t be here tonight as she runs Willowbrook Golf Course
and so she had leagues going on so she couldn’t get out here.
“First, I apologize for being unable to attend tonight’s very important Town of
Cortlandville meeting. I am writing to urge you to support the expansion of the
Gutchess Park Baseball Fields and to sign the contract with the PBR organization.
As you are aware, the past 15 months have been extremely difficult for the
restaurants, bars and hotels in Cortland County. It has only been during the last
three months that we have seen an upswing in our local business. This is due in part
to the PBR events that have been held at Gutchess Park. Our restaurants have seen
many of these visitors supporting them. A couple weekends ago our hotels were
full and our restaurants were booming. Something that has not happened in a long
time for this community. Two of our local businesses have also been providing
catering to these groups at our local hotels. At Willowbrook, we have even seen
many of the fathers coming out to playing golf when the kids do not have a game.
These visitors are not only supporting our restaurants but our hotels, grocery stores
and gas stations. The influx of sales and occupancy tax dollars that we will see in
Cortland County during the summer months is a win-win for all of those involved.
I strongly urge you to vote yes and to sign into an agreement with PBR.
Respectfully, Tammy Timmerman.”
From Robby Petrella who is the owner of Brix in Downtown Cortland.
“The baseball tournaments and other events that the Cortland Regional Sports
Council has organized have had a massive impact on our business at Brix. This is
our 11th year in historic Downtown Cortland, and this is by far our most successful
summer to date. Specifically, the PBR tournaments are bringing many players,
coaches and spectators to our community and giving us an opportunity to showcase
what makes us unique. We have quickly built relationships with players, coaches
and parents and we are even seeing repeat customers. Personally, I am grateful that
the Gutchess fields and the sports council have partnered to create a mini-
tournament-mecca in Cortland. Traditionally summers have been very quiet and
business plummets when SUNY Cortland leaves for summer recess. Currently our
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 10
weekly gross sales are at the same level and some weeks are even higher than when
SUNY classes are in session.”
From Theresa Wilson the General Manager at the Holiday Inn Express.
“There is an uptick in revenue. We have sold double the number of rooms in July
2021 compared to July 2020. So far, the tournaments in June and July produced
170 room nights with us alone. This weekend, and this was a few weeks ago I have
180 room nights booked due to the PBR tournament. They are taking just about the
entire hotel for three nights. To me, it has generated a feeling of normalcy. That
maybe we are over Covid, finally. Lots of people, coming in and going. Regular
breakfast is being served. Never really thought that I would be so excited about
normal.”
Then lastly from Garry VanGorder who unfortunately had to leave town today. He is the Executive
Director of the Cortland Business Development Corporation and the President of my Board.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t be here this evening but wanted to express my enthusiastic
support for the Town as it works to expand what is already a phenomenal facility
at Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex into a major northeastern sports tourism
destination. Make no mistake, sports tourism is economic development, driving,
spending at hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations and contributing
significantly to sales and occupancy tax collections, job creation and capital
investment. The growth of the facility is incredibly exciting, and its success will
have meaningful impact across our county for years to come. I can’t give enough
credit to the town leaders past and present who’ve had the vision and tenacity to
make this happen. I’m grateful for the new and growing partnership with Prep
Baseball Report as we brand the facility as a ‘must visit’ for aspiring young
ballplayers, their coaches, and their families. My 11 years at the BDC/IDA has
been marked with some milestone achievements, but few have given me a greater
sense of satisfaction than seeing our own field of dreams rise out of a South
Cortland cornfield. Respectfully, Garry VanGorder.”
So, it’s important that you hear those words directly from people in our community who benefit
from these people coming into Cortland. These are our restaurant owners. These are our hotel
general managers. These are people that deal with business on a daily basis. And lastly, I like to
take a minute just to thank Ted Testa and Dick Tupper for their vision for this sports complex and
also to Tom Williams for continuing to carry this forward. Thank You.
