Greene County could pay more than $90,000 total to house inmates in Ulster County Jail by end of June
Greene County paid Ulster County around $21,000 in May to house inmates at the Ulster County Jail after the shutdown of the Greene County Jail, but with the rate the county pays to outsource inmate housing to Ulster County, the overall bill could end up at more than $90,000.
Greene County closed its jail April 20 when officials concluded that the 110-year-old building was unsafe for inmates and staff. Greene County began boarding its inmates in Columbia and Ulster counties.
“We sent all but one inmate to Ulster County,” said Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden. “Then we sent that one inmate to Albany County.”
Ulster County is housing 31 Greene County inmates in its jail as of Friday. Inmate populations change frequently.
Greene County paid Ulster County around $21,000 for housing inmates in May, Groden said. Greene County pays a rate of $75 per day per inmate, plus health costs. That means in June, the cost could be as much as $69,750, with the exception of fluctuations in inmate population and health costs. Groden has not received an invoice for June from Ulster County.
Greene County houses inmates in the Columbia County Jail and has done so for several years, Groden said.
“I was only maintaining half the prison population in the jail when we shut the rest of the jail down,” Groden said. “We paid Columbia County about $625,000 last year to house our inmates.”
Greene County has about 15 inmates housed in the Columbia County Jail, Columbia County supervisors chairman Matt Murell said, and the county pays the same rate to Columbia County as it does to Ulster County.
Greene County legislators, who have been working to get a consensus on what to do next to replace the old county jail, characterized the costs as an impetus to show a sense of urgency to come to a solution.“Right now we have to do this because we do not have a jail,” Greene County Legislator Mike Bulich, R-Catskill, said.
Bulich supports Greene County sharing a jail with Columbia County, but said if the county goes forward building its own jail, which Bulich said is looking likely right now, higher costs to the county might lay ahead.
The Greene County Legislature on June 20 defeated a resolution to authorize a feasibility study on sharing a jail with Columbia County.
Bulich cited the costs of paying all jail employees, who Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley vowed in May would not lose their jobs while the jail is closed, as a continuing expense that could get out of hand.
The building of a new jail could take up to three years, Bulich said.
“We can’t keep taxing taxpayers to pay for jobs that are not needed right now,” Bulich said. “These are the first bills coming in since we shut down the jail in April. So you are seeing a snapshot of what’s to come.”
Greene County Legislator Charles Martinez, R-Coxsackie, is calling on other legislators to get on board with the plan to build a new Greene County Jail.
“The meter is running and we are also paying architects and engineers at the same time,” Martinez said. “It is time for everyone to get on the same page. We should have voted on this by now. Something has to be done.”
Martinez and Legislator Patrick Linger, R-New Baltimore, said they are hopeful there will be enough votes to pass a bond resolution for the building of a new jail.
The Finance Committee shelved a resolution May 14 to authorize $51.4 million in serial bonds for a new county jail behind the medium-security Greene Correctional Facility off Route 9W in Coxsackie to explore cost savings. The bond amount has since been whittled down to $39 million.
Bonding for the lower amount is possible because the county will apply money from its fund balance toward the jail. The fund balance is a surplus from previous years’ budgets, which results in less money the county has to borrow, Groden said. The project cost of $47.2 million remains the same.
“We are hoping that dropping the amount we are borrowing may get more legislators on board,” Linger said.
The legislature needs a majority to pass a resolution that authorizes the county to pay back money that will be borrowed, but a super-majority is needed to pass the bond resolution, Linger said.
“We are pretty close on this,” Linger said. “We are still working on it.”
Comments
$90,000 month for 30 years ='s $32,400,000, which is still lot cheaper than paying for your rip off Super Seeley Jail in Coxsackie. WIth interest that still comes in at $90,000,000, because despite your 'workshop' moving around the numbers, the bond amount is still the same. The tax load and encumbrance will still break Greene County. Even your fake Ulster numbers, goosed up as high as you can make them, still adds up to what the DAILY MAIL EDITORIAL ASTUTELY TERMS; "A BOONDOGGLE!"
Share a jail. And Stop the Lies about Jobs. Same number of jail jobs, same number of inmates in Greene/Columbia Counties. Only Greg Seeley and Martinez lose.
