The Herkimer Village Board decided Monday to withhold its decision on key hurdles to the construction of a proposed county jail facility until the residents have a chance to speak.
Several requests from the county Legislature require the village board to make a decision by Aug. 6, but village officials plan to hold a public forum Thursday, July 29 to discuss the issues and potential impact on the community before they respond.
The time and location will be announced at a later date. Trustees asked to hold the forum at a venue other then the village hall to accommodate a large crowd.
The county has made three requests of the village that relate to building a new jail facility at the former P&C site off State Route 28:
• Provide any information, data or concerns related to the potential environmental impact of building a jail. This would be included in a study that determines whether or not the county needs to take action to address any negative impact on the village.
• Allow for a county jail to hook into the municipal sewer system.
• Accept an offer of $800,000, with a payment of $400,000 and $20,000 per year for 20 years, to assist in an upgrade project at the village wastewater treatment plant.
“We’re contemplating the county’s proposal,” Mayor Mark Ainsworth said, “and seeking public input.”
While Ainsworth declined to give his position on the requests, Trustee Mark Netti spoke out during the meeting against the offer specifically.
“I don’t like it at all,” he said.
The first term of the offer especially stood out in Netti’s comments as unfair to the village.
The stipulation holds the village responsible for all studies, improvements, upgrades or repairs to the treatment collection system (including sewers) and the plant made necessary by the connection of a new county jail facility, according to the resolution.
The remaining clauses involve making the payments based on the village’s allowing the sewer hook-up, completing the upgrades to the system and plant that result from the connection and issuing any permits for the project.
If the currently proposed jail facility is not built at the site, the village gets no payment, either, the resolution continues.
Village board members have said several times there is a need to get compensation for the impact of locating the jail within the village. The increased demand on the treatment plant, which village officials estimate will cost $1.6 million, is the main issue. But board members have also said making the parcel tax-exempt through the placement of another county building in the village is cause for concern.
County legislators have been split on the offer to the village. The Legislature passed the offer by a vote of 10-7 earlier this month.
County legislators Patrick Russell, R-Old Forge, and Dennis Korce, R-Mohawk, have been two of the most outspoken opponents of the offer.
Korce is against the entire jail project and has said he is against giving the village any compensation.
Russell has said the county is not obligated to provide the village with any money and he feels $400,000 is more than enough. He has also raised questions as to how the county would proceed if the village refuses the offer and request for sewer service.
The public will be able to discuss the impact of the project on the village at the forum, village board members said.
Public input and attendance will play a role in his decision, Ainsworth said. “We may not get anybody,” he said during the discussion of holding the forum at a larger hall, “and that would tell us something.”
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The Herkimer Village Board decided Monday to withhold its decision on key hurdles to the construction of a proposed county jail facility until the residents have a chance to speak.
Several requests from the county Legislature require the village board to make a decision by Aug. 6, but village officials plan to hold a public forum Thursday, July 29 to discuss the issues and potential impact on the community before they respond.
The time and location will be announced at a later date. Trustees asked to hold the forum at a venue other then the village hall to accommodate a large crowd.
The county has made three requests of the village that relate to building a new jail facility at the former P&C site off State Route 28:
• Provide any information, data or concerns related to the potential environmental impact of building a jail. This would be included in a study that determines whether or not the county needs to take action to address any negative impact on the village.
• Allow for a county jail to hook into the municipal sewer system.
• Accept an offer of $800,000, with a payment of $400,000 and $20,000 per year for 20 years, to assist in an upgrade project at the village wastewater treatment plant.
“We’re contemplating the county’s proposal,” Mayor Mark Ainsworth said, “and seeking public input.”
While Ainsworth declined to give his position on the requests, Trustee Mark Netti spoke out during the meeting against the offer specifically.
“I don’t like it at all,” he said.
The first term of the offer especially stood out in Netti’s comments as unfair to the village.
The stipulation holds the village responsible for all studies, improvements, upgrades or repairs to the treatment collection system (including sewers) and the plant made necessary by the connection of a new county jail facility, according to the resolution.
The remaining clauses involve making the payments based on the village’s allowing the sewer hook-up, completing the upgrades to the system and plant that result from the connection and issuing any permits for the project.
If the currently proposed jail facility is not built at the site, the village gets no payment, either, the resolution continues.
Village board members have said several times there is a need to get compensation for the impact of locating the jail within the village. The increased demand on the treatment plant, which village officials estimate will cost $1.6 million, is the main issue. But board members have also said making the parcel tax-exempt through the placement of another county building in the village is cause for concern.
County legislators have been split on the offer to the village. The Legislature passed the offer by a vote of 10-7 earlier this month.
County legislators Patrick Russell, R-Old Forge, and Dennis Korce, R-Mohawk, have been two of the most outspoken opponents of the offer.
Korce is against the entire jail project and has said he is against giving the village any compensation.
Russell has said the county is not obligated to provide the village with any money and he feels $400,000 is more than enough. He has also raised questions as to how the county would proceed if the village refuses the offer and request for sewer service.
The public will be able to discuss the impact of the project on the village at the forum, village board members said.
Public input and attendance will play a role in his decision, Ainsworth said. “We may not get anybody,” he said during the discussion of holding the forum at a larger hall, “and that would tell us something.”
