The Seneca County Board of Supervisors will move through a busy slate of special committee meetings Tuesday before holding their regular board meeting, with labor agreements, sewer system work, emergency response funding and staffing needs all on the agenda.
The evening begins with a 4:45 p.m. Ways and Means Committee meeting, followed by four special committee sessions between 5:15 p.m. and 5:50 p.m., before the full Board of Supervisors meets at 6 p.m. at the County Office Building in Waterloo.
The earliest item on the schedule is a Ways and Means discussion on funding tied to a tentative agreement with the Deputy Sheriff’s Police Benevolent Association, setting up broader labor-related action later in the evening.
At 5:15 p.m., the Contracts, Procurement and Negotiations Committee is scheduled to review two tentative labor agreements. One would formalize a successor agreement with the PBA covering Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2028. The other would support a tentative agreement with CSEA covering Seneca County’s E911 dispatchers and senior dispatchers for 2026, as the county moves that bargaining unit from SCSEA to CSEA.
At 5:30 p.m., the Human Resources Committee is expected to consider refilling two vacancies in the Veterans Department: a full-time deputy director position and a full-time staff resource assistant II position.
Public safety and infrastructure issues then follow in quick succession. The Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, meeting at 5:45 p.m., is set to review acceptance of a $31,245 FY23 Technical Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue grant. County officials say the funding would help strengthen the technical rescue team’s confined space, rope and agricultural rescue capabilities, and does not require a local match.
Five minutes later, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee will consider a proposed contract with the Seneca County Water and Sewer Authority for operation and maintenance services in County Sewer Districts No. 3 and 4. The annual contract amount would not exceed $138,700, with the authority coordinating those services with Siewert Equipment until it is able to take them on directly.
Public hearings and sewer costs top full board agenda
When the full board meets at 6 p.m., two public hearings are scheduled first, both focused on sewer district improvements.
One hearing will address improvements in Sewer District No. 1, including work at the Willard wastewater treatment plant. The other will focus on Sewer District No. 2, including improvements at the Five Points wastewater treatment plant, upgrades to pump stations and the decommissioning of the Hillside treatment plant.
Those hearings are tied to major cost revisions that supervisors are expected to consider later in the meeting. For Sewer District No. 1, the proposed maximum estimated project cost would rise from $8.799 million to $11.798 million. For Sewer District No. 2, the proposed maximum cost would increase from $21 million to $23.56 million.
Even with those higher overall project figures, the agenda says anticipated grant funding would reduce the estimated annual net cost to a typical property owner. In District No. 1, that estimated annual cost is listed at $56.52. In District No. 2, it is listed at $114.10.
The board is also scheduled to hear from Finger Lakes Health CEO Dr. Jose Acevedo, who is expected to provide an update on the health system.
Contracts, grants and highway work also on tap
Beyond the special committee matters, the regular board agenda includes a wide range of additional resolutions.
Supervisors are set to consider accepting a one-year extension of a New York State Office of Victim Services grant worth $76,954.58 for the District Attorney’s office. The funding supports the county’s Coordinator of Victim Witness Domestic Violence Services position and related advocacy work for crime victims and witnesses.
Several public works resolutions are also lined up, including bids for stone, hot mix asphalt concrete and county highway striping. Another resolution would appoint Milt vonHahmann to the Finger Lakes Regional Airport’s Airport Advisory Committee through Oct. 31, 2027.
The board is also scheduled to consider acceptance of a separate $689,655 ESInet Readiness Grant aimed at strengthening emergency communications infrastructure and helping counties prepare for next-generation emergency services networks.
Other resolutions on the agenda include tourism funding for Interlaken Old Home Days and a change to the county’s policy on refilling vacant positions.
Along with those formal actions, supervisors will review a lengthy communications file that includes state budget materials, health and community services reports, workforce updates, job leads, planning board records and seasonal announcements from county-related agencies and organizations.
Taken together, Tuesday’s agenda points to a long night for county supervisors, with labor negotiations, infrastructure spending and day-to-day county operations all converging in a single stretch of meetings.
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