EFC approves $5M loan for Salina landfill-closure project

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The board of directors of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. (EFC) has unanimously approved a $5 million, short-term loan that the Town of

New York posts nation’s largest increase in jobless claims in latest week

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Manufacturing & Engineering, New York News

The number of people filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits in New York state rose 14 percent to 24,119 in the week ending Nov. 29,

Welch Allyn acquisition of Nebraska firm is a bet on telehealth growth

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

SKANEATELES FALLS — With its recent acquisition of a Nebraska–based medical software firm, Welch Allyn, Inc. is making a bet on medicine’s move toward telehealth — monitoring and treating patients remotely with digital technologies. The Skaneateles Falls–based manufacturer of medical-diagnostic equipment announced Dec. 8 that it has acquired substantially all the assets of HealthInterlink, LLC

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The Skaneateles Falls–based manufacturer of medical-diagnostic equipment announced Dec. 8 that it has acquired substantially all the assets of HealthInterlink, LLC of Omaha, from its investment-firm parent Prairie Ventures.

Financial terms of the all-cash deal were not disclosed. The transaction closed on Nov. 7, according to Welch Allyn.

HealthInterlink is a developer of a software-based remote patient vital-signs monitoring system. This is Welch Allyn’s first foray into remote patient vital-signs monitoring, the company said.

How the deal came about
Welch Allyn recently identified the telehealth space as a potential new growth lever for the company. A dedicated team spent several months studying and researching the emerging telehealth market, including networking with leaders in the field and identifying partnership opportunities, Scott Gucciardi, Sr., vice president of new healthcare delivery solutions at Welch Allyn, explained in an email.

“Our intent was to identify opportunities for Welch Allyn to add value by helping healthcare delivery stakeholders adapt to the growing challenges they are facing due to budget and reimbursement cuts, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and the need to move toward population health management,” he said.

Remote patient monitoring provides a solution for managing the increasing rise and cost of chronic disease, Welch Allyn contends.

The Welch Allyn team first met officials from HealthInterlink, including one of its founders, at the American Telemedicine Association international meeting and trade show in May of this year, Gucciardi recounted. The event took place in Baltimore.

The market and the product
A report from information and analytics firm IHS a year ago estimated that the U.S. teleheath industry will grow to $1.9 billion in total revenue by 2018 from $240 million last year, according to a Dec. 22, 2013 article on Forbes.com.

HealthInterlink’s telehealth product incorporates wireless patient-monitoring devices and a mobile gateway device, (like a tablet or smartphone) that transmits vital-signs data, answers to patient-care plan questions, and patient messages to a HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based, web portal for patient-data management by health-care professionals, Welch Allyn explained in a news release.

The acquisition of the HealthInterlink assets offers Welch Allyn a “unique opportunity to better serve its U.S. customers by offering them [a technology] solution optimized for cost-effective collection and delivery of remote health information,” according to Welch Allyn President and CEO, Stephen Meyer.

“The acquisition of HealthInterlink’s assets is exciting news for Welch Allyn and is in keeping with our vision to help transform care wherever patients and healthcare professionals connect,” Meyer added in the release. “As healthcare delivery becomes decentralized and extends beyond the traditional acute and ambulatory care locations where our offerings are used today, we intend to provide solutions that enable providers to deliver high quality care, regardless of location.”

During a transition period, that will end on or before June 30, 2015, HealthInterlink’s current product will continue to be developed, sourced, and sold by the Nebraska firm’s existing workforce, according to Welch Allyn.

HealthInterlink has five direct employees in Omaha who work in software development, sales, and product management. Those employees, along with others who work in support functions for the former parent company, Prairie Ventures, will provide services to Welch Allyn under a transition services agreement, according to Welch Allyn’s Gucciardi.

The five direct employees have been asked to remain with the company in their current capacity at least through the transition period. And, Welch Allyn may end up offering them permanent positions depending on business needs, he added.

Welch Allyn says its acquisition integration team is currently determining which business processes — such as kitting of home vital-signs devices, sales order management, and customer and technical service — will be shifted to other Welch Allyn facilities, including the Skaneateles Falls headquarters.

