Sullivan soon to award jail contracts; Residents still express strong opposition

Posted 8/21/12

MONTICELLO, NY — At the executive committee meeting on the morning of August 18 at the Sullivan County government center, legislators were told they would likely be awarding contracts for the …

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Sullivan soon to award jail contracts; Residents still express strong opposition

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MONTICELLO, NY — At the executive committee meeting on the morning of August 18 at the Sullivan County government center, legislators were told they would likely be awarding contracts for the construction of the new county jail sometime in September.

At the monthly legislative meeting a couple of hours later, residents lined up once again to register opposition to the $95 million project. Speaking during the public comment period, former legislator Kitty Vetter questioned the need for such a large facility. She said, “Two doctors’ offices and a dental room, a large medical records area in today’s digital age? There’s a large chapel.”

Liberty resident Kathie Aberman said the petition drive started by her and Barbara Lerner to stop the project fell short of the necessary number of signatures needed to bring the matter to a public referendum, in part, she said, because of a lack of information among members of the public. She said, “Almost everyone I spoke to required a full discussion to understand what was happening, and once people know the facts they were almost universally willing to sign.” She and others gathered 600 signatures in 40 days.

Undersheriff Eric Chaboty said people trying to collect those signatures were “going door to door with an emphasis on senior citizens, and spreading misinformation intended to cause fear and alarm among our residents.” He noted that if the jail had been built when the issue was first addressed by county officials in 1990, the cost would have been $30 million, and the bond would have been paid off six years ago.

A young man named Austin Green, speaking on behalf of the Economic Youth Group of Rural and Migrant Ministry, expressed opposition to the jail and said, “I hope you understand young people such as myself are paying attention, and we aren’t satisfied with this decision.”

It seems likely that the jail project will move ahead as planned, as all votes regarding the jail have been unanimous among this legislature, and they have shown no reluctance to move forward with the project, which multiple legislatures have pursued for the past 10 years.

Compressor station addressed

One resident did not address the jail, but instead urged legislators to become collectively and individually interveners in the process by which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will most likely issue permits to the Millennium Pipeline Company to construct the proposed compressor station on Route 55 in the Town of Highland.

Linda Reik of the Town of Callicoon asked legislators to do so because it’s going to take an effort from everyone to convince FERC commissioners to use the “no-build alternatives for these projects, or to maybe get ‘best available technology.’” She said so far Millennium has not proposed or agreed to use best available technologies, and that is an area where legislative input might be helpful.

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