Supervisor Williams acknowledged John McNerney, part-time Cortlandville Recreation
Director and Director of the Cortland City Youth Bureau.
John McNerney addressed the Board as follows:
John McNerney: Good evening. Before I do that I would like to recognize, thank you Tom,
recognize Bill McConnell from the Cortland Crush and for folks that don’t know they won the
New York Collegiate Baseball League Championship this past weekend. And I know Bill has
been, he’s been a huge part of the local baseball scene in recent years and he puts a lot of hard
work and dedication into what he does in mentoring a lot of young men. So, congratulations. Good
evening. My name is John McNerney. As Tom mentioned I’m the Director of the Cortland City
Youth Bureau and help manage this facility here. I’d like to give you a little bit of my background.
Like John I’m speaking personally. This has nothing to do with the Town Board. These are my
feelings. I earned a Bachelor’s in Science and Education/Recreation Management from SUNY
Cortland back in the late 1980s. On August 28th of this month, I will be completing my 33rd year
of employment with the City Youth Bureau; 23 as the Director. I have a large role in the
supervision of youth sports, adult sports and parks both the City of Cortland and the Town of
Cortlandville. I have served on the Cortland Regional Sports Council Board. I have served on the
YMCA Board, the JM McDonald Sports Complex Board, the Crown City Little League Board and
the Central New York Parks and Recreation Board. Based on those experiences I feel I can speak
about the effects that Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex is currently having on the community and
the positive future impact it will have. Not only at the Town of Cortlandville but the County in
general. I see it as a winning combination. When I reflect about this project, let me share my
personal thoughts and outline a few things. A few reasons why I feel Gutchess Lumber will be a
positive asset and potentially change this community in the future. The combination of park
development that community members will benefit from this facility as well as sports tourism.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 11
That’s a winning combination. What parent or grandparent wouldn’t want their kids playing at
this facility? It’s top notch and is considered already one of the best in the state. Athletics, as the
Senator mentioned is critical to youth development. I’d rather see hundreds of kids playing out
here this evening than sitting in front of the TV. Machell talked about the economic benefits. I
don’t have to get into that. We are very grateful for the generosity of the Gutchess family. To do
a land swap of 9 acres for 100 acres of prime real estate and give that land swap to a municipality.
More importantly the Town has kept a critical employer in Cortland. That’s a winning
combination. When I talk to colleagues about this development the number one question, they ask
me, other Rec Directors from around the state, how did you get 100 acres of land. We are blessed
to have it. I’m glad the Town didn’t take my word on this development. They hired a Market
Feasibility specialist to provide data on why such a facility like this would work in Cortland. Some
of the key points were location. We are centrally located in the state. Travel teams whether it’s
soccer, baseball, or softball they will travel within a four-hour radius of a complex and the data
shows that. If you look at the teams that are coming here this weekend most of them fall within
that four-hour radius. There is no other competition or mega complex in the northeast currently
that we compete with. Read the report it has some outstanding information on why this facility
will work. New York State Grant Funding. The New York State Parks Recreation Historic
Preservation has funded part of this project and development in Phase 1. It’s very competitive
funding. It took me four years to get funding for Wickwire Pool. The State likes this project and
we are going to continue to go after funding for it. The fact that national leader, you heard Jared
Carrier speak during public comment. The fact that a national leader in athletics, Prep Baseball
Report wants to call Cortland its northeast home is an amazing feat. They have complexes in
Atlanta, Kansas City, Indiana and they have been looking for a place somewhere in the northeast.
We’ve kept this a secret from Cooperstown and Syracuse. Another winning combination. Gender
Equality. Over the course of the last three seasons I have witnessed thousands and thousands of
boys enter this facility to play baseball. If we build two more fields they are going to be versatile
enough that we are going to be able to play softball here. And I look forward to the day that
thousands of girls will enter this facility to play softball. A winning combination. We have
mentioned the partnerships and everybody that has been on board with this project and the support
that they are showing to the Town. Cortland County leadership, Paul Heider, he has talked to me
on a number of occasions about the impact of this facility and always wanting to learn more. Me,
Machell Phelps and Garry VanGorder gave a presentation to I believe his finance committee. It
was very well received and he told us to continue the good work. The City of Cortland. I work for
the Mayor. The fact that I am here tonight and allows us to manage this facility, they support that.
