NORWICH – Members of the Chenango County Planning and Economic Development Committee appeared frustrated at a meeting last week when reviewing developments at the county’s airport in North Norwich.
A resolution to contract with a credit card processing company for the fuel pump has been held up by a stipulation that, they said, was not intended to be part of deal.
Verbiage in the resolution, which was adopted by the full board in August, states that such a contract requires the county attorney’s approval. Members of the committee objected, and called for an amendment to strike the words and require only a signature from the county’s board chairman on a contract with a company it had already selected.
Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport officials hoped that pilots would be using the fuel pumps independently by the end of last month. James J. McNeil, D-City of Norwich, questioned why a previously authorized and purchased $19,000 credit card machine hook up wasn’t being used. He said the processing company and a dedicated telephone line to the machine were items the committee recommended to the airport’s administrator way back in February or March.
“Now we are going to be two more months delayed in making money at the airport,” said McNeil.
“It’s our opinion that we should sign with Global,” said Committee Chairman David C. Law, R-Norwch, referring to the supplier. Law shared with the committee a referral from Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard B. Decker’s office that suggested an alternative company. The committee stood resolved in their decision to stick with their chosen company.
Town of New Berlin Supervisor Ross P. Iannello made a motion to strike the words from the resolution and send the amended version back to the board for consideration in October.
“The county’s attorney is advisory; we are the rulers here,” said Coventry Supervisor John M. Phelan, Sr. upon seconding the motion. “We have to sometimes stake a claim.”
In other airport news, supervisors adopted three resolutions authorizing application for about $350,000 in Federal Aviation Adminisration grants to contract for engineering studies on improvements. The work would eventually pave the way for widening and resurfacing the runway and removing flight path obstructions.
Coventry’s Phelan questioned whether airport improvements would actually be affordable in the future, and called the amount available for the studies “ridiculous.”
He agreed to support the motion, however, saying, “I hope these things happen, and I’ll support it because I know that if we don’t take this stimulus for Chenango County, somebody else will. ... Personally, I would rather let the federal government save it for our grandchildren.”