4/4/07 County land deal sent back to committee

(As published in Cortland Standard, Ida Pease reporting)

Work will continue for an ad hoc committee reviewing a contentious county proposal to build a public health facility on south Main Street after the Legislature failed to decide the fate of the facility at a special meeting Tuesday.
Twelve of 19 legislators voted to suspend the rules of the Legislature so that another vote could be taken on the purchase of nine properties for the health building.
The votes were not enough to secure a needed two-thirds majority to suspend the rules of order. Legislator Steve Dafoe (D-Homer) was absent.
The following legislators voted against taking another vote at the Tuesday meeting: Merwin Armstrong (R-Cuyler, Solon and Truxton); Kay Breed (R-Cortlandville); Sandy Price (Harford and Virgil); John Troy (D-1st Ward); Ron Van Dee (D-5th Ward) and Newell Willcox (R-Homer).
Legislature Chairman Marilyn Brown (D-8th Ward) said the proposal for the health facility would go back through the committee process, starting with the ad hoc committee.
She said any proposal made by the special committee would also go through the General Services (formerly Buildings & Grounds) Committee, Health Committee and Budget and Finance Committee.
After the meeting, the ad hoc committee members met briefly in the legislative chambers. Carol Tytler (D-3rd Ward), who heads the special committee, said members have set a meeting at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to continue discussions. “I feel we did what we were asked to do,” she said.
The committee had been tasked with reviewing the purchasing process, identifying problems with the process and identifying choices the county has now.
Tytler said the committee would discuss what could be included in a smaller facility. “They’re looking for a concrete plan that they can vote on — yes or no,” she said of the legislators after the meeting.
The county originally proposed purchasing nine properties — including the former Moose Lodge — along south Main, Randall and Williams streets for $894,000 to build a $5.5 million public health facility that would have housed the county’s Health and Mental Health departments. The purchase was approved in a late December meeting and then retracted the next month.
Legislators and residents continued to express their opposition to the project at the meeting Tuesday.
“I am very concerned about the size requirement,” said Breed, noting she was not convinced there was enough property for the facility and necessary parking. The building itself would take about 15,300 square feet. The building would be two stories tall, creating about 30,600 square feet of space.
Breed also said the need for space for a county jail should be settled first because if that moved, there would be space available in the existing jail facility on Greenbush Street.
“I will vote no again if we vote on purchasing — let the chips fall where they may,” she said.
Barry Batzing, a resident at 70 Church St., noted that even County Administrator Scott Schrader, in a letter to the Cortland County Board of Realtors, estimated a lot size of 4 to 7 acres was needed for a one or two-story facility. The lot for the health facility was about 2.5 acres, but one private property that would have been part of it has been sold.
Batzing said a compromise with a smaller facility has been discussed. “I want to see this new plan, and I want a guarantee that no private houses will be in the plan,” he said.
Price brought up the concern that the meeting was advertised as a discussion session, not necessarily a meeting where a decision would be made, in her decision to vote no.
Tytler made the motion to take the vote, saying if the vote passed, she would like to revise a proposed resolution that called for a consolidated facility, saying she was not sure a combined program would be best for the two departments.
“I’m torn. I understand we do not have substantial agreement,” she said in proposing the vote.
“I haven’t heard anything new tonight that I haven’t heard before,” said Legislator Tom Williams (R-Homer), before he cast his yes vote to suspend the rules of the Legislature, which would have allowed a new vote.