ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY IDA LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY IDA CIVIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
~ Meeting of December 4, 2014
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Staples called the meeting to order at 8:30 AM at the IDA office, Ernest J.
LaBaff Industrial Building, Canton.
ROLL CALL:
Blevins ..........................
LaBaff ...........................
Peck ..............................
Weekes .........................
Present
Present
Absent
Present
Hall ............................
McMahon .................
Staples .......................
Present
Present
Present
Others: SLCIDA Staff (Patrick Kelly, Thomas Plastino and Natalie Sweatland); Andrew Silver, Esq., Agency
Counsel.
PUBLIC NOTICE: Public notifications sent November 25, 2014 to, at a minimum: St. Lawrence County’s
newspapers designated for the publication of local laws and other matters required by law to be published;
additional local media sources and websites.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion to accept the minutes of the October 23, 2014 meeting by Mr.
Weekes, seconded by Mr. LaBaff. Carried unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORTS: Mr. Plastino reports that through October 2014, the net cash is approximately
$160,000 in the red, noting that several project fees are yet to be received and that the final $100,000 from
the County was received in November. We are awaiting reimbursement of approximately $377,000 and
$503,000 from New York State for the Canton Park and Railroad Rehabilitation projects, respectively.
Chairman Staples reaffirmed that the authorities are consistent in their practice of booking revenue only
have it has completed the documentation and billed the State. This procedure was discussed at length with
and agreed upon by our auditors in audits past. Blevins/Hall motion to accept the Financial Reports for
October 2014. Reports accepted and filed for audit.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES: None
OLD BUSINESS: None
STAFF REPORT:
Mr. Kelly reports on the following:
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Agenda. Mr. Kelly briefly reviews the meeting’s agenda items, and notes a need for Executive
Session.
Insurance Bid Openings: Mr. Kelly notes that the insurance policies were last bid out eight years ago.
Chairman Staples asked how far we were into the current insurance cycle and whether or not any
upfront fees would be incurred if a decision was not made before the beginning of the year. Board
Member Weekes noted that it should be okay, plus the quotes are usually good for 30 days. Mr.
Kelly reported he would prefer to have the matter settled for the first of the year. Mr. Kelly also
explained that as per IDA practice of supporting local businesses, the IDA alerted local insurance
firms of a pending RFP for insurance. In response to concerns from the local insurance firms that
they did not have enough time to properly respond, and after consultation with Board member
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Weekes, the RFP was rewritten with a response date of December 4. It was then learned that when
a local agent contacts an insurance company for bids, other local agents are locked out of the bid.
Pending Project Closings. Corning and DeFelsko projects have yet to close.
Ethics Filing. The annual ethics and financial disclosure documents will be distributed in January for
the filing year 2014. They must be filed with the Ethics Board by end of March.
St. Lawrence County Local Development Corporation Dissolution. As discussed previously, we are
working on the documents and plan of dissolution for the St. Lawrence County Local Development
Corporation. The plan includes transfer of the SLCLDC’s microenterprise revolving loan funds to
the SLCIDA-LDC.
Public Authority Law. Staff will begin compiling year end reports for CY2014.
Creation of LDC for J&L. In response to a question from Mr. Hall, Mr. Kelly notes that a meeting
to include County Attorney Mike Crowe never came to fruition, and we are waiting input from the
County. Mr. Kelly goes on to note that they do not want to move ahead with the creation of the
LDC until the County has been thoroughly consulted.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: LaBaff/Blevins motion for Executive Session at 8:45 AM to discuss the financials
of a specific company and pending litigation with a specific company. LaBaff/Blevins motion to return to
Regular Session. The Board returns to Regular Session at 9:09 AM.
NEW BUSINESS:
2015 Meeting Schedule. The IDA’s 2015 meeting schedule is presented and accepted. With certain
exceptions, the meetings will be continued at 8:30 AM on the 4th Thursday of the month.
Resolution IDA-14-12-25: Acknowledging Receipt of Consent Certificates with Respect to the Mohawk,
Adirondack & Northern Railroad Corporation Project; (ii) Acknowledging the Holding of a Public Hearing
pursuant to the Act; (iii) Accepting and Adopting Findings with Respect to the Project Pursuant to SEQRA;
and (iv) Authorizing Execution and Delivery by SLCIDA of a PILOT Agreement and Related Documents
with Respect to the Project. Mr. Kelly explains that the rail settlement included a 3-county PILOT (St.