County Administrator Groden is quoted as saying that Greene County paid Columbia County some $625,000 to house ‘our inmates’ last year. He is also quoted as saying the we housed only half of the inmates in the jail when it shut down. In other words, were we paying $3.8 MILLION dollars a year to house half of our inmates vs $625,000 to board out the other half? If we boarded out ALL of the inmates it would have cost us $1.25 million. A savings of $2.55 MILLION just last year!
With 31 inmates in Ulster County, 15 currently in Columbia County and 1 in Albany County we are boarding out 47 inmates. At $75 per day. If we round up to 50 inmates a day times $75 per day for 365 days a year = $1,368,750. If we round up to $1.8 million – adding $500,000 for all other costs - we are going to save $2 million this year! Just in operations costs. Add on another $2 million in the debt service that the jail proponents now project with reduced borrowing – taking some $5 million from where? Does Greene County have a rainy day fund that they can tap into for $5 million? Will that money have to be replenished? And do away with a $5 million bond reserve?
This is elementary school math. For decades all we heard about was keeping real property taxes low. Overspending $2 million a year to operate a jail is simply irresponsible. What does that make adding another $2 million on for debt service?
I think Benjamin Franklin said it best: “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
Do the study to determine what Greene County’s jail needs are now and will be in the future. What are the proponents of the jail afraid of? Once the study is done, THEN the legislature can figure out how to best meet those needs – will it be with a new jail? What size? Where?Will it be boarding out exclusively;? Will it be shared services with one or more other counties? Whatever it is, it will be the product of due diligence and rational decision making – not this headlong rush to grossly overbuild and staff a bloated, oversized jail for a diminishing jail population.
Greg D. Lubow
Tannersville, NY
Even at the ridiculously inflated $90,000 a month figure this article is trying to scare the uninformed reader with it's MUCH CHEAPER than the $90,000,000 price tag for financing a bond and interest for 30 years for an overbuilt Coxsackie "Pod Jail" proposed!!
$90,000 per month X's 30 years ='s $32,400,000.
$90,000,000 paid out for a bond, not even calculating the extra guards salaries and pensions which get paid separately will cost us $250,000 PER MONTH in first call on taxes, which is NEARLY THREE TIMES MORE!!!
So once again, either Groden can't do simple math . . . Or he and Seeley thinks we're to dumb to figure out that this is, in the words of the Hudson Valley 360, "A BOONDOGGLE!!!"
1. At $75 a day per detainee, the annual cost for Greene County - with a 10-year average of 53 detainees - is $1,450,000 per year. Add a VERY GENEROUS $500,000 for increased transportation costs, and you get $2,000,000 a year to out-board Greene County pre-trial detainees and the handful of those county-sentenced. Compare that to the annual costs - IN THE 2018 ADOPTED GREENE COUNTY BUDGET - of $3,800,000 - for admin, personnel, and transport, and you get a SAVINGS OF $1,800,000 A YEAR FOR GREENE COUNTY if we board out rather than house inmates ourselves (of course, we don't actually do that anymore anyway, insofar as the jail was ordered closed 2 months ago).
2. Building the Coxsackie Jail - even at the reduced $39 million bond, would result in an increase in $2,000,000 a year in debt service. The project takes our facility from a licensed capacity of 56 to the new capacity of 98 - a 75% increase in bed count - for yet another increase in staff outlay of $2,850,000. I'll reduce that number by $800,000 in personnel services for the new supervision system - "direct supervision" - and get to a reduced increase in staff costs of $2,000,000).
3. So, for the new over-sized and over-priced jail, we would require new spending of $2M per year in debt service plus an additional $2M per year in operating costs, a $4M in increased expenditure. And, that means a $4M increase in the county tax levy. On a levy base of $26,500,000, that translates into a tax levy increase of at least 15% - 20% exclusive of any other increases in the 2019 county budget.
*Boarding out at $75 a day, with an ANNUAL TAX SAVINGS of $1,800,000 versus an INCREASE IN SPENDING OF AN ADDITIONAL $4,000,000 comes to a net difference of $5,800,000 a year in tax savings and/or avoidance. THAT’S A 25% TAX DIFFERENCE!
The truth is that adopting the out-placement strategy and not building an over-sized and over-priced facility in Coxsackie would SAVE GREENE COUNTY TAXPAYERS WELL OVER $5,800,000 A YEAR. The Greene County Legislature needs to LEARN TO SHARE. Make a call, letter, email, visit today!