Welch Allyn employs more than 2,600 people in 26 different countries. It has 1,300 employees in Central New York. The Business Journal News Network estimates Welch Allyn’s annual revenue at about $700 million.

Prairie Ventures, based in Omaha, says it’s a private investment firm with investments in health-care technology and services.

“We are very pleased that another of Prairie Ventures’ start-ups has been acquired by an industry leading commercial partner,” Craig Tuttle, president of Prairie Ventures, said in a news release announcing the deal. “HealthInterlink is a great example of a software technology company that we funded from start-up through to early product sales, which a very large and successful healthcare company recognized and then acquired.”

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com

Ianno buys Auburn firm, becomes 1st time business owner

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Manufacturing & Engineering, Small Business, Subscriber Only

AUBURN — After having worked as a senior marketing manager at Skaneateles Falls–based Welch Allyn, Inc. for the past 12 years, Victor Ianno is now the sole owner of Weaver Machine & Tool Company in Auburn. He acquired the business from the family of the late Ronald (Bucky) Weaver and started working there in September.

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He acquired the business from the family of the late Ronald (Bucky) Weaver and started working there in September.

The purchase became final on Oct. 24, says Ianno.

Weaver Machine & Tool specializes in precision-made machine and tool products.

When asked if he was comfortable owning a business that specialized in products that he hadn’t dealt with in his career, Ianno said he believes business is business, whether it means selling widgets, metal parts, or medical products.

“I’m taking a risk,” Ianno concedes. “But I have people to help me.”

He spoke with the Business Journal News Network on Dec. 5.

Joe and Sharon (Shari) Artman, Weaver’s daughter and son-in-law, will work with Ianno as consultants for the next year as he assumes control of their former business.

Ianno declined to disclose how much he paid to purchase the business, but said he used a loan from KeyBank to help finance the acquisition. He also declined to disclose the amount of the loan.

Attorney Lynn Smith of the Syracuse law firm of Gilberti Stinziano Heintz & Smith, P.C. and accountant Richard Pascarella of the Syracuse accounting firm of DiMarco, Abiusi & Pascarella CPAs, P.C. advised Ianno in the transaction, he says.

Ianno’s search
Ianno had previously worked as an account executive for Mark Russell and Associates (which merged with Eric Mower + Associates in 2008); as a leasing representative at Pyramid Management Group; and as a senior marketing manager at Welch Allyn.

While growing up and attending college, he worked at his family’s company, Lakeside Printing in Skaneateles, which the Iannos sold to the Scotsman Media Group in 2001.

During his time at Welch Allyn, Ianno started craving something different.

“I got the itch probably four or five years ago to be my own boss again,” he says.

He started looking for potential business-purchase opportunities and enlisted the help of his father, Victor Ianno, whom the younger Ianno described as someone “who knows everybody.”

The Iannos spoke with local attorneys and bankers to see if they were aware of any local business owners who were hoping to sell their firms. If the father received leads, the son would arrange to meet with the owners for breakfast or coffee, he says.

“I bet you I’ve looked at 30 businesses over the last four or five years, and some of them were just a quick handshake and a phone call,” the younger Ianno adds.

He eventually developed a series of criteria that he used to determine if a given business might be good fit.

Ianno wanted to find a company that annually generated between $1 million and $10 million in sales; had between five and 50 employees; was a business with a sales and marketing “problem” and not necessarily an operational problem; had an owner who was interested in transitioning out in a “congenial” way and would be around to help him learn the business; and a business with more than 50 percent of [its] revenue not necessarily dependent upon the Syracuse retail market.

It was that criteria which led him to his discussions with Weaver Machine & Tool.

“I found a good family with a good reputation, stable customer base, stable long-term employees,” says Ianno.

And he believes Weaver Machine & Tool has plenty of “opportunity to grow” because companies “are always going to need” metal and manufactured parts, he contends.

After graduating from Liverpool High School in 1989, Ianno later earned a bachelor’s degree in operations management at Boston College before earning a master’s in business administration at the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School.

