01/10/08 - New Legislature chair wants to see county projects developed together

Joe McIntyre/staff photographer
Newly elected Chairman of the Cortland County Legislature John Daniels (D-Cortlandville) listens as County Administrator Scott Schrader explains the duties of the county auditor during the Legislature’s Jan. 3 organizational meeting.

(As published by Cortland Standard, Evan Geibel reporting)

The new chairman of the Cortland County Legislature, John Daniels, wants to see the county leave behind the piecemeal process it has used in the past in examining possible facilities expansion and to think about the county’s needs collectively.

This will require the strong leadership of committee chairs and the input of every involved party in order to do it correctly, he said.

Daniels, a Democrat representing Cortlandville, could face either a strongly bipartisan Legislature or a deeply divided one, having received the support of all but one Republican legislator but only two Democrats when he gained the chairmanship on Jan. 3.

“I’m just here to steer the ship, not tell it where to go,” Daniels said Tuesday afternoon.
An independent contractor and former industrial manager-turned code enforcement officer, as well as a former chair of the Legislature’s Buildings and Grounds and Judiciary and Public Safety committees, Daniels and the rest of the Legislature are faced with the task of making or creating much-needed space for cramped departments.

But Daniels wants to make sure the county is not going through the process one piece at a time — he prefers a comprehensive approach.

The county agreed to purchase a property on River Street for a relocated Department of Motor Vehicles office, as well as two parcels on south Main Street, for which a use has yet to be identified.

Daniels pointed to the Area Agency on Aging, which is looking into possibly relocating to the south Main Street properties. After all, Daniels said, the population of county residents over the age of 60 will experience a nearly 27 percent increase between 1990 and 2015, with a 72 percent increase in the size of the population for those age 85 and older in that same period.
Moving the kitchen, offices and other components of the Area Agency on Aging out of the County Office Building would free up space, but Daniels wondered how much would be opened up if another small office — or two or three — could be moved out of the office building and relocated to one of the county’s newly-acquired properties.

“You have to look at that and have some kind of a plan to move forward,” Daniels said.

The county has paid for numerous engineering studies about the space needs of certain departments and the space constraints of the County Office Building. What Daniels wants to see is somebody picking up those studies and figuring out what they mean when taken together.
The new chair of the General Services (formerly Buildings and Grounds) Committee, Legislator Chad Loomis (D-8th Ward) is a professional engineer with Cornell University.

“He’s reviewed all those studies and he’s going to try to tie them together,” Daniels said. “We’ve been studied to death.”

Possibly another 1,000 square feet could be tagged on to the proposed River Street DMV office to accommodate a small department, and enough space would be opened up in the County Office Building to allow the Health and Mental Health departments to consolidate operations in the office building instead of being spread throughout the city.

Daniels said it is more economical to increase the size of projects that are being built. “Let’s give ourselves some breathing room — let’s give ourselves a chance to grow,” Daniels said.

He said the Legislature should at least be discussing the possibility of utilizing the eminent domain process to acquire properties. No matter what the process, communication with the neighbors is essential, Daniels said.

Daniels has chosen Legislator Tom Williams (R-Homer), a former state trooper and a code officer, to lead the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and work with the jail studies in the same manner Loomis will work with the office building studies.

“For the jail, it’s going to take two years, close to that, to get everything in place,” Daniels said.
Both Loomis and Williams were instrumental in Daniels’ bid for the chairmanship, Loomis making the nomination and Williams upsetting chances for a Republican to take the chair. But Daniels said their experience makes them good fits for their new positions.

In all, though, Daniels said he wants to see the right people doing the right job. Legislator Mike McKee (R-Cincinnatus, Freetown, Taylor and Willet), who owns a heavy equipment company, will be chairing the Highway Committee, an important subject for rural residents.

Legislator Carol Tytler (D-3rd Ward) will chair the Health Committee. The choice of the Democratic caucus for chair of the Legislature, Daniels said Tytler would be the “perfect” choice for chairing the Health Committee, given her role as director of communications for a nonprofit organization that provides services for people with disabilities.

Perhaps most importantly, Daniels wants the Legislature to be brainstorming to find creative solutions to the space problems, and he pledged to listen to anyone — whether legislator, department head or regular county employee — who brings him an idea, no matter how well developed.

“My management style is that I work with everybody,” Daniels said. “I’ve already started going to the different departments and just saying hello to everybody. It might take a couple weeks, but I’m going to get together with everybody.”

Despite rumors that he supported replacing County Administrator Scott Schrader, Daniels said Schrader has done a “super job.”

“I think he’s a sharp guy, but he’s not perfect,” Daniels said, acknowledging there has been friction between Schrader and legislators in the past that could be addressed constructively, without spending nearly a year searching for a new county administrator.

Daniels said he also supported redefining the scope of County Auditor Dennis Whitt’s duties, an issue that was brought up by Williams at the Legislature’s Jan. 3 organizational meeting.
Daniels said he is not a micromanager but will spend as much time working as Legislature chairman as it takes to get the job done.

“If you have the right people in the right jobs, they can do their jobs,” Daniels said.

This article captures why I supported John for Chairman. I believe he has the vision to lead the planning of projects for the next two years.

I intend to get a grasp on all of the projects in planning or in progress and will develop a list that will allow for a master planning effort. I will meet and work with Mr. Schrader and the General Services Committee to lay out the moves to efficiently and effectively accommodate the needs of the County departments.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please email them to me at celoomis@gmail.com. I appreciate your support!

Please note that the General Services Committee will be meeting at 8:00am on Tuesday 1/15. Click here for the AGENDA.

Click here for January meeting schedule.