ROBERT JANISZEWSKI
Tannersville, NY
518-589-0211-h
Ltr to NYS Assemblyman to NOT build a jail in Coxsackie
Christopher Tague
Assemblyman, 102nd District
Legislative Office Building, Room 937
Albany, NY 12248
(518) 455-5363 fax 5856
June 28, 2018
Re: Economics of Greene County Jail
Dear Chris:
It was a pleasure meeting you last night at the Greene County Council on the Arts awards presentations. You show stamina and are very personable. Thank you for your service. I’m happy to assist you any way I can.
I am a victim of abuses by local government. Greene County incarcerated me for 2,282 days. I was jailed for protecting my family after terrorism, 9/11. I defended pro se. I’m a first-hand witness with direct knowledge of these issues. I should be respected because each of Greene County’s convictions are reversed on appeal. The problem is here, the jail is a symptom.
Now onto the jail issue. The jail is a challenge that we must all understand. Building in Coxsackie has the potential to ruin Greene County. Lopez skirted the issue and failed overall. You’re correct, as a State Legislator this isn’t your fight, but you’ll have to pick up the pieces if this falls apart. It already has. You’re aware of Ulster County’s disastrous jail project. We don’t want to repeat that here.
I’m providing enough material for you to make up your own mind, but it’s likely you’ll conclude that a new prison in Coxsackie is NOT appropriate. At $89 million ($52 @ 3.5% for 30 years) the project is just out of scale. We’re already at the top of the 2% property tax cap. Groden’s 2018 budget showed zero growth and no plans for non-public, non-seasonal development. Tax calculations show a 20% increase in property tax (enclosed). If Groden ponies up millions to reduce the principal the result is the same. If he has “surplus” we must use it for sustainable new money businesses not human cages we don’t need.
It’s very important to realize we’re being duped. Delaware, SMRT, Pike, the lending bank and construction crew are not from Greene County! Every dollar simply leaves the county.
For some reason Groden prefers working on a jail to developing a sustainable non-public economy. He built jails in his last two jobs but fails the other development.
I suspect corruption. Groden’s already spent $2 million on defective plans, not a shovel of dirt is turned. They hid the plans, constructively denied my FOIL request. But when the plans were revealed we learned they intend to build a monster prison, not a jail, and it’s not justified in the numbers. In terms of strict legality, the plans incorporate the Sheriff’s office, which by law can’t be moved out of Catskill without a public referendum.
Local law enforcement is a mirror to how we treat each other. Bad local justice translates into a poor community. As you'll see in my letter about Jail Superintendent Michael Spitz, the problem is management, not architecture. I include a letter that lists Seeley and Spitz’s failures: sexual molestation by staff, beatings by staff, repeated predictable and horrible suicides, legal access denied by staff, and on and on. I am a first-hand witness. And, every claim against me was reversed on appeal.
The Commission of Correction Chair Thomas Beilein makes the same conclusion. He’s slammed Greene County for years and was largely placated. The problem is the behavior of the staff, no new building will fix this, in fact, the reinforcement might lead to more incarceration. We don’t have a need!
I FOILed five years of correspondence from him to Greene County. Jail Superintendent Michael Spitz is a significant problem. Any reading of the correspondence verifies the issue is management. Please have someone on your staff review the letters, they’re an objective record. We must clean this up on order to move forward.
I FOILed Mr. Spitz’ salary material. In the package Sheriff Seeley glowingly praises Spitz. The letter secured Spitz’s 3rd salary waiver. Mr. Spitz “double dips.” But my letter in response shows that Spitz supervised the beatings, molestations, 23-hour lockdowns (routine), avoidable horrific suicides, denied legal resources, and ran the jail into the ground. He needs to be removed.
There are problems of racial makeup. Local law enforcement should reflect the makeup of the community. But of the 38 Greene County deputies, only one is black. Only one is female. Lt. Tracy Quinn is likely Greg Seeley's daughter born outside of his marriage. This spring Quinn arrested her husband for domestic violence, which is a recurring occurrence. Her husband is a State Patrolman.
I had to remove former Sheriff Richard Hussey, who was a severe alcoholic. His DWI arrest was calendared before Town of Hunter Judge William Simon. I forced Simon to recuse when records showed he donated to his friend Dick Hussey’s campaign. Hussey was prosecuted successfully out of the county.
