1/5/07 County health building plan in jeopardy

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

Amid public outcry and a lack of support from the city, a proposal to build a public health facility on south Main Street is in peril.

“With the city backing away from this and with no community support — assuming you can characterize 15 people as the community — we’re going to be hard-pressed to get this done,” County Administrator Scott Schrader said Thursday. “It’s going to be up to the Legislature to carry the water on this on their own, and that’s not easy to do when it’s being attacked from all angles.”
After Thursday’s special legislative session to discuss an unrelated legal issue, Legislator Ron Van Dee (D-5th Ward) said he would be calling for a reconsideration of the Legislature’s Dec. 21 decision to purchase nine parcels and a total of 2.4-acres of land on south Main Street for $894,000, the first step in an estimated $5.5 million project.
Van Dee said he wanted to bring the issue up Thursday, but couldn’t because it was a special session and special session rules did not allow it. He said he hoped to move to reconsider at the Legislature’s Jan. 25 regular session.
“My intention is to change my vote on purchasing that property,” said Van Dee, who initially voted in favor of the purchase.
Van Dee said he had been inquiring into properties both inside and outside the city, and had found some other options both for a parking lot, which is the main concern of residents living near the proposed site, and for the facility as a whole.
“From the very start of this, I had asked about other available properties for the parking lot and I was told there was nothing,” Van Dee said. “I feel that as a legislator I was misled and I think we have to look at this a lot more closely.”
The south Main Street site of the former Wickwire building, owned by the McNeill family, was one of many options that Van Dee said could be available for purchase. When he inquired into the availability of that property, Schrader has said, he was initially told it was available for lease but not for sale. Many other legislators agreed with Van Dee, saying the county needed to take more time to hear the concerns of the community.
“I think it’s a good project, I think we need a facility like that, but I was against voting on it before the majority of the public got a look at it,” said Legislator Mike McKee (R-Cincinnatus, Freetown, Taylor and Willet). “I think the process taking place right now is the best thing that can happen — people are getting their thoughts out so we can work with them, so more than just a few are happy with the deal.”
Legislator Sandy Price (D-Harford and Virgil) — who was a key “yes” vote in December, despite serious concerns about the way the project was revealed to some legislators and the public — said she would be supportive of reopening the issue.
“I think the concerns of the neighborhood should be taken seriously, and the request of the city should be taken seriously,” Price said, referring to the Common Council’s decision Tuesday to write a letter to the county asking it to delay the property acquisition to allow for more discussion.