Lawrence, Jefferson and Lewis) and this resolution authorizes St. Lawrence County’s portion. Lewis County
is in a transition period, but has assured us that there should be no problems. Jefferson County’s portion
may be more problematic. Mr. Kelly reports that he, Mssrs. Plastino, Williams and Hall, plus other parties,
have attended meetings with the affected Jefferson County municipalities to assist in the approval process.
Chairman Staples asks if the State will consider will see problems with that fact that there are no companies
actively using the rail’s St. Lawrence County portion? Mr. Kelly replies that the status of the PILOTs will
be taken into consideration by the State when approving Phase 2 of the project. Additionally, a working rail
line will assist in the marketing efforts for the mill and the mine. Mr. Kelly reminds board members that the
PILOT formula is not a percentage abatement on the assessed property, but rather it is based on (freight
and stone) rail car usage. The more traffic there is on the rail, the more everyone benefits. Any payments
are divided among the three counties, proportioned by rail miles within each county. Lastly, Mr. Kelly notes
that New York State’s grant initially required a 10% equity portion, the IDA has proposed that the existing
rail, with a worth of approximately $3-$4Million, should suffice as the required match. New York State has
agreed to waive the match portion for Phase 1, but has yet to review the match for Phase 2 of the project.
Motion to approve by Resolution IDA-14-12-25 by Mr. LaBaff, seconded by Mr. Weekes. The motion is
carried with 5 “aye” votes and 1 abstention (Hall).
Resolution IDA-14-10-26: Authorizing Closure of Account. Mr. Kelly reports that the previous IDA credit
card account was taken over by Bank of America. The IDA has since opened business credit card accounts
with NBT Bank, and wishes to close the Bank of America account. As the account was created as a corporate
account, official board action must be taken before Bank of America will close the account. Motion to
approve Resolution IDA-14-12-26 by Mr. Blevins, seconded by Mr. Hall. The motion is approved by
unanimous vote.
Resolution IDA-14-12-27: Annual Review of Investment Policy and Authorization of Depositories. Mr.
Kelly reports that it is the policy of this board to review on an annual basis, the policy for investment of
funds and authorization of depositories. He notes that staff are researching ways to invest authority funds
to get higher yields, while still staying in compliance with Municipal Law and the IDA Investment Policy.
Motion to approve Resolution IDA-14-12-27 by Mr. McMahon, seconded by Mr. LaBaff. The motion is
approved by unanimous vote.
Resolution LDC-14-12-17: Authorizing Partial Release of Mortgaged Premises: Curran Renewable Energy,
Inc. Project. Mr. Kelly provides a brief history of the project, noting that the St. Lawrence River Valley
Redevelopment Agency authorized loan funds to the Massena BDC for construction of a rail spur in the
Massena Industrial Park. As part of the project, CSX Transportation proposes an exchange with Curran
Renewable Energy of 26/100 of an acre of property currently mortgaged through the SLCIDA-LDC as part
of a 2007 loan project. A partial release of the mortgaged premises will enable CSX to achieve site control
over the entire property required for the rail siding project, which includes property beyond the bounds of
the mortgaged premises. Motion to approve Resolution LDC-14-12-17 by Mr. LaBaff, seconded by Mr.
Weekes. The motion is approved by unanimous vote.
Resolution LDC-14-12-18: Annual Review of Investment Policy and Authorization of Depositories. Mr.
Kelly reports that it is the policy of this board to review on an annual basis, the policy for investment of
funds and authorization of depositories. Motion to approve Resolution LDC-14-12-18 by Mr. Hall,
seconded by Mr. Weekes. The motion is approved by unanimous vote.
Resolution CDC-14-12-07: Annual Review of Investment Policy and Authorization of Depositories. Mr.
Kelly reports that it is the policy of this board to review on an annual basis, the policy for investment of
funds and authorization of depositories. Motion to approve Resolution CDC-14-12-07 by Mr. LaBaff,
seconded by Mr. Blevins. The motion is approved by unanimous vote.
Resolution MIC-14-12-09: Annual Review of Investment Policy and Authorization of Depositories. Mr.
Kelly reports that it is the policy of this board to review on an annual basis, the policy for investment of
funds and authorization of depositories. Motion to approve Resolution MIC-14-12-09 by Mr. McMahon,
seconded by Mr. Weekes. The motion is approved by unanimous vote.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourns at 9:43 AM by unanimous consent.
(Mr.) Lynn Blevins, Secretary