About Weaver
The 23,000-square-foot Weaver Machine & Tool currently employs 15 full-time employees, including Ianno.

When asked if he has plans to add more employees in 2015, Ianno replied, “I’ll add them as needed, as business conditions dictate.” he says.

Besides the company’s main building, it also has a 9,000-square-foot and a 7,000-square-foot storage barn on its property at 44 York St. in Auburn.

The firm doesn’t release revenue information, Ianno says.

Bucky Weaver founded Weaver Machine & Tool in 1972.

He grew it from a small machine shop to a company that specializes in high-precision prototyping, machining, production, assembly, and vacuum brazing of a variety of highly technical components.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Syracuse VA Medical Center opens Women Veterans Wellness Center

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SYRACUSE — The Syracuse VA Medical Center on Dec. 1 formally opened the Women Veterans Wellness Center, which will provide primary care and specialty care, including care for military sexual trauma (MST) and reproductive health care. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) attended the ceremony. The Women Veterans Wellness Center (WWC) has two full-time providers, a

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U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) attended the ceremony.

The Women Veterans Wellness Center (WWC) has two full-time providers, a physician, and a nurse practitioner.

Together, they provide care, including primary and gender-specific care, for nearly 1,000 women. These two providers also provide gender-specific care to another 200 women in primary care teams, dubbed Red and Blue, respectively.

The Wellness Center provides gynecology services four days per week, urology three days per month, and mental-health services four times per week.

A pharmacist will be available in the clinic on a regular basis beginning in January. The WWC also provides rural health care with tele-mental health, tele-gynecology, and tele-primary care phone clinics.

“Women have served bravely and honorably for generations and the roles and jobs that women perform in our Armed Forces have expanded even more significantly in recent years and during the on-going conflicts. This center is devoted to ensuring that these Veterans get the care they deserve and have earned,” James Cody, director of the Syracuse VA Medical Center, said in a Gillibrand news release.

In addition to the wellness center, the local VA Medical Center also dedicated the Corporal Kyle Schneider Family Waiting Room.

The facility named the room in honor of a 2006 graduate of C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville who was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Helmond Province, Afghanistan on June 30, 2011.

The Family Waiting Room serves as a place of respite for veteran families waiting for their veterans while they receive care at the VA.

“As Kyle’s parents and family, we are grateful Kyle’s memory and sacrifice are honored in this way by the VA. It has been a source of comfort to us to hear from the families who have used The Cpl. Kyle Schneider Family Room, and tell us how meaningful and helpful it has been for them. We would like to thank all those involved in making The Cpl. Kyle Schneider USMC Family Room a possibility,” Rick and Lorie Schneider, parents of Corporal Kyle Schneider said.

Gillibrand wrote to then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, urging him to approve the new name for the waiting room.

The Corporal Kyle Schneider Family Waiting Room is supported by volunteers from the Corporal Kyle R. Schneider Foundation, which was formed in Schneider’s honor.

“These ceremonies today at the Syracuse VA hospital were so important for the community here,” Gillibrand said. “We honored the bravery of a Baldwinsville Marine who gave his life for his country, and we honored the women who make so many sacrifices to serve in our military. The past, present, and future of our military were represented proudly today, and it was a privilege to be a part of this day of celebration at the Syracuse VA.”

Gillibrand is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Rebuild NY Now pushes state to use bank-settlement money for infrastructure repairs

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Insurance & Financial Services, Law, Accounting & Taxes, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — As someone who helps lead a firm that’s focused on engineering and the environment, Orrin (Mac) MacMurray, has always had a keen interest in the condition of infrastructure, or roads, bridges, and sewer systems. MacMurray, chairman emeritus of the C&S Companies, spoke on Dec. 9 at Syracuse City Hall in support of the

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MacMurray, chairman emeritus of the C&S Companies, spoke on Dec. 9 at Syracuse City Hall in support of the group Rebuild NY Now, which is working to raise public awareness about New York’s infrastructure needs.

“My message to you is very simple. It’s time to act. We need to act now,” he said.

C&S Companies is a Salina–based engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, and construction-services firm.