Mayor Tobin serves on the Cortland Regional Sports Council board and has been very supportive
of sports tourism. The Business Development Corporation, Cortland High School, Homer High
School Athletic Departments, SUNY Cortland Athletic Department, SUNY Cortland Recreational
Sports and TC3 Athletics. I commend the Town leadership for thinking outside the box. This is all
winning partnerships. I have attended many meetings about the future expansion with Town of
Cortlandville leadership. Trust me they do not want this to be a tax burden on the town residents.
The focus has been on creating a revenue neutral agreement. As far as this weekend, I have
probably gone over my five minutes, but I have to mention what is happening here this weekend.
Just to give you a quick snapshot that is starting tomorrow and going through Sunday. The largest
baseball tournament on the East Coast with the exception of one tournament in Florida. It’s 55
teams. This tournament was sold out two months ago. I think they have close to 20 teams that
wanted to get into this tournament that are on a waiting list. Where are they coming from? Thirty-
eight teams from New York State all across our state down to Long Island to Western New York
and everything in between; 9 Pennsylvania teams; 2 New Jersey teams; 1 from Delaware; and I’m
not sure if the team from Canada was able to cross the border but they had registered and signed
up. Where are they playing? All over Cortland County. Obviously, here. Gregs Field, in the City
at Beaudry Park, SUNY Cortland, TC3 and SUNY Binghamton. The fact that teams are traveling
to Binghamton, if we had two additional fields here, we would capture them. They would be
spending their entire weekend here in Cortland. These are the reasons I personally feel this land
we are standing on today has the potential to have a lasting impact on Cortland for generations to
come. I encourage anyone that questions this development to watch a YouTube video. It’s called
“Sports Inc.”. It’s about a 15-minute documentary that HBO put out and it may change your mind.
Thank you.
Supervisor Williams thanked Mr. McNerney for his comments.
Supervisor Williams commented that what we are dealing with, with PBR is baseball, but
is also the financial driver of the park. Beyond baseball, the most requested item for the park has
been pickleball. He explained that the Town was actively pursuing the addition of a bocce court,
a pickleball court, and horseshoe pits for use by the public in an area that would not interfere with
the baseball operations.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 12
Attorney DelVecchio Reported:
EDF Renewables – Article 10 Solar Application – Intervener Funds:
Attorney DelVecchio commented on the 90 MW solar application submitted by EDF
Renewables for a large-scale solar project in the towns of Homer, Cortlandville and Solon. As the
Board was aware, the Town is in possession of Intervenor Funds, which are funds that can be
utilized to intervene before the approval process. EDF Renewables formally filed a Section 94 -c
permit application with the State for the project. Part of the process includes part 2 of the
Intervenor funds in which $90,000 will be available for the application phase and the review of
the project.
Attorney DelVecchio explained that he was in contact with Stephen LeFevre from Barton
& Loguidice (B&L) who was interested in assisting the Town(s) with the application for the
$90,000 Intervenor Funds. The application for funding was due by August 23, 2021. With Town
Board approval, B&L would make the application on the Town’s behalf. In addition, B&L
estimated that $25,000 of the Intervenor Funds would go directly to B&L for their professional
services.
Councilman Withey asked what the Intervenor Funds would be used for and whether the
Town’s Solar Law would be followed. Attorney DelVecchio explained that the funds, which are
paid for by the applicant, could be used for anything professional. The Town’s Solar Law does
not apply to the 90 MW (Article 10) solar application.
