Hoping to convince Herkimer village officials to reverse their recent decision that caused a stumble in the next step towards building a new jail, county officials on Monday hosted a presentation on the project’s progress.
Village board members on Oct. 19 unanimously rejected a county request to act as lead agent on a State Environmental Quality Review Act study related to locating a new county jail at the former P&C site, off state Route 28.
Prior to the village’s opposition, the county Public Safety and Emergency Management Committee had been planning to bring nearly-completed SEQRA results before the Legislature, clearing the way for negotiations aimed at purchasing the land or, if necessary, seizing it through eminent domain.
But before moving past the study, a lead agent, basically the government agency controlling actions related to SEQRA findings, must be designated.
If the village board wants to pursue being lead agent, which it is yet to vote on, the state Department of Environmental Conservation will have to decide.
Mayor Mark Ainsworth informed county officials his board is “possibly” interested in acting as lead agent. “I think our board would like to have some control,” he said, commenting on the new jail being within the village and impacting its residents.
A representative from LaBella Associates, the firm handling the site’s SEQRA study, directly appealed to Ainsworth and Trustee Mark Netti to consider the state’s likely decision.
See the whole story in Tuesday's edition of The Evening Telegram.
