The best care anywhere

To the editor:

The negative tone of the article “Future of health center is now being examined” by Chrissy Prichard has prompted me to write to you. As a long time resident of the Old Forge community, I wish to publicly express my deep appreciation and satisfaction with the Town of Webb Health Center/Professional Offices.

Since its inception in 1963 until our last family member visit on Oct. 11, we have always been treated promptly and courteously with care-filled, sound medical treatment.

I believe this community has been well served by our two-physician family practice. Our doctors serve to keep our families healthy and when necessary connect us with specialists, such as ophthalmologists, cardiologists, orthopedists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists, urologists, etc. Driving fifty miles to see these specialists is just part of living in this beautiful rural area.

I trust and hope that as the Town of Webb Board and Supervisor, who are our elected officials, explore possible changes in the delivery of medical care, that they are not pressured by any special interest group to proceed at a pace that may jeopardize the quality of health services that we now enjoy at our health center.

Judith Sponable Barker

A dad of honor, integrity and truth

To the editor,  

I have known Patrick J. Venetz for my whole life. I will be the first to tell you, he is a man of honor, integrity and is always true to his word. This is just a little thing I wrote in response to the race for the Town of Webb Town Justice position.

Patrick J. Venetz- A father. A husband. A friend. A neighbor. A business owner. A true man. A concerned citizen. My father has served the Old Forge community for the last 12 years, but in so many more ways than anyone could know. When I think of my dad, he and the court go hand in hand.

I can’t imagine him being home on Tuesday evenings or during the days on District Attorney day, because I grew up with him being at court during those times. I can remember all the way back to 1997, going out and posting little posters on telephone poles all through town that said, “Elect Patrick J. Venetz for Town of Webb Justice”.

To my dad, being judge isn’t just a job, it’s his lifestyle. It has helped him become a better person, and it’s also shaped me into choosing Criminal Justice as my major at Norwich.

My dad loves what he does. So, please, when you go into the voting booth, keep in mind... it’s not just a job on the line, it’s not just a chance to have more face to face interaction with people, it’s a lifestyle for a great man and his family. Thank you all.

Patrick H. Venetz

Old Forge, NY and Northfield, VT

Russell responds to jail concerns

To the editor:

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to answer the questions that Jon Hansen has posed in his letter titled, “New jail: so many facts county legislators don’t have or don’t know.”

I would like to note that all these questions were answered at a community meeting I arranged in Old Forge, with other legislators present, on March 19, 2011 at the town board meeting room. Mr. Hansen was not there. His question and/or statements are as follows:

• This has been a long, slow and very expensive process.

Much like planning a new house it takes time and diligence to determine what land to buy, where a building may be placed, what zoning ordinances need to be followed, what engineers, lawyers and architects to hire, and in our case what a majority of legislators would agree to.

However, it has not been expensive to the property tax payer.

Most of the allocation has come from the Tobacco Settlement monies (in interest bearing accounts) received years ago that can only be used for capital construction projects.

The legislators are well aware of the impact a new facility could have on property taxes. We have been taking steps to make sure property tax payers are not burdened by the process.

• Legislators don’t know if they are going to have sewers, or a sewer plant or a septic system.

Yes we do. The county legislature is taking the village of Herkimer to court in an Article 78 procedure to overturn their decision denying sewer hookup on the village system.

Should the county prevail, we will hook-up to the village’s sewer infrastructure; if the county does not prevail, a septic system will be built.

• The legislature doesn’t know the full size of the land to be used to build on because they are still negotiating the size with the owner and the land is said to be wetlands.

Yes we do know the amount of land required. However, we will need less land if we can hook-up to the sewer system.

The legislature voted to take all the land by eminent domain. Nevertheless, we have been in discussions with the owner of the property to come to a consensus as to how best to proceed.

Our intentions all along have been to keep the front portion of the property available for commercial development, which allow for the generation of more sales and property tax revenues.

Wetlands? There is no indication, based on the engineering studies and discussions with the DEC that the area is wetlands.

The property formerly housed a strip mall, which included a P&C grocery store and drug store chain.

• They (the legislature) plan to build a 130-bed jail. Why? They have never used that many beds before.

The number of cells has not been decided upon.

In 2004, a high of 99 Herkimer County prisoners were incarcerated. 130 cells would contain more beds since some would be utilized for double bunking.

In our discussions with the SCOC (State Commission on Corrections) and looking at our engineering and architectural studies, the legislature wants to make sure that we properly plan for the future.

Studies suggest that over the next 20 years the population of inmates will increase. It is important to understand, that when considering a jail, certain classifications have to be respected.

Men can’t be housed with juvenile boys or women, and minor girls can’t be housed with adult men, boys or women.

Also, provisions have to be made for those prisoners that might have diseases or are mentally ill.

It’s not as simple as “we have an inmate, so just throw them in a cell.”

Areas have to be maintained for the specific gender, ages and health of the prisoner.

