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Home My WebLink About2022-04-21TB 4-21-22 Page 1 of 7 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING April 21, 2022 Zoom Hybrid Present: Supervisor Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl James Skaley, Cl Loren Sparling, Cl Leonardo Vargas-Mendez Elected Officials: Rick Young, Highway/DPW Superintendent Other Town Staff: Ray Burger, Planning Director Cassie Byrnes, Secretary to Supervisor Emily Banwell, Deputy Clerk Supv Leifer opened the meeting at 6:03 p.m. Board members and audience recited the pledge of allegiance. RESOLUTION #79 (2022)- APPROVE MINUTES Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the meeting minutes of March 10 and March 17, 2022. 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Sparling Yes Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Skaley Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes BORGER STATION ANNUAL REPORT-DON HOUSER Don Houser presented a slide show (attached) of the annual report from 2021. QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: •2020 was using the older equipment? When did the newer equipment go live? Engine 2 & 3 went offline last winter (2021) and new equipment 4, 5 & 6 came online in 2022. •Engine 4 was still running during this time period. •Slide 10 is supposed to be CO2. •Slide 14 will make the folks in Ellis Hollow happy because green house emissions went down 10-15%. •Record year in storage on turnover in gas of injection withdrawal in all storage fields so they are not sending less gas. Cold days demand for natural gas is higher. •Leading in customer satisfaction. •Sources of supply comes from few wells in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. •This is validating our votes for the special use permit under the context that it would reduce criteria pollutants. This is good news for us. •Volunteers are welcome in the philanthropy and giving program. Municipalities can apply. TB 4-21-22 Page 2 of 7 •Sound studies were done before, but post construction studies were not done to Don’s knowledge. He is going to check on it and get back to Ray. HIGHWAY/DPW DEPARTMENT RESOLUTION #80 (2022)- APPROVAL TO ASK HUNT ENGINEERS TO DRAW UP PLAN FOR BRIDGE ON RAIL TRAIL Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes Hunt Engineers to prepare a design for a bridge for a wet area near Etna Lane on the Rail Trail. 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Sparling Yes Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Skaley Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes R Young reported that Campbell Meadows off Lower Creek Road and Pinckney Road is having a bunch of washouts down there. R Young is going to meet with Tompkins County Soil and Water because the water is taking the bank out. That’s been a project for a couple years now. G Dodici has reached out to help in the past so R Young is going to contact him. The County is replacing the bridge in Etna and are doing the bank stabilization on the left side. R Young is trying to get with them when they do the dam to also do it down the creek a little way for the bank stabilization. Atty Peter Walsh is going to start land acquisition work in Etna. CHIPS went up a little bit. CHIPS alone is $340,000, early winter recovery is $88,000, BridgeNY is about $100,000, and the new pothole grant is $67,000. So there’s some money to fix some roads. Friday is the kickoff meeting for the LED street light changeover. Anyone is more than welcome to come. B Beck asked R Young about striping and signage where the rail trail will cross Stevenson Road and Mount Pleasant. They both are actively used crossings, and there should be signs and striping and possibly flashing lights for the motorists. R Young warns that they are expensive. He is going to get reflective striping. PLANNING DEPARTMENT There will be a special use permit application hearing for the antique business on North Road that wants to move to their residence at 366 Virgil Road. A planned unit development at 1061 Dryden Road has applied to modify their PUD and that will also be heard next month. They were originally approved for 36 dwelling units and would like to apply for 42 dwelling units. The bedroom count was 108 bedrooms the revisions even though the number has gone up to 90, so that modification requires the planning board hear that application then they’ll make a recommendation to the Town Board and the Town Board will schedule a public hearing. TB 4-21-22 Page 3 of 7 True Green crew that installed the 2150 Dryden Road project are out there replacing the trees that died with the same species that were in the original plan. True Green is always working on the Turkey Hill Road site and they are going to execute the landscaping plan and try a new species out there. Scotties had a May deadline to get their property cleaning up and the cars moved but there hasn’t been much action over there lately. R Burger is going to touch base with them in the next few days. There’s several unsafe structures that need to be addressed. R Burger is hoping to get another staff member on board to help with these issues. Planning Department is still looking to hire a planner. COUNTY UPDATE Lee Shurtleff from the county reported that they are finally starting to see the shift in covid to focus on county operations. Pleased to report that Lisa Holmes was appointed as county administrator and had been serving as interim administrator. Lisa has been with the county for almost her entire career and had been serving as deputy administrator then was thrust into the human resource commissioner position then was put into the administrator position. They are looking or a deputy administrator to work with her. They’ve been looking into renovations of the public safety building. That factors into a broader