RESOLUTION #227 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN THE ENGINEERING
SERVICES PROPOSAL FROM BARTON & LOGUIDICE, D.P.C
TO ASSIST THE TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE WITH
REGARD TO THE 90-MEGAWATT SOLAR FACILITY
PROPOSED BY EDF RENEWABLES
Motion by Councilman Cobb
Seconded by Councilman Guido
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to sign the
Engineering Services Proposal with Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. to assist the Town of
Cortlandville with engineering services to review and evaluate the potential environmental impact,
engineering, and socio-economic impacts associated with the construction and operation of the 90-
megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV) solar energy generation facility proposed by EDF Renewables
Development Inc. (EDF Renewables), at a cost not to exceed $25,000.00, and it is further
RESOLVED, Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. shall assist the Town with the submission of the request
for “Intervenor Funds” for local agency funding (up to $90,000) by August 23, 2021.
Proposed Contract with PBR Tournaments, LLC:
Attorney DelVecchio outlined the highlights and the terms and conditions of the Town of
Cortlandville Management Agreement with PBR Tournaments NY, LLC for the Gutchess Lumber
Sports Complex, as circulated to the Board members and available to the public at the meeting, as
follows:
Attorney DelVecchio: Alright, on to the main order of business tonight. The proposed contract
with PBR. I am just going to briefly outline the major highlights, terms and conditions of the
agreement that is proposed. As you all know I have circulated this document to you prior to this
meeting. We have had as you know several, several, several discussions about the logistics, about
this potential arrangement, and it’s now before you in black and white. This proposed contract has
been reviewed up and down, left, and right by myself. I have worked on it with several attorneys
from PBR for many, I don’t want to say many months, but I have worked on it for quite a while.
And in my opinion as legal counsel to the Town, it is a very good agreement legally for the Town.
Let me highlight those provisions. First of all, as to the operational aspect of the agreement, PBR
will manage the scheduling and who plays games and events at these, well two fields now, but in
the future four fields, year-round. However, the agreement requires and mandates that PBR will
allow the local organizations and teams to play their games at this site. Those local teams include
the Cortland Crush, Bill Mconnell is here. By the way, the Cortland Crush, according to the terms
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 13
of the agreement will be allowed 18 home games. I believe Mr. McConnell that the Cortland Crush
played 18 home games this year. So, that will be a, at least a minimum that they’re allowed to play
here. The Cortland Jr. Crush will be allowed to play here. The Cortland High School will be
allowed to play here. The Homer High School will be allowed to play here and the little leagues
will be allowed to play here, pursuant to the terms of this proposed agreement. As far as the income
streams, who will get what money. PBR will receive all the generated money from PBR held
events. The Town however, will receive all income associated with those local organizations and
teams that I described. PBR will pay the Town on a monthly basis, of $18,166.67. That is
$218,000.00 a year for the first 10 years, it’s a 10-year term. That is $2,180,000.00. If PBR
exercises its option for the additional five-year period that will total the contract amount to
$3,270,000.00, and if this arrangement lasts for 20 years it will be $4,360,000.00. Part of the
proposed agreement includes who will control the concessions, all the food, food and drink
everything here. The Town will maintain that control. The Town will receive all income associated
with whatever happens with the food. As far as naming rights, donations and sponsorships. Any
donations that are made by anybody will be retained by the Town. The Town will also retain the
naming rights that are not associated with marketing advertising, marketing advertising associated
with just the baseball fields. So, it’s very important for the Board members to understand that this
proposed agreement only governs the baseball aspect of this park. As far as any other sponsorships
and naming rights the Town and PBR will equally split any and all revenue generated by the
sponsorship and naming rights associated with the marketing and advertising, again pertaining to
the baseball fields only. The term of the agreement is 10 years, two separate five-year options to
renew. Twenty years total. An important aspect of this agreement is that the Town will be obligated
to construct two additional baseball fields. Those baseball fields will look somewhat different than
what you see here. The infields will be turf. The outfields will be grass. It has also been worked
out that PBR, who has extensive experience in the building aspects of constructing fields, they will
serve as a consultant, if you will, or an advisor to the Town. To help the Town save as much money
as possible while keeping this place as state of the art as it is today. It is estimated that the
construction of the two additional fields and the additional parking which definitely will be
necessary will be approximately $750,000 to $1 million. The contract requires that both parties
deposit $15,000 a year into an escrow fund, which will be utilized. That’s $30,000 a year total,
which will be utilized for repair and replacement of the turf. That’s it, for that money. As far as
maintenance is concerned the Town will be responsible for all maintenance associated with the
fields. It’s very, very important for this Board and everybody here to understand that the agreement
only governs the management of the baseball fields. I have said that three times, or four times now.