I stopped the jail bond in February 2017, which provoked an Alternative to Incarceration ("ATI") committee. I attended every one of the 20 weekly meetings.
ATI was run by Legislator Lori Torgerson. Dr. Torgerson has a Ph.D. in psychology and 20 years' experience in the field. The major players came: District Attorney, Public Defender, Probation Director, Heads of Mental Health and Twin County’s Recovery Service, a retired judge, and so forth. These are the people who directly handle the county social services. A few legislators showed up.
Ricci-Greene was hired to provide data, provided the numbers that drove the design of a 134 bed jail (now 98 human cages). But when Dr. Torgersen asked for their raw data they didn’t have any. They made up numbers to satisfy their client, Groden and Spitz. Ricci-Greene was fired.
The plans for the Coxsackie prison (they’ve designed a prison not a jail) were forced out into the open. I attended every minute of the public meetings that examined the plans. Groden, SMRT and Pike spent 2 days trying to reduce costs. In short, the site is inappropriate. It’s on clay, there are no services, which means even beginning costs 8 million and the thing has to float on 6’ of gravel. Natural gas lines alone are $500,000. Only four legislators attended any part of the sessions. I include my engineering report on that behemoth.
Most importantly, there is just not a lot of crime here which warrants detention. Sheriff Seeley says the current number is 50 detainees, but a close examination shows there are only 30. ATI can reduce these further. ATI means Alternative To Incarceration and includes such things as bail reform, non-adversarial assessment by mental and medical social workers, which all help rather than harm. The point is to incarcerate less people. The point is to improve society not destroy budgets with huge loans.
Arguments from Chairman Lewis suggest that a shared/regional jail needs new state legislation. The NY Attorney General concluded that a regional jail is already legal. A shared/regional jail is consistent with Governor Cuomo’s strong advocacy to lower county property taxes by using shared services. Finally, a shared/regional jail is fully supported by the Commission of Corrections. Mr. Lewis is just plain wrong.
In fact, the regional jail solution is already the reality. On April 20, 2018, engineers (not administrators) closed the Greene County Jail. We need to complete this by reassigning the 28 COs who show up every day to an empty condemned building. Michael Spitz, who has supervised the jail he ran into the ground, must go. The responsible approach is to fire Spitz, rebuild the Sheriff’s office at 80 Bridge Street, include booking and some holding cells, and formalize the regional jail with Columbia County. All of this can likely be done within the existing revenue, without any loan.
The Greene County Chamber of Commerce represents 400 businesses. The chamber members want an honest and complete assessment of all options. But last Wednesday night the legislature voted 7 to 6 not to do a shared jail study. Failure to provide Due Diligence will sink any loan application and is just poor business practice overall. We cannot build a new jail in Coxsackie. There is just no justification for it.
I need your assistance in whatever form possible. Please feel encouraged to contact me.
Respectfully,
Scott Myers
414 Main Street
Catskill, NY 12414
C.c. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden
Greene County Attorney Ed Kaplan
Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione
Greene County Legislators
Jeff Freedman, Greene County Chamber of Commerce
Thomas A. Beilein, Chairman, Commissioner, NYC COC
Sheriff Greg Seeley
Members of the Court
Members of the public and press
Greene County Administrator
410 Main Street
Catskill, NY 12414
July 3, 2018
Re: Economics 101 – We Have No Money For New Human Cages In Coxsackie –
Dear Mr. Groden:
Your tenure failed to create new-money economics. Your 2018 budget shows “0” growth and “0” plan to create or encourage non-public, non-seasonal, for-profit businesses. The budgets for the past years are at the top of the 2% property tax cap. This defines incompetence and poor management. Your answer is to block my emails. The truth isn’t my truth, it’s in your financials and decision making.
Now, and without any legitimate plan to upgrade the existing Sheriff’s office (keeping a booking and a few holding cells), you suggest the county increase taxes by 20% for 30 years. WE DON’T NEED NEW HUMAN CAGES IN COXSACKIE. WE DON’T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY FOR THEM. THERE’S NO WAY TO PAY THE LOAN. MONEYS SHOULD NOT BE USED FROM BUDGET.