space study that the legislature will be looking at. They acquired property in the 400 block of North Tioga Street that was kind of a strong potential candidate for county office building. Since then they have acquired property at the 300 block of North Tioga Street. They are back to overall space study and the pressure is still on the county by the office of court administration to take the courthouse where the district attorney and county clerk are because they’ve been held at bay too long. D Lamb says they have to negotiate the bridge transfer from varna. He needs in writing the plans to display the bridge. Shurtleff is going to get with the engineers to get it started. RESOLUTION #81 (2022) – APPROVE AGREEMENT WITH THE TOWN OF HARFORD (BOOKKEEPING SERVICES) Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, this Town Board will sign an agreement with the Town of Harford to do accounting services in the amount not to exceed $6,000 per year. 2nd Cl Sparling Roll Call Vote Cl Sparling Yes Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Skaley Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes BROADBAND The board briefly discussed the Broadband Agreement for Dryden Fiber PGG Redline. The village board still has to approve it. TB 4-21-22 Page 4 of 7 RESOLUTION #82 (2022)- REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTE Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Board of the Town of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York (the “Town”), as follows: Section 1. There are hereby authorized to be issued up to $624,614 in Revenue Anticipation Notes (the “Notes”) of the Town in anticipation of the receipt of Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant proceeds for installation of fiber optic cable and related improvements (the “Broadband Project”), which moneys will be due during the Town’s fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 (the “Revenue”). Section 2. No amount of such Revenue was estimated in the Town’s 2022 annual budget and the entire amount of such Revenue is uncollected on the date of this resolution. Section 3. The maximum amount of Notes authorized to be issued is up to $624,614. Section 4. The Notes shall be of such amount, terms, form and content, and shall be sold in such manner as may be prescribed by the Town Supervisor, the chief fiscal officer of the Town, consistent with the provisions of this resolution and the Local Finance Law. Section 5. Pursuant to the authority delegated in this resolution, the Town Supervisor may issue Notes during the Town’s 2022 fiscal year in an amount not in excess of the amount of such Revenue that the Town Supervisor estimates will be due in 2022 minus the amount of such Revenue actually received and the amount of any outstanding revenue anticipation notes previously issued in anticipation of the collection or receipt of the Revenue. Section 6. The period of maturity of the Notes shall not exceed one year. The Notes may be renewed from time to time, but each renewal shall be for a period not exceeding one year and in no event shall the Notes, or the renewals thereof, extend beyond the close of the second fiscal year succeeding the fiscal year in which the Notes are issued. The Notes shall not be renewed in an amount in excess of the difference between the amount of uncollected or unreceived Revenue and the amount of any other outstanding revenue anticipation notes issued in anticipation of the collection or receipt of such Revenue. Section 7. The faith and credit of the Town shall be and are hereby pledged for the punctual payment of the principal of and interest due on the Note as the same shall become due and payable. Section 8. This resolution is intended to constitute a declaration of the Town’s “official intent” to reimburse expenditures for the Broadband Project with proceeds of Town obligations, pursuant to Treasury Regulation Section 1.150-2. Section 9. This resolution shall take effect immediately. The question of adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly put to a vote on roll call, which resulted as follows: 2nd Cl Lamb TB 4-21-22 Page 5 of 7 Roll Call Vote Cl Sparling Yes Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Skaley Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes BOARD UPDATES Planning Board- They are drilling down on final edits of the Comp plan and meeting with the consultant to make some edits on the grammatical errors and town finances that were wrong. Once that is in, a draft will be ready to go the Town Board for review. They are hopeful the public hearing will start in May and end in June and the adoption will potentially happen in July. Conservation Board- As far as water management, they are putting the final touches on the letter they want to send to Freeville, and they were hoping Supv Leifer would send it along. Gian Dodici has been in contact with R Young by email regarding ditching test areas. They want to do this to show future cost benefits of these actions to the DPW but it is ultimately R Youngs decision. Agricultural Advisory Committee- Didn’t meet. DRYC- Had their first quorum in a while due to three vacancies. David Peck was voted in as chair again. Joanne Holland and Rhonda Kowalski were voted back in as Co Vice Chairs. Recreation is doing great; camps are full and all bands for Ellis Hollow and VFW are booked. DRYC is working on their goals. The six goals talked about are community needs for assessment, diversity equity and inclusion statement, schedule to visit programs they support, work on logo for DRYC, garner additional support for construction of the Dryden Rec field, and promote nonsporting activities. Rail Trail- The committee has spent time on Game Farm Road crossing and listening to proposals that Todd Bittner had gathered from someone who does trail crossing