September 2021 — 9-14-21-OCIDA-Regular-Mtg-Minutes-Final.pdf
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Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency
Regular Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2021
A regular meeting of the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency was held on
Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 333 West Washington Street, Syracuse, New York in the large
conference room on the first floor.
Patrick Hogan called the meeting to order at 8:05 am with the following:
PRESENT:
Patrick Hogan
Janice Herzog
Victor Janno
Steve Morgan
Susan Stanezyk
Fanny Villarreal
ABSENT: Kevin Ryan
ALSO PRESENT:
Robert M. Petrovich, Executive Director
Nate Stevens, Treasurer
Nancy Lowery, Secretary
Karen Doster, Recording Secretary
Jeff Davis, Barclay Damon Law Firm
Samantha Podlas, Barclay Damon Law Firm
Carolyn Evans-Dean, Office of Economic Development
Rebecca Shiroff, Office of Economic Development
Len Rauch, Office of Economic Development
Peter Blasioli, Tracey Road Equipment, Inc.
Brian Letcher, Tracey Road Equipment, Inc.
Jim Gosier, Ultra Dairy
James Trasher, CHA Consulting
Wendy Lougnot, Ranalli Super DC, LLC
David Spotts, SSC Cicero
Mitch Latimer, Carpenters Local 277
Chris Bianchi (via webinar)
APPROVAL OF REGULAR MEETING MINUTES — AUGUST 24, 2021
Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Susan Stanezyk, the OCIDA Board approved the
regular meeting minutes of August 24, 2021 meetings. Motion was carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Nate Stevens gave a brief review of the Treasurer’s Report for the month of August 2021.

Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Steve Morgan, the OCIDA Board approved the
Treasurer’s Report for the month of August 2021. Motion was carried.

PAYMENT OF BILLS
Nate Stevens gave a brief review of the Payment of Bills Schedule #461.
Upon a motion by Susan Stanczyk, seconded by Victor Ianno, the OCIDA Board approved the
Payment of Bills Schedule #461 for $645,027.82 and PILOT payments to City of Syracuse for
$1,454.24, Onondaga County for $935.04, Town of DeWitt for $14.33, Town of Onondaga for
$2.92 and Jamesville DeWitt Central School District for $93.80. Motion was carried.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE
The Conflict of Interest was circulated and there were no conflicts reported.
TRACEY ROAD EQUIPMENT, INC./GERALD W. TRACEY (3101-20-03B)
Peter Blasioli stated Tracey Road Equipment is building an 18,000 square foot addition to their
service shop and will be moving some sales offices to allow them to better operate and expand
business. He stated they will be creating 35 jobs over the next several years. He stated
obviously with the price of materials during COVID there has been a significant increase so that
is why they are before the board looking for an increase in their sales and use tax exemption.
Nancy Lowery stated a public hearing was held and there were no comments on this request.
Susan Stanczyk asked what the project status is. Brian Letcher stated their goal is to try and
enclose the building by Christmas.
Steve Morgan asked if they started construction yet. Brian Letcher stated yes and they are about
30% into it.
Patrick Hogan stated they are experiencing the same as everyone. Brian Letcher stated yes and
they have made changes because of the lack of supplies. He stated they made modifications
which cost them money just to keep it on track with the timing.
Upon a motion by Janice Herzog, seconded by Steve Morgan, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution authorizing additional financial assistance in the form of an increase in the Sales and
Use Tax Exemption. Motion was carried.

ULTRA DAIRY EXPANSION — WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT (3101-21-11)
SECOND MEETING
Jim Gosier stated Ultra Dairy received preliminary approval from the Town of DeWitt for this
project and a next phase. He stated the Town issued its environmental determination last week at
its regular Planning Board meeting and he thinks that was the last obstacle for this Board to be
able to proceed. He stated they are happy to get started on the Wastewater Treatment facility
which is really the linchpin for future expansions there. He stated they are doing that hand in
hand with County WEP. He stated they began construction of a force main sewer this week that
is going to allow Ultra Dairy and adjoining property owners to continue expansions in that area.
Jeff Davis stated the Town did proceed with their SEQR review and this is an unlisted action
under SEQR however OCIDA was not identified as an involved agency at the time the Town did
their review. He stated if we had been identified we would have consented to the Town being
lead agency. He stated what we are doing for the resolution before the Board for SEQR purposes
is also noting it is an unlisted action and in recognition of the fact that we would have been an
involved agency and consented to the Planning Board’s lead agency status at the Town level, we
are affirming, accepting and adopting the negative declaration issued by the Planning Board for
the project. He stated we are attaching a copy of that to our resolution.

