July 2020 — 7-14-20-OCIDA-Mtg-Minutes-Final.pdf =============================================== Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency Regular Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 A regular meeting of the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency was held on Tuesday, July14, 2020 via Zoom Teleconference. Patrick Hogan called the meeting to order at 8:00 am with the following: PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE: Patrick Hogan Susan Stanezyk Kevin Ryan Victor Ianno ABSENT: Fanny Villarreal Steve Morgan Janice Herzog ALSO PRESENT: Robert Petrovich, Executive Director Nancy Lowery, Secretary Nate Stevens, Treasurer Karen Doster, Recording Secretary Carolyn Evans-Dean, Office of Economic Development Amanda Mirabito, Barclay Damon Law Firm Steve Hubert, Empire Polymer Solutions, LLC Frank Murphy, Empire Polymer Solutions, LLC James Gosier, Ultra Dairy, LLC Dan Wood, Ultra Dairy, LLC Melissa Clark, Abundant Solar Power, LLC Chris Carrick, Abundant Solar Power, LLC Ken Bush, Onondaga County Legislature Patrick Hogan shared information as to how the meeting will be conducted in light of COVID- 19. APPROVAL OF REGULAR MEETING MINUTES — JUNE 9, 2020 Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Susan Stanczyk, the OCIDA Board approved the regular meeting minutes of June 9, 2020. Motion was carried. TREASURER’S REPORT Nate Stevens gave a brief review of the Treasurer’s Report for the month of June 2020. Upon a motion by Kevin Ryan, seconded by Susan Stanczyk, the OCIDA Board approved the Treasurer’s Report for the month of June 2020. Motion was carried. PAYMENT OF BILLS Nate Stevens gave a brief review of the Payment of Bills Schedule #445. Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Susan Stanczyk, the OCIDA Board approved the Payment of Bills Schedule #445 for $372,666.23. Motion was carried. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE The Conflict of Interest was emailed to Board Members present to sign off. EMPIRE POLYMER SOLUTIONS, LLC —- SECOND MEETING Nancy Lowery stated the public hearing was held and Supervisor Sykes called in. She stated he was in full support of the project. Steve Hubert stated they are planning to bring a dilapidated building back to full manufacturing use. He stated the operation will employ approximately 70 people over the next 5 years and plan on investing a little over $7,000,000 into the project over that period of time. He stated they plan to use a lot of local labor and looking forward to working closely with their neighbor Tessy Plastics using some of their by product. He stated they are going to be great community players and they are excited about the opportunity to work in the County. Amanda Mirabito stated the SEQR determination is a Type II action because the determination of the town is going to be later this month. She stated the resolution is going to be one resolution with both the SEQR determination and the final approving decision within it. Upon a motion by Victor Janno, seconded by Susan Stanczyk, the OCIDA Board approved a resolution authorizing the adoption of the SEQR determination for the Empire Polymer Solutions, LLC project as a Type II action and authorizing the financial assistance the Agency will provide. Motion was carried. ULTRA DAIRY, LLC ASEPTIC EXPANSION Patrick Hogan asked if this is a change. Nancy Lowery stated yes because there was an error on the number. James Gosier stated they are happy to be moving forward with the 5" expansion of the Ultra Dairy facility in East Syracuse. He stated it is an exciting time for Byrne Dairy because they are moving into the aseptic processing business which is a sterile processing and packaging application that creates a shelf stable product that does not require refrigeration. He stated you can keep the product in your pantry up to a year and when you are ready to use it you can put it in your refrigerator. He stated they have been examining this area for a couple years. He stated consumer habits have been changing over the years and more so with the pandemic. He stated more people are buying their groceries online. He stated people want to go to the grocery store as little as possible. He stated the product has really found its time in the United States. He stated these products can be sold not only in Onondaga County but across the country and around the world because there is no need for refrigeration. He stated to make that happen they are constructing almost 26,000 square feet of new construction with the bulk of which, 22,300 square feet, is production area. He stated they are also adding some infill space for office and bulk storage. He stated the total cost of construction is about $11,500,000. He stated the remainder of the project cost is in equipment. He stated it is high tech equipment and the cost is about $17,000,000. He stated the total project cost is $28,500,000. He stated they are going to create about 125 construction jobs and 64 full time equivalent jobs within the plant. He stated they are going to start as soon as the IDA gives them the ok and plan to be complete in March of 2021. He stated they are requesting sales tax exemption valued at about $400,000 and a property tax abatement agreement as well. Susan Stanczyk asked for a clarification on the sales tax. Nate Stevens stated the cover sheet is wrong but the amount on the application is correct. Upon a motion by Kevin Ryan, seconded by Victor Ianno, the OCIDA Board approved a resolution authorizing a public hearing for the Ultra Dairy, LLC project. Motion was carried. Robert Petrovich stated this is an exciting project for Byrne and in order to accommodate their desire to get going with construction we are going to have a special meeting on July 28". He stated we have already canvassed the Board for a quorum and we have one. He stated the expectation is that Byrne would be back in for this project on the 28" for approval and proceed without further delay on construction. He stated that he knows Covid and some other things have contributed to schedule adjustment so we want to accommodate this exciting project and a great local business by having the special meeting on July 28. ABUNDANT SOLAR POWER Chris Carrick stated this is their second solar project before the OCIDA Board for approval of a PILOT. He stated their agency has developed a portfolio of projects primarily located on municipal land. He stated their objective has been to direct developments away from agricultural productive land and on to unproductive land such as closed landfills. He stated as a public policy matter his agency feels that it makes a lot of sense to make use of these unproductive lands for the sole purpose of solar. He stated like the Skaneateles project it is a community solar project that will provide county residents the opportunity to receive electrical power at a discount of approximately 10% from what they would purchase from National Grid. He stated it will provide lease revenue to the Town of Elbridge. He stated it will also contribute to the State’s leading energy policy of providing 100% carbon free electricity by the year 2040. He stated they are asking for a PILOT today because like many other solar projects economics depend on property tax abatement. He stated this project will provide many community benefits, including revenue, discounted power, infrastructure upgrades that will benefit all of the other electrical customers in the region and putting an unproductive property to productive use. Patrick Hogan asked if this is on the old town dump. Chris Carrick stated yes. Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Kevin Ryan, the OCIDA Board approved a resolution authorizing a public hearing for the Abundant Solar Power (E1) LLC. Motion was carried. Patrick Hogan stated he wants to thank the staff and everybody going through this challenging time as far as conducting public meetings. He stated it is somewhat of a chore and something to get used to. He stated there is a lot of work that goes into this. Patrick Hogan recognized County Legislator Ken Bush. Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Susan Stanczyk, the OCIDA Board adjourned the meeting at 8:21 am. Motion was carried. Nancy Lowery, Secretary