Albany–based Rebuild NY Now is a coalition that “actively engages” federal and state elected officials to support public policies “that promote safe roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure.”

MacMurray noted that the city of Syracuse has, on average, “hundreds” of water-main breaks and Onondaga County has “hundreds” of bridges that are “deficient and need significant attention.”

He also mentioned the old adage in business about investing money to make money.

“Well, a corporation invests money in order to improve its productivity and I would suggest that in government, we invest money to improve our productivity as a society but also to protect the public health, welfare, and safety of our citizens,” MacMurray said.

In addition to public awareness, Rebuild NY Now is also calling on the state to use an infusion of money from lawsuits against overseas banks to fund repairs for New York’s aging roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

More than $5 billion has flowed into New York’s state and city accounts this year from settlements with BNP Paribas SA over sanctions violations and Credit Suisse Group AG for helping Americans evade taxes, according to a Dec 4 article that Reuters published on its website.

Local elected officials, including Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, New York State Senator John DeFrancisco (R–Syracuse), and Dick Donovan, mayor of the village of Minoa, also joined Rebuild NY Now for the press event.

As DeFrancisco noted in his remarks, the gathered officials are hoping New York state will use a “windfall” of revenue from recent settlements against overseas banks to target infrastructure upgrades.

“The minute I heard of the [5] billion dollars or of surplus from the lawsuit revenues … [I thought] we have to use it exclusively for infrastructure,” said DeFrancisco.

He also said a financial windfall of that size creates “a feeding frenzy that you can’t imagine” among New York officials.

Miner, who on Nov. 25 introduced her Syracuse Billion plan proposal, noted that it “focused exclusively” on infrastructure.

“What I said in that plan and continue to believe is when you look at the history of the city of Syracuse, what has positioned us for growth has been investment in infrastructure. And when we stopped investing in infrastructure, unfortunately, you started to see us sputter in terms of our economic growth,” said Miner.

Carley Hill, safety director for Union Concrete and Construction Corp. of Buffalo, also spoke for Rebuild NY Now.

The group’s message is that roads, bridges, sewer systems, and waterways have a lifetime and a lifespan.

“If you don’t invest in them, they start to do what anything else does that you don’t invest in or you don’t take care of. They start to break down,” she said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Siena: Wall Street, job reports propel Upstate and statewide consumer sentiment

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Stock-market gains and improving job-growth numbers are among the factors that have New York state consumers feeling better about spending as the holiday-shopping season continues. That’s according to an analyst who oversees the measurement of consumer sentiment at Siena College in Loudonville. Consumer sentiment in upstate New York was measured at 77.5 in November, up

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Stock-market gains and improving job-growth numbers are among the factors that have New York state consumers feeling better about spending as the holiday-shopping season continues.

That’s according to an analyst who oversees the measurement of consumer sentiment at Siena College in Loudonville.

Consumer sentiment in upstate New York was measured at 77.5 in November, up 9.2 points from the last reading in July, according to the latest survey the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI) released Dec. 8.

Consumer sentiment in upstate New York plummeted 8.2 points to 68.3 in July, according to a Siena survey released Aug. 6.

Upstate’s overall-sentiment index of 77.5 is a combination of the current sentiment and future-sentiment components. Upstate’s current-sentiment index of 81.9 increased 4.6 points from July, while the future-sentiment level rose 12.2 at 74.7, according to the SRI data.

Upstate’s overall sentiment was 6.5 points below the statewide consumer-sentiment level of 84.0, which rose 10.5 points compared to July, SRI said.

New York state’s consumer-sentiment index was 4.8 points lower than the November figure of 88.8 for the entire nation, which rose 12.8 points from July, as measured by the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index.

Four factors were in consumers’ favor since the summer, says Douglas Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI founding director.

“The stock market is hitting record highs. The job reports are good. [In] November, we [added] over 300,000 jobs. Housing prices have stabilized to some extent,” says Lonnstrom.

But the “big” issue in the upstate New York area, he notes, is the drop in gas prices.

“All four of those things are making the consumer feel better right now,” he added.