The baseball fields consist of approximately 10 acres of this wonderful property. There is going to
be 90 acres left that the Town hopefully will have future plans for. As our Supervisor has indicated
the Town has formalized plans to construct several amenities and fields for other recreational uses
which will be open to the public at all times. Those are the major highlights of the deal. I’d also
let the Board members know that Ken Kocher, the President and Majority Owner of PBR, called
me the other night from his private plane and told me that he signed the agreement and I have it
here with me today. We have also provided and I think and given availability to the public some
of the numbers with respect to the bond anticipation note that the Town initially has the obligation
to repay. Approximately per year, depending on how that bond anticipation note goes in the future,
the Town pays around $225,000 a year currently. As I laid out before the annual payment from
PBR will be $218,000 a year. The generated income from the five local organizations, as I
understand it, will be anther $20,000 or so a year. As I have indicated the Town will generate
further income from concessions and other things. Those are the main terms for your consideration.
At this time I’d ask for a motion to enter into this proposed agreement with the understanding that
all Town Board members including the Supervisor execute the agreement and make the agreement
subject to a permissive referendum.
Councilman Guido: I’ll make the motion that authorizes the Supervisor and the Town Board
members to sign the agreement between the Town and Prep Baseball Report.
Supervisor Williams: Do we have a second?
Councilman Cobb: I’ll second that.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you Jay. Discussion?
Councilman Withey: Yes. … John and I talked about parkland alienation and I would say that
we aren’t totally in agreement on that, but I have read the document and so on. And as it was
mentioned earlier there tonight when the public addressed it, I have a concern that has not been
addressed yet. And I’d like to see that addressed. Basically the State says any change for activities
here, like leasing or renting requires State approval and has to be signed off on by the Governor.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 14
As I read it. The second one that I have been looking for is a cost-benefit analysis. Now I have
heard the numbers here tonight. They sound very, very good okay but they haven’t been rattled
out and put on paper so that it’s an understandable revenue source and expense source. And that
is something else I would like to see. Now I whole heartedly agree, this is a beautiful, beautiful
complex. Alright, we are fortunate to have it. We are fortunate to have the influx of people coming
in here and seeing our economic development grow. And there is no doubt about it. And Machell
has touted the numbers for a year now. And very, very impressive. I don’t have a problem with
that. I am leery going into a contract without parkland alienation being resolved. If we have a
contract and the state says nah, we don’t agree with it. We don’t want to see the change or
whatever. And I would hope that wouldn’t be the case, but I have a concern there. The cost-
benefit analysis came out of another problem that the Town had couple years ago and the State
Comptroller’s Office says the Town needs to do a cost-benefit analysis. That hasn’t been done
either. So, these are a couple things. I am not opposed to the building I am opposed that the
process hasn’t been done so we know what our solid footing is on this project. And so, I have
some concerns there. But as Ted Testa can explain, I was here for the ground-breaking which was
a brand-new thing for me about four years ago. And along with that, Ted inspired me so much
with his enthusiasm, I bought into Ted’s dream and donated $2,500 towards that. Okay. And so, I
proved myself up front that I am in favor of this. But I am a procedural fanatic, and these things
have to be done. So with that, I’ll pass this back.