The deep sociopathy of our local law enforcement is relevant. It is best described in the 5 years of correspondence that I obtained by FOIL. The Commission of Corrections Chair Thomas Beilein slams Greene County. He was largely placated: “Don’t worry, we’re building a big new jail.” But 85% of the issues he raises are management! Now you have a condemned building AND 28 COs being paid to do nothing. You haven’t moved them or otherwise planned for their well-being. It can’t go on.
A county jail is not a prison, it’s just a holding area until social services, mental health or a court figures out what’s best for the detainee and the community. The people held are almost always detainees, not inmates or convicts. And that’s the point! Fund ATI. Fire Michael Spitz. Upgrade the Sheriff’s Office at 80 Bridge Street (it can’t move to Coxsackie as the plans surly cause). Retain 8 or so holding cells and booking here, and secure a partnership to operate Hudson’s facility.
I will sue and will prevent any loan for any project in Coxsackie. We have not done the full due diligence. We must fund and support ATI as a standing committee, create a through architectural plan for rehabbing this Sheriff’s Office, and a complete exploration and review of a regional jail. I have standing in the court as a former detainee, and legitimacy as a result of the appellate reversals.
Respectfully,
Scott Myers
414 Main Street
Catskill, NY 12414
C.c. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden
Greene County Attorney Ed Kaplan
Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione
Members of the Greene County Legislature
Thomas A. Beilein, Chairman, Commissioner, NYC COC
Members of the Court
Members of the public and press
Assemblyman, 102nd District
Legislative Office Building, Room 937
Albany, NY 12248
(518) 455-5363 fax 5856
June 28, 2018
Re: Economics of Greene County Jail
Dear Chris:
It was a pleasure meeting you last night at the Greene County Council on the Arts awards presentations. You show stamina and are very personable. Thank you for your service. I’m happy to assist you anyway I can.
I am a victim of abuses by local government. Greene County incarcerated me for 2,282 days. I was jailed for protecting my family after terrorism, 9/11. I defended pro se. I’m a first-hand witness with direct knowledge of these issues. I should be respected because each of Greene County’s convictions are reversed on appeal. The problem is here, the jail is a symptom.
Now onto the jail issue. The jail is a challenge that we must all understand. Building in Coxsackie has the potential to ruin Greene County. Lopez skirted the issue and failed overall. You’re correct, as a State Legislator this isn’t your fight, but you’ll have to pick up the pieces if this falls apart. It already has. You’re aware of Ulster County’s disastrous jail project. We don’t want to repeat that here.
I’m providing enough material for you to make up your own mind, but it’s likely you’ll conclude that a new I was jailed for protecting my family after terrorism, 9/11. I defended pro se. I’m a first-hand witness with direct knowledge of these issues. I should be respected because each of Greene County’s convictions are reversed on appeal. The problem is here, the jail is a symptom.
Now onto the jail issue. The jail is a challenge that we must all understand. Building in Coxsackie has the potential to ruin Greene County. Lopez skirted the issue and failed overall. You’re correct, as a State Legislator this isn’t your fight, but you’ll have to pick up the pieces if this falls apart. It already has. You’re aware of Ulster County’s disastrous jail project. We don’t want to repeat that here.
I’m providing enough material for you to make up your own mind, but it’s likely you’ll conclude that a new prison in Coxsackie is NOT appropriate. At $89 million ($52 @ 3.5% for 30 years) the project is just out of scale. We’re already at the top of the 2% property tax cap. Groden’s 2018 budget showed zero growth and no plans for non-public, non-seasonal development. Tax calculations show a 20% increase in property tax (enclosed). If Groden ponies up millions to reduce the principal the result is the same. If he has “surplus” we must use it for sustainable new money businesses not human cages we don’t need.
It’s very important to realize we’re being duped. Delaware, SMRT, Pike, the lending bank and construction crew are not from Greene County! Every dollar simply leaves the county.
For some reason Groden prefers working on a jail to developing a sustainable non-public economy. He built jails in his last two jobs but fails the other development.
I suspect corruption. Groden’s already spent $2 million on defective plans, not a shovel of dirt is turned. They hid the plans, constructively denied my FOIL request. But when the plans were revealed we learned they intend to build a monster prison, not a jail, and it’s not justified in the numbers. In terms of strict legality, the plans incorporate the Sheriff’s office, which by law can’t be moved out of Catskill without a public referendum.
