2/28/07 Committee discusses land deal

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

Community focus groups, interviews with department heads and a review of the legislature’s land purchasing process will all be a part of the review of the county’s aborted land deal by a special legislative committee.
The bi-partisan committee met for the first time Tuesday and discussed, primarily, a scope for its work.
Committee members agreed that the committee’s primary concern should be gathering as much information as possible about the $894,000 land deal that would have resulted in the purchased of nine parcels of land along south Main, Randall and William streets on which a proposed public health facility would have been built.
After initially voting in favor of the purchase in December, the Legislature annulled that vote at its Jan. 25 meeting, sparking a legal challenge from some of the sellers, who say that the county’s initial decision represented a binding agreement.
Attorney Russell Ruthig, who represents two of the property owners, said Monday that he was headed out of town for a week, and that he wouldn’t be filing suit at least until his return.
Legislator Carol Tytler (D-3rd Ward), who the committee appointed its chairwoman, pointed out that, with a lawsuit still a possibility should the county not go through with the purchases, the county was “sitting on the fence,” and needed to take a close look at its options.
“The main question is, do we move forward with the purchases, or do we try to get out of it, and if the best option is to move forward, what’s it going to look like?” Tytler said after the meeting.
A key reason the initial vote to purchase the properties was overturned was public outcry, primarily from residents living near the proposed site who were concerned about the effect the proposal would have on their neighborhood.
The committee agreed that hosting focus groups with community members would give legislators a better sense of those concerns, and, should the county decide it best to purchase the properties, would allow the committee to work on a more acceptable, possibly scaled-down proposal.
The committee also agreed to take a close look at the space needs of the Health Department, the Mental Health Department and Horizon House, each of which was to be included in the original proposed 30,000 square-foot building.
“I think one of the things we didn’t get a chance to let people know was what our problems are with the Health Department, what our needs are for these departments,” said committee member John Daniels (D-Homer).
The committee also discussed questions about the process by which the deal was formulated, and agreed that it would review all pertinent documentation, including contracts, minutes and all other correspondence regarding the deal.
Legislature Chairman Marilyn Brown (D-8th Ward) asked that County Auditor Dennis Whitt compile this material and get it to the committee by its next meeting on Thursday.
“What I’m hearing from my constituents is that it seems like this was sort of dropped on us, a lot of it was talked about in executive session,” said committee member Mike McKee (R-Cincinnatus, Freetown, Taylor and Willet). “I think we need to get everything out into the open.”