Attorney DelVecchio: So, Mr. Withey ... So, Mr. Withey I will respond to your comments very
briefly. As far as alienation is concerned, I am very, very informed of the legal principle. I have
done extensive research on the topic. We have had extensive conversations about it. At this time
as you know, legally I am comfortable with moving this agreement forward. Based on that
research and those discussions I am fully prepared as Town Attorney to defend my position, my
legal opinion about it. It’s a complicated legal principle that is derived not by the Statutory Law
of New York State, it is derived by Common Law. Yes, there is a potential approval by our State
Legislature that could be involved, but I say could very sharply. And because of that I feel
comfortable legally moving this contract forward. As far as your second concern. I am not aware
of any cost-benefit analysis that is required, legal cost-benefit analysis that is required in this
scenario. You refer to a Comptroller issue that occurred in the Town, I don’t know when. That
issue involved town action with respect to private property. This is not private property this is
town property and that is all I have to say about that.
Supervisor Williams: Alright does anyone else wish to make comment? If not, I’ll call the
question. All those in favor of going forward with this?
Supervisor Williams: Aye
Councilman Cobb: Aye
Councilman Guido: Aye
Councilman Testa: Aye
Councilman Withey: Nay
Supervisor Williams: Thank you. It was four to one. We are going to do something a little
differently here. We are going to circulate the signatory sheet for the contract. Everybody is going
to get a brand new pen and they can sign in the appropriate spot. And the pen is theirs. I am going
to give my pen to Dick Tupper who I feel really deserves to be signing this. We can do with the
pens as you want. …
RESOLUTION #228 AUTHORIZE TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE TO ENTER INTO
A MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT WITH PBR
TOURNAMENTS NY, LLC (“PBRT”) TO ALLOW PBRT TO
MANAGE FOUR BASEBALL FIELDS AT THE GUTCHESS
LUMBER SPORTS COMPLEX SUBJECT TO PERMISSIVE
REFERENDUM
Motion by Councilman Guido
Seconded by Councilman Cobb
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa NAY – Withey
ADOPTED
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 15
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Town of Cortlandville
to enter into a Management Agreement with PBR Tournaments NY, LLC (“PBRT”) to allow
PBRT to manage four (4), (two of which are already built) baseball fields at the "Gutchess Lumber
Sports Complex" located at 3111 Byrne Hollow Crossing in the Town of Cortlandville, County of
Cortland and State of New York, tax map #105.00-04-02.200, for a monthly license fee of
$18,166.67 ($218,000 annually) for a period of ten (10) years with the option of extending the
terms for two additional terms of five (5) years each, and it is further
RESOLVED, the Supervisor is hereby authorized to execute the said agreement, and it is further
RESOLVED, the Town Board Members may choose to sign the said agreement along with the
Town Attorney with the understanding that the signatures of the Town Board Members and Town
Attorney will only serve as symbolic, and it is further
RESOLVED, this resolution is adopted subject to Permissive Referendum.
At this time the contract was circulated for signatures. The public applauded the Board
afterwards.
Supervisor Williams: Now. Attorney DelVecchio spent time recognizing various people here.
I would be remiss if I did not recognize him. He has carried the water bucket on this project. I
know he has done countless hours of research. I would be getting emails that he would be sending
out at two in the morning and then again at four in the morning. So, I think we owe him a round
of applause. Normally at this point I would say we stand adjourned, but I am going to depart from
that as well. Play ball!
Attorney DelVecchio: Before everybody goes, I just want to say a couple things if that’s okay.
… I appreciate everyone coming here today. I really do. Everybody is aware of the Academy
Award nominated film back in 1989, Field of Dreams. When I first came to this park, I was a
baseball player growing up and I was a good baseball player. I played on all the good teams. And
I first came here, and immediately when I saw the place, that “if you build it, they will come” as
Mr. Folmer indicated came to mind. Anybody Yankees fans here? If you’ve noticed on TV they’re
advertising a game that’s going to be played on August 13th. Couple of weeks, week and a half.