When compared with the previous three years, the state’s overall-confidence sentiment of 84.0 is up 6.7 points from November 2013; up 4.6 points compared to November 2012, and has increased 21.8 points compared to November 2011, according to the SRI data. The sentiment index measured 65.1 in November 2009.

In November, buying plans were up 1.8 percentage points since the July measurement at 13.6 percent for cars and trucks; up 10.5 points at 44.6 percent for consumer electronics; up 4.1 points to 23.8 percent for furniture; and up 2.5 points to 6.8 percent for homes.

“That’s a big number for home-buying because you don’t buy a home every six months … If that proves true, that could have a nice ripple effect on the economy,” says Lonnstrom.

Buying plans were down 5.2 points to 15.7 percent for major home improvements, according to the SRI data.

Lonnstrom tells the Business Journal News Network that SRI will conduct surveys to measure consumer sentiment in New York on a quarterly basis following a budget review. It had conducted the surveys monthly from their inception in 1999.

Gas and food prices
In SRI’s monthly analysis of gas and food prices, 48 percent of upstate respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly budgets, which is down from 59 percent in July and 65 percent in June.

In addition, 41 percent of statewide respondents indicated concern about the price of gas, down from 51 percent in July and 54 percent in June, according to SRI.

When gas prices were hovering around $4 per gallon, about 7 in 10 New Yorkers were expressing concern about those prices on their budgets.

“So that’s a dramatic improvement,” says Lonnstrom.

When asked about food prices, 71 percent of upstate respondents indicated the price of groceries was having a serious impact on their finances, up from 68 percent in July but down from 73 percent in June.

At the same time, 69 percent of statewide respondents indicated concern about the price of food, up 2 percentage points from July and down 1 percentage point from June.

The percentage of respondents concerned about food prices has remained consistent for much of 2014, according to the SRI data.

“Food has so many different products, some are up, some are down. [It’s] hard to measure that. And food prices have not dropped like gas prices have,” Lonnstrom noted.

SRI conducted its survey of consumer sentiment in November by random telephone calls to 809 New York residents over the age of 18.

As consumer sentiment is expressed as an index number developed after statistical calculations to a series of questions, “margin of error” does not apply.

Buying plans, which are shown as a percentage based on answers to specific questions, have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 points, SRI said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

BlueRock Energy launches energy services company

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Finding ways to save on energy costs can be a full-time job. That’s why BlueRock Energy Holdings says it founded BlueRock Energy Services — a new company focused on helping businesses and homeowners reduce their energy consumption and cut energy costs. The company expects to add 40 new jobs over the next two

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The company expects to add 40 new jobs over the next two years to fill energy audit, engineering, design, sales, accounting, and purchasing positions. BlueRock Energy Services is funded by international private investments in cooperation with Global Alliance Securities, an investment bank with offices in New York City, under the EB-5 program, a federal program designed to stimulate the economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.

BlueRock Energy Services celebrated its grand opening on Dec. 10 with a ribbon-cutting at BlueRock Energy Holdings’ headquarters at 432 N. Franklin St. in Syracuse.

“We have a team here at BlueRock of very skilled experts on energy,” Philip Van Horne, CEO of BlueRock Energy Holdings, says in an interview. These experts monitor the energy industry full-time, tracking things such as consumption and pricing trends. “We can leverage that knowledge and expertise … to help our customers reduce their overall energy costs,” Van Horne says.

It can be challenging for a business, in particular, to take on an energy-savings project on its own, he says, due to the sheer amount of information and technology out there. “New technology is coming out literally weekly,” he says. That can make it tough for a customer, whether it’s a business or a homeowner, to know which options are the best solutions to their particular energy problems.

BlueRock Energy Services (www.bluerockenergyserevices.com) provides site assessments as well as product procurement, financing, logistics, installation management, rebate programs, training, and support.

For each customer, BlueRock Energy Services says it conducts an initial site assessment to collect information on the client’s current energy consumption. BlueRock project managers then design a plan with products/services to help reduce energy costs and increase operating efficiency.