Local law enforcement is a mirror to how we treat each other. Bad local justice translates into a poor community. As you'll see in my letter about Jail Superintendent Michael Spitz, the problem is management, not architecture. I include a letter that lists Seeley and Spitz’s failures: sexual molestation by staff, beatings by staff, repeated predictable and horrible suicides, legal access denied by staff, and on and on. I am a first-hand witness. And, every claim against me was reversed on appeal.
The Commission of Correction Chair Thomas Beilein makes the same conclusion. He’s slammed Greene County for years and was largely placated. The problem is the behavior of the staff, no new building will fix this, in fact the reinforcement might lead to more incarceration. We don’t have a need!
I FOILed five years of correspondence from him to Greene County. Jail Superintendent Michael Spitz is a significant problem. Any reading of the correspondence verifies the issue is management. Please have someone on your staff review the letters, they’re an objective record. We must clean this up on order to move forward.
I FOILed Mr. Spitz’ salary material. In the package Sheriff Seeley glowingly praises Spitz. The letter secured Spitz’s 3rd salary waiver. Mr. Spitz “double dips.” But my letter in response shows that Spitz supervised the beatings, molestations, 23-hour lockdowns (routine), avoidable horrific suicides, denied legal resources, and ran the jail into the ground. He needs to be removed.
There are problems of racial makeup. Local law enforcement should reflect the makeup of the community. But of the 38 Greene County deputies, only one is black. Only one is female. Lt. Tracy Quinn is likely Greg Seeley's daughter born outside of his marriage. This spring Quinn arrested her husband for domestic violence, which is a recurring occurrence. Her husband is a State Patrolman.
I had to remove former Sheriff Richard Hussey, who was a severe alcoholic. His DWI arrest was calendared before Town of Hunter Judge William Simon. I forced Simon to recuse when records showed he donated to his friend Dick Hussey’s campaign. Hussey was prosecuted successfully out of the county.
I stopped the jail bond in February 2017, which provoked an Alternative to Incarceration ("ATI") committee. I attended every one of the 20 weekly meetings.
ATI was run by Legislator Lori Torgerson. Dr. Torgerson has a Ph.D. in psychology and 20 years' experience in the field. The major players came: District Attorney, Public Defender, Probation Director, Heads of Mental Health and Twin County’s Recovery Service, a retired judge, and so forth. These are the people who directly handle the county social services. A few legislators showed up.
Ricci-Greene was hired to provide data, provided the numbers that drove the design of a 134 bed jail (now 98 human cages). But when Dr. Torgersen asked for their raw data they didn’t have any. They made up numbers to satisfy their client, Groden and Spitz. Ricci-Greene was fired.
The plans for the Coxsackie prison (they’ve designed a prison not a jail) were forced out into the open. I attended every minute of the public meetings that examined the plans. Groden, SMRT and Pike spent 2 days trying to reduce costs. In short, the site is inappropriate. It’s on clay, there are no services, which means even beginning costs 8 million and the thing has to float on 6’ of gravel. Natural gas lines alone are $500,000. Only four legislators attended any part of the sessions. I include my engineering report on that behemoth.
Most importantly, there is just not a lot of crime here which warrants detention. Sheriff Seeley says the current number is 50 detainees, but a close examination shows there are only 30. ATI can reduce these further. ATI means Alternative To Incarceration and includes such things as bail reform, non-adversarial assessment by mental and medical social workers, which all help rather than harm. The point is to incarcerate less people. The point is to improve society not destroy budgets with huge loans.
Arguments from Chairman Lewis suggest that a shared/regional jail needs new state legislation. The NY Attorney General concluded that a regional jail is already legal. A shared/regional jail is consistent with Governor Cuomo’s strong advocacy to lower county property taxes by using shared services. Finally, a shared/regional jail is fully supported by the Commission of Corrections. Mr. Lewis is just plain wrong.
In fact, the regional jail solution is already the reality. On April 20, 2018, engineers (not administrators) closed the Greene County Jail. We need to complete this by reassigning the 28 COs who show up every day to an empty condemned building. Michael Spitz, who has supervised the jail he ran into the ground, must go. The responsible approach is to fire Spitz, rebuild the Sheriff’s office at 80 Bridge Street, include booking and some holding cells, and formalize the regional jail with Columbia County. All of this can likely be done within the existing revenue, without any loan.