Nancy Lowery stated a public hearing was held and there were no comments.
Upon a motion by Janice Herzog, seconded by Victor Ianno, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution authorizing adoption of SEQRA negative declaration determination for the Ultra
Dairy Expansion project. Motion was carried.
Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Janice Herzog, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution authorizing the financial assistance the Agency will provide to include exemptions
from certain sales and use taxes, real property taxes, real estate transfer taxes and mortgage
recording taxes.

RANALLI SUPER DC, LLC (3101-21-10A) SECOND MEETING
Sue Stanczyk and Steve Morgan recused themselves and left meeting.
James Trasher stated he is from CHA Consulting and is representing Ranalli Super DC,
LLC/United Auto Supply. He stated they have gone through the approval process with the Town
of Lysander for the construction of a 360,000 square foot warehouse at the intersection of 690
and Hencle Boulevard. He stated the property has been zoned industrial for years. He stated
when they initially started the project it was 1,000,000 square feet. He stated Jim Ranalli started
his business here 50 years ago and has grown over the northeast. He stated his expansion plans
are based on online sales and there is a need for additional warehousing space. He stated he
purchased the old P & C warehouse and has transformed that. He stated he constructed 100,000
sq ft facility at the old Roth Steel and this was the next in the expansion plans to keep up with the
auto parts industry. He stated as part of the application there is 120+ jobs that would be created
at the new facility. He stated there are DOT improvements where they have to do road
widening, traffic signal, water main extension and they will provide water to the adjacent
properties and sewer. He stated they have been working with the Onondaga County Department
of Water and Environmental Protection for a regional pump station that would be located on the
property so if future sewers were needed at the Hencle Boulevard/690 intersection, they would
connect down Oswego Road. He stated this is a $48 million + project. He stated they have
already commenced site work because with seasons changing quickly they needed to hit the

ground and start moving.
Jeff Davis asked if the site work is just clearing and grubbing type work. James Trasher stated it
is clearing, grubbing and a storm water pond as well as a construction entrance and spreading of
top soil.
Patrick Hogan stated with going from 1,000,000 sq ft down to 360,000 square, there were plans,
architects hired etc. and he imagines that is unanticipated expense. James Trasher stated they
were there and ready to go for the larger facility but because of the public outcry on the size of
the facility they scaled it back. He stated going through the dollars and cents of a 1,000,000 sq ft
building it was $120 million so scaling it back made it simpler and easier. He stated this is the
project they are proposing at this time and cannot guarantee that they won’t be back before the
Board for more but at this time this satisfies the need of the tenant so they are here with the
360,000 sq ft project.
Patrick Hogan asked if the project will be difficult without the PILOT. James Trasher yes.
Patrick Hogan asked if they already cleared the land. James Trasher stated yes.
Victor Janno stated this is the type of project we want and these are local companies looking to
do things here. He stated this is a home grown company and I am in favor of it.