“We use a consultative approach,” Van Horne says. “We look at the problem, and we’ll select the best brand, the best fixtures, and the best solution to the problem.”

Initially, BlueRock Energy Services is focusing on lighting solutions, he says. Lighting costs typically comprise anywhere from 25 percent to 40 percent of energy costs, so lighting changes can make a quick impact on those costs.

LED lighting is BlueRock’s lighting of choice for a variety of reasons, Van Horne says. Along with being extremely efficient, LED lighting avoids the dangerous chemicals found in compact fluorescent bulbs, another popular energy-saving choice. In addition, LED lighting provides a large array of lighting choices, allowing customers to select the best choice for their needs, he says. For example, lighting that most closely resembles natural, bright sunlight in a doctor’s office can help the doctor see better to give more thorough exams, he explains. A restaurant may choose softer, dimmer lighting to create a certain mood.

BlueRock Energy Services also provides energy monitoring services to help customers see when and where they are using the most energy. Eventually, BlueRock’s services will expand across the energy spectrum to include HVAC products and even on-site energy-generation options.

Marketing efforts
Van Horne expects the company will provide its services across the Northeast. The firm is currently marketing its services to existing BlueRock Energy Holdings customers as well as through sports-marketing channels.

BlueRock has a strong affiliation with the Buffalo Bills, a customer, and leverages that connection to help market its services. The company recently had Bills safety Aaron Williams take over its Twitter feed for one hour, where he answered 196 fan questions. “The engagement was unbelievable,” Van Horne says. Other activities include the Bills BlueRock Player of the Week fan voting, which takes place on the BlueRock website.

It’s about building brand recognition and capitalizing on the loyalty of sports fans, Van Horne says. Those fans who click through to vote will generally also take the time to read the BlueRock information that pops up on the screen. “Sports fans are very loyal, very engaged,” he contends.

Along with sponsoring the Bills, BlueRock also sponsors the Rochester Lancers indoor soccer team, Syracuse Chiefs minor league baseball team, and the Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball team and has in-venue, electronic, and social-media marketing plans with the teams.

“It brings in a lot of leads and a lot of customers,” Van Horne says. As the company is privately held, he declined to disclose any revenue information.

BlueRock Energy Holdings (www.bluerockenergy.com) provides electricity, natural gas, and renewable-energy products to more than 14,000 customers across New York.

Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com

SUNY Cortland plans major electrical-distribution system upgrade

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Health Care, Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

CORTLAND — SUNY Cortland says it will break ground during the spring semester on a major electrical-distribution system upgrade that will affect the majority of campus, The electrical-infrastructure work, which involves excavating and replacing distribution lines that date back more than 50 years, will likely start by late March, SUNY Cortland said in the Dec.

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CORTLAND — SUNY Cortland says it will break ground during the spring semester on a major electrical-distribution system upgrade that will affect the majority of campus,

The electrical-infrastructure work, which involves excavating and replacing distribution lines that date back more than 50 years, will likely start by late March, SUNY Cortland said in the Dec. 2 edition of The Bulletin, its public relations e-newsletter. The project will continue through the summer.

“It’s a pretty substantial dig and it’s not something that can be neatly contained behind fences like the rest of our projects,” Rob Shutts, interim co-director of SUNY Cortland’s Facilities, Planning, Design and Construction Office, said in The Bulletin, referring to the electrical work.

The excavation involves digging two trenches — measuring roughly six to eight feet wide — from the south electrical substation near the university’s Route 281 entrance to the upper portion of campus that includes structures such as Miller Building and Old Main.

Those trenches will cut across campus, including a portion of the parking lots that service VanHoesen and Bowers halls and Old Main. Digging also will close Water Street next summer, SUNY Cortland said.

The targeted completion date for the excavation work is the start of the fall semester, but factors such as weather could push that back, according to Shutts.

SUNY Cortland said it expects that contractors will split up the work into increments of three to four days — digging first, laying pipe in the ground, pouring concrete, and then backfilling. Two crews will dig at any given time, meaning two sections of trenches will be open throughout the summer.

It’s the second phase of a larger, $26 million project to completely upgrade the SUNY Cortland campus electrical infrastructure.