That game is going to be played against the Chicago White Sox at the exact field in Dyersville,
Iowa that was in that movie. A week and a half. Imagine Mr. Testa if we can get the Yankees to
come here in the next 20 years. … Anyway, there’s a lot of parallels from that movie. That field
was built in a very rural place. I consider Cortland a rural place. Everybody here is standing on
ground that used to be cornstalks. Also, that movie, there is a lot of sort of risk/reward. If you
remember the guy who built the field, his house was in foreclosure and he was trying to figure out
whether or not to move the field forward or not. And he took a chance and that chance paid off.
But that movie is a little bit more about baseball and those type of things. That movie is about
families. That movie is about friends. That movie is about people coming together and having a
good time watching baseball. All that stuff is happening at this park. I read something the other
day that was pretty cool. In 2017, basically when the park came to fruition, the Library of
Congress chose the movie Field of Dreams to be selected for the preservation in the film registry
and coined it as, I think, the top 25 culturally or historically, and aesthetically significant movies
of all time. It’s pretty fitting. In order to make really good things happen you gotta have many
things. You gotta have good ideas. You gotta have hard work. You gotta have dedication. You
gotta have leadership. And, most of all with something like this you gotta have people that care.
The people, Town of Cortlandville, they care. They care. I see it every day. I have the privilege
of walking around Town Hall and seeing people care. People care about tourism. They care about
culture. They care about friends. They care about our businesses. They care about our jobs. They
care about our community. They care about our future. And speaking of people that care about
our community I definitely want to take a couple minutes to publicly acknowledge the family and
the business that this place is named after. The Gutchess Lumber business is one of the best, if not
the best, businesses here in Cortland County. The Gutchess family is known for its generosity and
contributions to our community. They’ve done it for decades. None of this would have happened
without the Gutchess family and Gutchess Lumber. I just want to take this opportunity to
recognize some folks from the Gutchess family who are here today. Matthew Gutchess, if you
could stand please. Jeffrey Breed who is also here. He has been with the company for 27 years.
I appreciate you guys coming here. I have to mention Matthew’s father, Gary Gutchess, who was
an integral part of making this all happen. I want to thank a couple of the political representatives
who were involved as well, in this project. Former Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton’s office had
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 16
support for this project. I have to mention Senator Oberacker who you all heard from. Also,
former Senator James Seward played a huge role in this place. He needs to be recognized. Our
local county legislative officials who have supported the project. Joe Nauseef, Eugene Waldbauer,
and Chris Newell. Chris is here tonight I believe. Where is Chris? There he is. There’s also a
bunch of people sort of outside of the Town who have to be mentioned. The contractors. The
people who built this place need some recognition. Also, Thoma Development has played a huge
role in assisting the Town with many grants and that’s continuing. Richard Cunningham from
Thoma has been very important. I also want to mention some folks from Lime Hollow who have
supported the project. Glen Reisweber, I think I saw him earlier. He may have left. Forrest Earl.
Also, the Town’s engineering firm, Clough Harbour needs to be mentioned. Laura Cassalia, the
lead engineer from Clough Harbour has done a lot of work on this place. Garry VanGorder who
was mentioned earlier has played a role. He’s the Executive Director of the Cortland County
Business Development Corporation and the IDA. Machell Phelps needs to be recognized more
than already what she’s been recognized for. Machell has worked on this project. She has a ton
of integrity. She cares a lot about the sports and tourism in Cortland County and I’ve seen her
work in action. It’s impressive stuff. John McNerney who you all heard from. The guy’s got an
impressive, impressive way about him as far as his care for this community. He’s put a lot of hard
work into this. By the way, John and Machell have been sort of the spokespeople, if you will, with
PBR. If that aspect of this relationship didn’t happen there’s no way that this could have happened.