Patrick Hogan stated he agrees but he wanted to point out certain challenges with the pandemic
and the public involvement. James Trasher stated when they started this project the price of steel
was down and everything has escalated. He stated some of it is order issues because other
projects have the supplies. He stated some of it is a sit and wait. He stated they are really
looking to be in the ground by the winter, have construction completed within 12 months and be
open a year from now.
Victor Ianno stated it is a great project and he drove by the property and he thought “what is
everyone complaining about, there is nothing here.”
Fanny Villarreal asked what the types of jobs are. James Trasher stated they are full time
management level and warehousing jobs. He stated they are $20 an hour plus benefits.
Nancy Lowery stated a public hearing was held and there were 4 commenters that expressed they
were not in favor of the project. She stated it was a combination of the issues around what the
planning board had addressed but also that they just did not feel benefits were appropriate. She
stated we did receive 3 written comments and the comments were distributed to the Board.
Jeff Davis stated this is a Type 1 action and we had not been identified at the time on the SEQR
EAF as an involved agency and had we received the letter we would have consented. He stated
in recognition of that we are affirming, accepting and adopting the negative declaration that was

issued by the Planning Board.
Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Fanny Villarreal, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution authorizing adoption of SEQRA negative declaration determination for the Ranalli
Super DC, LLC project. Susan Stanczyk and Steve Morgan recused. Motion was carried.
Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Fanny Villarreal, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution authorizing the financial assistance the Agency will provide to include exemptions
from certain sales and use taxes, real property taxes, real estate transfer taxes and mortgage
recording taxes for the Ranalli Super DC, LLC project. Susan Stanczyk and Steve Morgan
recused. Motion was carried.
Susan Stanezyk and Steve Morgan returned to the meeting.

SSC, CICERO, LLC (3101-21-02B) INITIAL MEETING
David Spotts stated SSC, Cicero, LLC is constructing a 5 megawatt AC community solar facility
located at 5827 McKinley Road in Cicero. He stated there is some Ag but mostly industrial
currently being used for exterior construction material storage. He stated the site is about 50
acres. He stated they worked with the Town to go through the SEQR process and received
letters of no objection from both the School District and the Town of Cicero. He stated they are
requesting real property tax abatement. He stated it is important to note that projects like this are
much less or nearly infeasible given the recent loss of NYS incentives for these types of projects
so they appreciate the Agency’s consideration in bringing these projects to realty.
Upon a motion by Fanny Villarreal, seconded by Steve Morgan, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution authorizing a public hearing for the SSC, Cicero, LLC project. Motion was carried.

GSPP SENTINEL HEIGHTS ROAD, LLC (3101-20-10B) MEETING TO MODIFY
Jeff Davis stated this is similar to applications that have been before the Board in the past on
solar matters. He stated GSPP was previously approved by the Board and they have not
proceeded to a closing yet. He stated they have changed their ownership structure and they
modified the actual project slightly. He stated the specific change is they are going down about
250 kilowatts AC in overall output of the project and because of the downsizing of the project
the construction jobs will go from 25 full time to 10-20 full time during the construction. He
stated before the Board is a resolution consenting to the sale of the membership interest and
approving the amendments to the application which is a change in the overall size of the project
and acreage of the project.
Patrick Hogan asked if the company agreed to all the local stipulations. Jeff Davis stated yes and
this is the Agency consenting to the change in ownership process. He stated this is being done
pre closing with the Agency. He stated the Board is required to accept the changes prior to
proceeding to a closing.
Susan Stanczyk asked if the project itself has been downsized, does that affect any of the
previous allocations of money for them? Jeff Davis asked Nate Stevens if it is based on the
overall size of the project. Nate Stevens stated yes.

Susan Stanczyk asked if it was the size of the project not the production. Jeff Davis stated there
is a decrease from 3,750 kilowatts AC to 3,500 kilowatts AC.
Janice Herzog asked if there needs to be certain disclosure in terms of national or international
ownership and who is running and operating the facility. Jeff Davis stated due diligence is done
to make sure they are an authentic business in New York so yes but not in terms of US based.
He stated they are required to provide us with due diligence to review. He stated in this case as
with most of the solar projects that we have, you typically have a company that comes in to start
the project, get their approvals and then someone else comes in to acquire interest in the project
so they can run it, own it and manage it. He stated in this case we had GSPP Holdco was the
original applicant before the Board and GSPP Holdco has now entered into an agreement with
GSPP Holdco II LLC and assigned, transferred and sold 100 percent of the membership interest.
He stated it is switch over and change of name but down the road a lot of it is the same.
Janice Herzog asked if it is mostly the same people doing this. Jeff Davis stated it depends.
Samantha Podlas stated she reviews certificates of formation of the entities that are the new
membership owner, the operating agreements to make the new membership owner is reflected in
the operating agreement as well as the transfer assignment assumption of membership interest