“The wiring underground slowly has been deteriorating and shorting out, causing power outages over the past several years,” Shutts said in The Bulletin. “We’ve been lucky in that very few have happened while students were on campus… This part of the project should significantly improve our situation.”

The State University Construction Fund has allocated $9 million for the upcoming phase of construction, which involves putting the duct bank in the ground and reconnecting 11 buildings on the upper portion of SUNY Cortland’s campus. An earlier phase of the electrical project created a new primary south substation to handle the university’s entire electrical load. The third phase will connect the remaining buildings. SUNY Cortland anticipates completing that phase in 2016-17, pending funding from the State University Construction Fund.

Completing the entire upgrade will eliminate the need for a north electrical substation near SUNY Cortland’s heating plant, the university said.

Shutts said the electrical-infrastructure project was to go out to bid to contractors in early December, with their bids coming back early in 2015. And, work is slated to begin in March.

Cuomo: Community Solar NY seeks to ease solar installation

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A new state program seeks to support initiatives such as Solarize Syracuse, locally organized community outreach effort working to help homeowners and businesses install solar panels. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 5 announced the launch of Community Solar NY, a new effort under the NY-Sun initiative to make implementing solar projects “easier and more affordable” for

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A new state program seeks to support initiatives such as Solarize Syracuse, locally organized community outreach effort working to help homeowners and businesses install solar panels.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 5 announced the launch of Community Solar NY, a new effort under the NY-Sun initiative to make implementing solar projects “easier and more affordable” for communities across the state.

NY-Sun is Cuomo’s $1 billion initiative to advance the scale-up and move the state closer to having a “sustainable, self-sufficient solar industry,” Cuomo’s office said.

Solarize campaigns include community outreach and education, competitive installer selection, and a “limited-time offer” to bring more customers to solar and provide “significant” cost savings.

Community Solar NY will provide marketing materials; technical assistance and funding; and share “best practices” to help community projects succeed, Cuomo’s office said.

The local organization, Solarize Syracuse, is a nonprofit community initiative that has helped more than 70 property owners sign contracts to switch to solar energy in four months of operation, according to the website for NY-Sun.

The figure more than doubles the amount of residential solar projects that installers had previously handled in the initiative’s target area of Syracuse, DeWitt, Manlius and the town of Onondaga.

The nonprofit’s website says the 2014 Solarize Syracuse program has ended, but invites those interested to sign up for information about “future community solar opportunities in Central New York.”

Chris Carrick, energy program manager for the Central New York Regional Planning & Development Board called the Solarize campaigns a “real win-win solution” for the community and the solar industry.

“By providing grassroots support and education for prospective solar customers and marshalling their collective buying power, the Solarize approach makes it easier and more affordable than ever to go solar. In addition, Solarize taps the unrealized demand of homeowners and businesses, giving a boost to solar contractors and helping to create jobs in the solar industry,” Carrick contended.

Another local program that’s no longer in operation would have also qualified, according to the state.

Solarize Madison was a community-focused, renewable-energy program promoting sustainable-energy production to stabilize current and future energy costs.

The Madison County Planning Department and the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board had developed the program with support from the Renewable Energy Training Center at Morrisville State College.

The program operated for two years, according to the news release.

In 2012, installers handled 29 solar-electric systems for a total of 184.9 kilowatts (kW) of new solar power. The following year, property owners signed 16 solar-electric contracts for 172 kW of new solar power and installers handled 29 solar hot-water systems, offsetting more than 67,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity.

The website for Solarize Madison says the program “has officially ended and will not be returning…”

Community Solar NY also includes K-Solar, a joint partnership between the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and NYSERDA, working with the New York State Education Department to help schools lower their energy costs by going solar.

NYPA is offering every New York school district free energy-advisory services and in collaboration with school personnel will determine if solar energy is suitable and cost-effective for their district and to help secure the most attractive solar financing.

As of the end of November, 194 school districts, representing more than 800 schools in 51 counties, have signed up to participate in K-Solar, according to Cuomo’s office.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

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