So, based on the population studies, and the correlation of the male-to-female, boys-to-girls classifications, a 130-cell facility has been the standard by which we have done the planning.

It doesn’t mean that the facility will necessarily be that large.

• Legislators can’t tell you the full cost of the building and the cost to maintain it year after year.

Based on the 130-cell facility the cost has come in at $34.5 million, inclusive of land and septic system (if needed).

There are millions of dollars included in contingency items, such as soft costs which include furniture and furnishings, landscaping, additional architect and engineering fees, etc.

This week, we saved almost $1 million by agreeing to roof top heating, ventilation and air conditioning units versus having it placed inside the facility.

A savings of $520,000 will be realized if the septic system isn’t needed.

We also believe, based on discussions with our professionals working on the plans, that costs, because of the competitiveness of the work, will come in lower once bids are awarded.

Legislators have indicated that a $30 million facility is more to their liking. Everyone is working hard to achieve that goal.

As for maintenance, efforts are underway to make sure that the building is the most energy efficient and of the highest standards affordable.

The building will be much larger than the present jail, and we anticipate creating a few new jobs to meet the need.

Discussions are also taking place as to whether we can allow sentenced prisoners to do painting and other maintenance tasks, which would reduce costs.

• What will property taxpayers be paying in taxes to build the new jail and to maintain it?

Currently Herkimer County is only able to board-in about 50 percent of its population.

Boarding out prisoners to other facilities is costing property taxpayers about $950,000 per year.

Should the SCOC officially close the jail for lack of action by the legislature, all but four prisoners will have to be boarded out at a cost of about $2 million per year.

Because the inmates have rights to go to doctor and dentist appointments, to see their lawyers, to be transported to court etc., there are no indications that the work force would be reduced much and the travel costs would be much higher, which would add more money to the taxpayers’ share.

A few years ago, realizing the burden this jail could have on the property taxpayers, the legislature added an additional .25 percent to the sales tax rate.

This additional money would go directly to the jail construction.

The revenue from this sales tax raises about $1.5 million a year—paid for by everyone, visitor and resident, renter and property owner.

Considering the healthy fund balance and tobacco monies we have and the sales tax money already collected for this project, we anticipate having $12 million to offset the $30 million price tag of the jail.

It is the legislators’ intention to use the $1.5 million collected in sales tax each year to pay for the debt service of the bonding for the new facility, freeing up, depending on how one might want to look at it, $950,000 to $2 million a year — money the property taxpayers will no longer have to fork out.

A new facility will also allow the sheriff to bring in federal prisoners, which will add revenues to the budget.

The bottom line: Property taxpayers will be saving money with a new facility.

Oneida County recently sent a letter to sit down with Herkimer legislators to discuss sharing or consolidating jail services. Why haven’t they met?

We have met a number of times during my 12 years in office. Oneida County could never commit to taking all our prisoners.

In fact, recently the sheriff had to pull inmates out of the Oneida County Correctional facility (SCOC orders) and place them in other county jails costing Herkimer County taxpayers more money for boarding out.

Recently, on Oct. 12, we met with Oneida County legislators to discuss regionalization plans. Oneida County doesn’t want to lose the revenue that Herkimer County taxpayers have been giving them for boarding in.

No matter what decisions are made, it will be in the best interest of our citizens and not those of Oneida County.

• With high unemployment and home foreclosures, Herkimer County is in serious danger with the poor economy.

This doesn’t appear to be a factual statement. According to the labor department, unemployment in Herkimer County as of August 2011 is 6.6 percent down from 7 percent a year ago and well below the national average of 9.1 percent and New York State’s 7.7 percent for the same time period.

We believe this is the direct result of our jobs retention program through working directly with Remington Arms to keep the 600 plus jobs in the area as well as their commitment to increase employment for the region.

Over 1,000 people are now working at Remington.

Collections from sales tax revenues have been up, indicating that business has been doing fairly well, and according to the county clerk’s office, actual foreclosures are down significantly since the highs in 2007.

However, the county legislature is well aware that people are hurting in our communities—especially property owners.

That’s why we have been taking the steps to reduce the amount of money property taxpayers would spend on the correctional facility.

• I know we need a new jail, but is now the time? Do the legislators of Herkimer County really want to put that burden (building a new jail) on the taxpayers at this time?

If we are going to go ahead with it, yes, this is the time.

Interest rates are down.

Construction companies are eager for work of this magnitude making the competitive bidding process favorable to the county.

Building material costs are steady and more predictable.

NOW will save property taxpayers money.

Once more, I am grateful for the chance to address these concerns and provide accurate information.

Thanks to the support of my fellow Herkimer County residents, I have faithfully served the Towns of Ohio, Russia, and Webb for 12 years as your county legislator.

I want to continue the county’s progress towards improvement for all residents, and I’d appreciate your vote again in the upcoming election.

Patrick Russell,

Herkimer County Legislator

District 15