Briggs has a list for 2005

By DAVID HULSE

MONTICELLO, NY — People are prone to making lists of priorities at this time of year and Sullivan County Manager Dan Briggs is no exception.

“It’s funny you ask, because I just made up a list of issues that are outstanding and in need of resolution,” Briggs said on Monday.

In no particular order, the county manager’s list includes the fire training tower in Bethel, the landfill, the jail, the comprehensive plan, casinos and public transportation.

After some years of planning and fundraising, the design for a $1.5 million fire-training tower project is complete and Sullivan will be breaking ground for the White Lake Turnpike facility this spring.

Briggs credited Senator John Bonacic, the late Jacob Gunther and Assemblyman Aileen Gunther with supporting the project with grant money.

The landfill is a far more complicated issue. Sullivan has completed negotiations with the Department of Environmental Conservation, but still has not received a permit to allow construction of a cell six addition.

And after cell six is the question of whether the county will use the new cell as a bridge to a planned phase two expansion or proceed to closure in 18 months.

Phase two, a project which would require minimal new construction, would piggy-back waste atop existing cells and provide another eight years of landfill space while helping to reduce the county’s landfill debt load. The legislature will have to decide if Sullivan will continue in the landfill business, close or sell the operation some time this year.

The Sullivan County Jail is one of the oldest in New York State and often operates at near capacity occupancy. With steady population growth and planned construction of one to five gaming casinos in the county, officials last year began discussing replacement options.

Briggs said the project is going to move ahead in 2005.

Sullivan has to decide how extensive the project will be. Will it be a jail or the public safety center that Sheriff Dan Hogue is seeking, which would include probation offices, civil and patrol divisions of the sheriff’s department, records and a training facility? The project is expected to cost a minimum of $50 million.

Another reason it will move along is that Sullivan has reorganized its public safety division and hired a full-time Commissioner Richard Martinkovic for the $57,000 a year position.

The county’s comprehensive plan will move from information gathering to writing this year. “I’m very encouraged. It’s the most important document coming out of the county this year and helps us avoid the sprawl and problems our neighbors have had,” he said.

Briggs said the legislature remains determined to get casino candidates to understand that if a project is entertained, “you’ve got meet the $15 million threshold and you must have agreements in place with us.”

As to the issue in general, he said, “Personally, there’s a whole array of feelings. I’m not a gambler. It’s been my view right along that gaming is okay as long as it’s not viewed as panacea. We have more to offer.”

Public transportation is part of the 2020 plan and the county is doing a long-term plan, he said. A new bus garage facility will be built next year at the airport. “There are more people coming to the area, with greater use of airport. We’re studying usage of our bus routes, integrating changes and marketing the system,” he said.

Legislative Chair Chris Cunningham has met with Briggs and seen the list. “We’ll be setting priorities in the next week or two and I’ll address them in a state of the county address sometime near the end of the month,” he said.