John and Machell deserve a lot. Now for some of the Cortlandville employees. Former Town
Board members that were mentioned. Randy Ross was a member of the Board previously that
had some decisions to make. Greg Leach is here tonight. Also, John Proud is here tonight. Thank
you to John. I have to mention the Town Planning Board briefly. Former Chairwoman Kathy
Wickwire is here. Chris Newell, his name has been thrown around a few times, the current
Chairman. Zoning Board of Appeals needs mentioning. John Finn, the Chairman is here as well.
Also, the Town, we mentioned that we created a Recreation Commission. That is going to be an
important committee to work on this moving forward. Machell Phelps is going to work on that
committee, thank God. Now for some Town folks that deserve mentioning. Well actually, I guess
I will start with some former Town employees. Glenn Bassett, the former Town Highway
Superintendent is here. He has done a lot of work on this place. A ton of work. Former Town
Attorney John Folmer has his fingerprints all over this. Some of the folks in our Code Enforcement
Office have worked on this. Bruce Weber, Kevin McMahon, Desiree Campbell. I think I saw
Desiree back there somewhere. Larry Drach needs mentioning. Larry has spent a ton on time
here, a lot of sweat and I’ve seen it in action. Larry deserves a lot of recognition. Some of the
folks from the Highway office that need mentioning. Jenn Mulcahy has played an important role
here. Kevin Russell, Damien Walker and Fred Walker. Also, Pete Alteri deserves a lot of credit
here. Pete is retiring soon. I hate to see that, but Pete has put a lot into the Town. He’s actually
been reassigned to deal with issues here at the park and he’s been great. And Pete, for you to see
this and put an exclamation point on your career, I’m really glad to see it. I also want to mention
some of the Town Clerk’s staff. Amanda Rainbow, Chavonne LaPlant and Abigail Albro. …
Also, Nick Alteri has worked on this. Pete’s son. He’s done a lot of work with technology and
some of the stuff I don’t understand. The current Town Bookkeeper, Megan Johnson has worked
very hard on this. She’s back there. Also, our former Bookkeeper has worked really hard on this
as well, Marcia Hicks. She’s back there as well. I gotta mention some of our, obviously our
current Town Board members. Mr. Withey, Jeff Guido, Jay Cobb all played a huge role in all of
this. The Supervisor’s Assistant, Patty O’Mara who is also retiring at the end of the year. This is
also a huge exclamation point on her career for the Town. Four more people, in my opinion the
most important people. Tom Williams has been a huge part of this process. A huge proponent. I
walk into Town Hall everyday and he’s got me grinding on stuff. He’s got ideas. He’s got
excitement. He’s a hard worker. The guy cares. He deserves a ton of credit here. Kristin
Rocco-Petrella probably sees every single angle of what’s going on here more than anybody else.
That woman over there works very, very hard. She, she … anytime you need her she’ll be there
and it’s pretty, pretty amazing to see. Dick Tupper. I talked to Dick about an hour ago, an hour
and a half ago from a hospital bed and I wish Dick could be here. When I first got the job I used
to walk into Town Hall. Dick would put his hat on … his Gutchess Lumber Park hat, and I would
say, ‘Dick, where you going? Where are you coming from?’ He’d say, ‘I’m coming from the
park.’ Or, ‘I’m going to the park’. I’d say ‘Dick, what do you live at the park?’ The guy just cared
about this place. It was his baby. It was just something that he woke up in the morning and went
to bed caring about. And he put a lot of time and a lot of sweat and a lot of work into this place.
I wish he could be here. And last of all, Theodore Testa. This place started with that man right
there meeting with that man’s father, probably over some coffee and then another cup of coffee
and about seven more. And that’s how this place came to be what it is. Mr. Testa look at it.
Congratulations. Thank you for all that you do. Thanks everybody for coming tonight. I
appreciate it very much.
AUGUST 4, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 17
No further comments or discussion were heard.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella, RMC
Town Clerk
Town of Cortlandville
*Note:
The draft version of this meeting was submitted to the Town Board for their review on August 17, 2021.
The final version of this meeting was approved as written at the Town Board meeting of September 1, 2021.