are reviewed as part of the due diligence prior to drafting the resolution.
Janice Herzog stated we have a lot of solar projects and asked if we have a summary of where
things stand and what the ownership is for the projects that we have supported. Jeff Davis stated
we don’t have a standalone document but we can construct one.
Janice Herzog stated they come in piece meal, then we have all these projects with ownership
changes. Robert Petrovich stated we could prepare a summary of the solar projects, its size, its
megawatts, where it’s located and the current ownership entity. Janice Herzog stated that would
be helpful. She stated we do a lot of these projects and to have an overview would be helpful.
Jeff Davis stated most IDAs across the state see this with solar projects where there is changes in
ownership one or two times throughout the process unlike the typical applicant where a local
company coming before the IDA; we know who they are and that they are going to build
something. He stated it is kind of the nature of how that business is being developed in NY.
Jeff Davis stated green energy is huge so there are entities that want to say they purchased so
much of their energy from green energy. He stated they can buy into your company that invests
in and say I am getting my energy through that concept. He stated a lot of larger entities in
Upstate New York are looking for green energy sources so there is a market for that.

Janice Herzog stated it is good but because it is a new dynamic in our community she thinks it is
helpful to understand what the dynamics of it is.
Robert Petrovich stated staff will put together a list and get it out to the Board.
Patrick Hogan stated one of the reasons we are involved in this is because the local assessors
have trouble assessing the real property.
Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Susan Stanezyk, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution consenting to the sale of membership interest of the GSPP Sentinel Heights Road,
LLC project applicant and approving amendments to the application. Motion was carried.

ABUNDANT SOLAR POWER LLC (3101-19-11A) MEETING TO MODIFY
Samantha Podlas stated similar to what was done for GSPP, it is a change of ownership interest
but we closed Abundant Solar SK1 in August 2020. She stated pursuant to the lease agreement,
the entity needs to come back before the Board if the membership interest changed so just like
with GSPP documents were reviewed to ensure they referenced the correct membership owner as
well as the transfer documentation. She stated the new membership owner is Solar Energy Fund
III Partnership LLC. She stated the company is back before the Board to get consent pursuant to
the terms of the lease agreement before the transfer occurs.
Jeff Davis stated the only difference between Abundant and GSPP is we have already closed on
Abundant Solar and they are required to get the Board’s consent. He stated this is a prerequisite
before proceeding with a change in ownership.
Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Susan Stanczyk, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution consenting to the sale of membership interest of a company with a current straight-
lease transaction for the Abundant Solar Power LLC project. Motion was carried.

EXECUTIVE SESSION
Upon a motion by Susan Stanozyk, seconded by Steve Morgan, the OCIDA Board went into
executive session at 8:51 am. Motion was carried.
Upon a motion by Susan Stanezyk, seconded by Janice Herzog, the OCIDA Board adjourned
executive session at 9:13 am. Motion was carried.

PURCHASE CONTRACT EXECUTION
Jeff Davis stated before the Board is a SEQR resolution with regard to the acquisition of a parcel
of property at the White Pine Commerce Park. He read a summary of the resolution.
Upon a motion by Janice Herzog, seconded by Victor Janno, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution authorizing adoption of SEQRA determination. Motion was carried.
Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Fanny Villarreal, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution authorizing the Executive Director to enter into a purchase contract and any related
document with respect to one parcel of property. Motion was carried.

REVISED OCIDA PROJECT APPLICATION
Upon a motion by Victor Ianno, seconded by Fanny Villarreal, the OCIDA Board approved a
resolution adopting the revised OCIDA project application. Motion was carried.
Upon a motion by Susan Stanezyk, seconded by Fanny Villarreal, the OCIDA Board adjourned
the meeting at 9:17 am. Motion was carried.
Tamas, Orne
Nancy Lowery, Secretary
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