Village prepares for public forum on jail

 A public hearing Thursday,  at 7 p.m. at the VFW, on Mohawk Street, on the village’s role in a proposal to build a county jail facility will allow Herkimer County residents a chance to have their  opinions heard.
The county Legislature has given the village board until Aug. 6 to decide on its role in the process, and the village officials plan to gather input from their constituents before giving a response.
The village will have to accept or deny an $800,000 offer from the county to assist in sewer treatment plant upgrades, estimated at a total cost of $1.6 million. This also relates to the county’s request  to hook into the municipal sewer system.
Additionally, the village has an opportunity to voice concerns to be included in a state impact study that dictates whether or not the county has to take any action to address negative impacts on the  environment caused by the project.
The village board’s response to these requests will shape how the county proceeds with its effort to locate a new jail facility at the former P&C site off State Route 28.
Mayor Mark Ainsworth has said he will withhold his decision on the requests until he hears from the people.
Deputy Mayor Gary Hartman answered some questions from The Times that give insight into what’s at stake for the village government.

Do you believe the offer from the county provides sufficient compensation to the village (If not, what do you feel is a more appropriate offer)?
While I was pleased that the county finally opened a dialogue with the village concerning another enormous burden solely borne by Herkimer village taxpayers, I do not believe that offer is close to adequately easing that burden. At least, we finally have a starting point from the county to consider.
I do not have a specific figure in mind. However, in my view, there must be an annual payment of at least the $58,600 in village tax revenue generated by the property when it was occupied in the recent past.
There should be an escalation clause representing the inevitable increase in property values particularly for an ideal "commercial/industrial park " that is site ready for a revenue- and job-producing development now.  
The county demanded a similar escalation clause in their recent agreement with windmill developers. The payment should not have a 20-year term as the development potential for the property does not have such an end date except if a jail were constructed there.
The county must also assist in upgrading our wastewater treatment plant to enable us to handle the additional capacity. Their recent correspondence to us increased their own projected potential capacity requirement from 25,000 gallons per day to 28,000 per day.
If we don't upgrade our system, they will not be able hook there jail up to it anyway. The continued takeover of revenue-producing properties by the county puts a strain on all of our resources, not just our sewer system.  
While solely subsidizing more services for the county and the businesses that generate their tax revenue, the village keeps getting hit by county take-aways including the county Industrial Development Agency's decision to eliminate the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes payment by the foundation responsible for the Herkimer County Community College apartments, and the elimination of the 1 percent sales tax distribution [sic. as divided among municipalities in the past and now retained solely by the county for Medicaid costs] together with an imbalanced sales tax formula  that punishes Herkimer. 

How do you plan to vote on each of the county's requests?
At this time, I would vote no on the sewer hook up and no on their compensation proposal with a request for further consideration that may include a counter-proposal.

Do you believe the county, once it owns the property, will be able to compel the village to provide the sewer hook-up (Explain why you believe yes or no)?
That is a question that may have to be decided by the courts if the county pushes it to that extent. County Attorney Robert Malone has suggested that they can compel us to. There are others that have a different interpretation.
I know that the problem with the legality of the Country Manor sale is only one example of where the county's initial interpretation of the law has not held up to scrutiny.
Frankly, I don't know if the takeover of the property by eminent domain is going to be the slam-dunk that the administration is portraying to be.

What questions do you have related to the jail proposal?
Many people have posed legitimate questions over the years that the county has refused to answer. The information void left by the county has been filled with research by many dedicated individuals that appear to raise even more questions.
However, my only concern at this point is to protect village of Herkimer residents and taxpayers. Consequently, my questions are again: how are my constituents going to be compensated, how is their environment and quality of life going to be protected, how is the county going to ensure that our resources are not further depleted by takeovers.

What additional information or data would the village be providing the county in regards to raising concerns on the project impact for the State Environmental Quality Review Act study?
Surprisingly, although they say they completed a SEQR, the county hasn't requested information to this point on anything other than the sewer flow data relative to a small section of sewer mains.
The board will not decide what else we will provide until we meet with the public. However, I would expect it to include data on the real sewer system issue, the treatment plant. We may decide to include other information after hearing from the public, our consultants, and other village officials.  
Obviously, a SEQR should have included a review of impact on all resources, the local environment, neighborhood appearance, and quality of life issues. The public could have given the county more insight into that as part of their SEQR. Therefore, we are holding a public hearing in their stead. 

Who will be present at the forum, and what kind of information can the public expect to have presented?
The village board will conduct the hearing. It is an open forum. We are hoping to hear from a broad spectrum of village residents. I am hopeful that we will hear from individuals that may not have come forward before as well as those we have heard from. We may get viewpoints, ideas, and information that have not come to our attention before.
We have all gathered a lot of information over the years on the subject. We will be prepared to provide whatever we have depending on whatever the audience may ask for.