analysis at Cornell. There’s still a need for speed reduction. B Beck drafted a letter to NYS parks that R Burger is going to sign. Kathleen McIsaac who is the regional grants administrator for the state park grant is working really hard to get the final agreement out of Albany to approve the easements for the right of way for the grant. It’s been since December of 2017 so this letter will hopefully be helpful to send to folks in Albany to get approval to finally sign the grant contract. They’ve been working with Amanda Anderson to begin the process of requesting reimbursement. B Beck thanked Amanda for being so helpful and putting so much hard work into this. Safety & Preparedness- Tompkins County is transitioning to SIREN (RAVE Alert) system from Swift911. Elly is attending the SIREN training for the Borger Compressor station blow down alerts. TB 4-21-22 Page 6 of 7 The committee is disseminating FEMA disaster publications to the community that we ordered for free. They want to get CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) going again, but are moving slowly. Climate Smart- Once they passed the resolution to approve 100% renewable electricity for municipal facilities, they achieved 3200 points. Which makes the town eligible for a $10,000 grant. Then 200 more points were added due to Shelley Knickerbocker taking energy code training and 700 more points for the LED lights which puts us at 4100 points, making us eligible for another $20,000 grant. Climate Smart passed a resolution that $29,000 will be applied to do an energy audit of the DPW building and recommended actions from that audit. The remaining $1,000 be set aside for potential contributions for other organizations doing climate smart things. Dryden Highschool students have expressed interest in joining the task force. The students have come up with some actions to address climate change. Their climate change class has a community education project to promote clean heating and cooling and Dryden’s climate actions plan. DHS is moving forward with implementing an EV charging station. They have raised $1,000 but may still need more money. There’s an organization in Ithaca that they were in contact with to obtain grants in this situation. Ella, the planning intern is getting quickly up to speed. In regard to silver status, given the comp plan update they had to change the timetable. The next time we are eligible to obtain silver status is January 2023. Broadband- The groundbreaking photo op is Friday at 10:00 AM on Hall Woods Road. Varna Sewer & Water- J Skaley reported they were unsuccessful in getting the two grants they applied for. But that frees them up to start sooner on the project. Jeff Smith has initiated application for a DOC short term loan of 5 years at 0% interest if they can apply the hardship funding to this. It only works with the sewer, not the water. They will bond out the water portion. That means they are free from having to purchase American made iron and steel. Dondi is free to go out and find any source. Need to split the contracts now. One for sewer, one for water. Possibly some work could be done on sewer through this summer. The idea would be to do bonding before the interest rates gets too much higher. They’ve reduced the trees on the south side of the road so the sidewalk can be constructed. Citizens Privilege None. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:52 PM Respectfully submitted, TB 4-21-22 Page 7 of 7 Emily Banwell 1 TOWN OF DRYDEN –BORGER STATION OPERATIONS April 21, 2022 2 2021 Review 3 WHO WE ARE 4 CORE PRINCIPLES Berkshire Hathaway Energy 5 •12 million customers and end-users •Top-rated service provider within the industry •OSHA Recordable Incident Rate of 0.35 •45% renewable/noncarbon generation •33% below national average prices at MidAmerican Energy •23% below national average prices at PacifiCorp •19% below national average prices at NV Energy •$132.1 b in total assets •Exceptional cyber and physical protection •2021 net income > $3.9b •Operating cash flows > $8.7b 6 Who We Are BHE GT&S, through its local operating company Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage (EGTS),provides gas transportation and storage services with one of the largest underground natural gas storage systems in the United States with 756 bcf of storage capacity. Headquartered in Bridgeport, West Virginia, this multi-state pipeline system links to other major pipelines and to markets in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. We safely maintain nearly 3,600 miles of pipeline in six states:Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Virginia. We reliably supply natural gas for large customers, such as major utilities and power plants, and to local distribution companies to heat homes, hospitals, nursing homes, & run small businesses. Eastern Gas Transmission & Storage 7 8 EMISSIONS DATA 9 In atmospheric chemistry, NO x is a generic term for the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution, namely nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropospheric ozone. PTE = Potential to Emit Emissions Reductions -NOx 0 50 100 150 200 250 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) NOX 10 CO is a colorless, odorless gas that can be harmful when inhaled in large amounts. CO is released when something is burned. The greatest sources of CO to outdoor air are cars, trucks and other vehicles or machinery that burn fossil fuels. A variety of items in your home such as unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, leaking chimneys and furnaces, and gas stoves also release CO and can affect air quality indoors. Emissions Reductions -CO 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) CO2 11 Volatile organic compounds,VOCs for short, are a common type of EPA- regulated drinking water contaminant. Even today,VOCs can be found in a number of products that are used on a daily basis, like paint thinners, pesticides and insect sprays. Emissions Reductions -VOCs 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) VOCs 12 “Particulate matter” (PM) is the general term used to describe solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. The composition and size of these airborne particles and droplets vary. PM can be emitted directly or formed in the atmosphere. “Primary” particles are those released directly to the atmosphere. These include dust from roads and black and/or elemental carbon from combustion sources. Emissions Reductions -PM 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) PM 13 Sulfur oxides (SOx) are compounds of sulfur and oxygen molecules. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is the pre- dominant form found in the lower atmosphere. It is a colorless gas that can be detected by taste and smell in the range of 1,000 to 3,000 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3). Emissions Reductions -SOx 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) SOX 14 Carbon dioxide is an acidic colorless gas with a density about 53% higher than that of dry air. Emissions Reductions –CO2 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) CO2 15 Methane Emissions Reductions –CH4 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) CH4 16 CO2e is the shorthand for carbon dioxide equivalents. It is the standard unit in carbon accounting to quantify greenhouse gas emissions Emissions Reductions –CO2e 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) CO2e 17 Hazardous air pollutants, also known as toxic air pollutants or air toxics. Examples of toxic air pollutants include •benzene, which is found in gasoline; •perchloroethylene, which is emitted from some dry cleaning facilities; and •methylene chloride, which is used as a solvent and paint stripper by a number of industries. Emissions Reductions –Total HAPs 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) Total HAPS 18 A colorless, pungent-smelling gas; an important hazardous air pollutant. Sources include environmental tobacco smoke and other combustion sources; pressed wood products (such as particle board); and certain textiles, foams, and glues. Emissions Reductions –Formaldehyde 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 Original Existing PTE Replacement Project PTE Emissions 2020 Emisions 2021 Em i s s i o n s ( t p y ) Formaldehyde 19 HOW MUCH GAS? 20 Total Gas Through Borger Station 139,436,204.19 mscf of natural gas through the station in 2020. 99,248,749 mscf of natural gas through the station in 2021. ** mscf = thousands of standard cubic feet of gas How Much Gas is Flowing Through the Station? 21 REDUCE METHANE 22 Proactive Controls The company began a program in 2019 of conducting voluntary leak detection and repair (LDAR) surveys for facilities that are not otherwise required to do so.Over 1,100 voluntary surveys of compressor stations, wells and M&R facilities have been conducted. Borger Station is subject to quarterly LDAR survey requirements and was surveyed in January and February of 2022. The company purchased a seal gas boost system for Borger Unit #4 in 2020 which allows the unit to remain in pressurized hold (minimizing the frequency of unit blowdowns).Although purchased in 2020, installation of the system was completed in 2021 due to operating conditions. The Borger 2/3 Replacement Project that began in 2021 is nearly completed (see slide 24 for discussion). Borger Station Methane Reduction 23 STATION UPGRADES 24 Borger 2/3 Replacement Project –In Service February 2022 ✓Replace two (2) existing turbines with more efficient new units that will reduce air emissions. ✓Install an oxidation catalyst on an existing turbine to further reduce air emissions. ✓Install three (3) new microturbines. ✓Replace blowdown silencers/vents to allow for capped emergency shutdowns to further reduce air emissions. ✓Replace an aging boiler system and install other minor station piping and updates o Replace the existing fencing with a new dark-green vinyl-coated chain link fence & upgrade landscaping. Borger Replacement Project 25 MASTIO recently published the 2022, 26th Edition of the industry -wide Natural Gas Pipeline Customer Value / Loyalty Benchmarking Study. BHE Pipeline Group finished with the top ranking in the Major Organizational Group category in the latest edition of the Mastio & Company Customer Satisfaction Survey. The Mastio & Company pipeline customer satisfaction survey is conducted annually and is considered by many in the industry as a benchmark of pipeline customer service. BHE Pipeline Group has finished in first place for 17 consecutive years. Customer Satisfaction 26 Continuing BHE GT&S'strong track record for safety, two of the company’s businesses recently received the American Gas Association’s high honors for motor vehicle safety performance in 2021: Medium Transmission Company Category: •BHE GT&S Carolina Gas Transmission –Medium Transmission Company: Safety Achievement Award earned by experiencing the lowest incident rate for the number of Days Away from work, Restricted or Transferred (DART) among companies of their size and type, based on a normalized number of annual hours worked per employee. All Transmission Companies Category: •BHE GT&S Carolina Gas Transmission -Safety Achievement Award earned by experiencing the lowest motor vehicle accident rate for companies of their type. Large Transmission Company Category: •BHE GT&S Eastern Gas Transmission & Storage -Accident Prevention Certificate earned by achieving a DART- incident rate below the industry average for their company type. Employee Safety 27 Thank you Don Houser, Director, External Affairs -Northeast Donald.Houser@bhegts.com www.bhegts.com