The Greene County Chamber of Commerce represents 400 businesses. The chamber members want an honest and complete assessment of all options. But last Wednesday night the legislature voted 7 to 6 not to do a shared jail study. Failure to provide Due Diligence will sink any loan application and is just poor business practice overall. We cannot build a new jail in Coxsackie. There is just no justification for it.
I need your assistance in whatever form possible. Please feel encouraged to contact me.
Respectfully,
Scott Myers
414 Main Street
Catskill, NY 12414
C.c. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden
Greene County Attorney Ed Kaplan
Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione
Greene County Legislators
Jeff Freedman, Greene County Chamber of Commerce
Thomas A. Beilein, Chairman, Commissioner, NYC COC
Sheriff Greg Seeley
Members of the Court
Members of the public and press
GREENE COUNTY JAIL PLANS BY SMRT, PIKE, AND DELAWARE
by Scott Myers, Engineer, Desktoplabs, Catskill, NY June 18, 2018
I attended every minute of the recent 2-day presentation by SMRT and PIKE. Only three legislators attended any part of the engineering and architecture discussion.
POLITICS:
Plans for a new jail were hidden from the legislators and the public. It's now known this monster is not a jail but a fancy full-blown prison. A county jail is NOT a prison. It's a simple county lockup to detainee people until social services or a court determines some solution. Neither jail nor prison provides any real remedy. Ricci-Greene's numbers created the size of the jail, but when pressed they had no raw data. They made up the numbers and were fired.
COST:
At $54 million, and with interest of $3.5%, this monster costs the local taxpayer $89 million over the 30-year loan. For comparison, Greene County yearly budget is $110 million. We are already at the top of the 2% limit. Every dollar of this project is on top of the 2% property tax cap limit. The interest or principle cannot be paid out of current income. More importantly, every dollar of this project leaves the county, forever. SMRT, PIKE, Delaware, Ricci-Greene are not Greene County companies. None of the potential construction crews are from Greene County. The cost estimates do not include: operating costs (large), maintenance costs (large), salaries (large), program costs (large – but a state or federal cost if handled outside of jail), defense costs (large but largely state costs), transportation (the same as from Hudson, not that Hudson is closer to the court than Coxsackie). Sharing the Hudson jail saves $7 million a year, and is completely paid from existing county income – no 30-year loan.
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION:
The Coxsackie site is remote, includes no services. The spoil is clay. Concrete cannot be in contact with clay since clay is wet and deteriorates concrete. This means a six-foot hole has to be built, lined with fabric, then layered with gravel. Any construction must float on the gravel foundation. The clay soil eliminates geothermal as an energy source – there’s no percolation. Further, there are no services at the site. Water, electricity, natural gas, and sewage must be brought in and provided from scratch. Natural gas pipes alone costs $500,000.
LEGALITY
Due Diligence is required for the loan to be approved, but the $30,000 shared jail study was avoided. Therefore any application to USAD will fail when the first lawsuit hits. Mine is ready. Chairman Lewis's May 3, 2018 "39 Laws" letter is proven completely false by Attorney Greg Lubow's May 10 response, and by the NY State Attorney General's report that shared jails are already entirely legal. Commission of Corrections Chair Thomas Beilein supports a shared jail. The plan wholly and thoroughly moves and incorporates the Greene County Sheriff’s office into Coxsackie. But, County Law requires a public referendum to move the Sheriff’s Office, which will fail. The specious claim that the civil office remains here is defeated by the plans. There is no legitimate legal impediment to sharing a jail – we’re already sharing a jail.
ENGINEERING REPORT p2
What’s designed is a prison, not a simple county jail. The plans incorporate the Sheriff’s Office (which is not allowed without a public vote). A county jail is not a full-blown prison. The need does not exist.
The plans were designed by Mr. Spitz based on numbers from the false reporting by Ricci-Greene. They originally demanded 134. Ricci-Greene was fired when it could not provide the raw data. The current 96 bed design was determined without raw data. In fact, we do not have significant crime in Greene County, now nor is any reliably predicted in the future. We currently have only 30 current detainees, less when bail reform occurs.
The reveal of the plan shows it’s designed for the staff and not the detainees. There are endless unneeded extras like a line up room, an enormous parking areas, an evidence room, munitions room, pressurized water and sewage systems, a $400,000 generator, and of course the complete incorporation of the Sheriff's Office – outside of Catskill. The gym for staff is included although a YMCA is across the street. The plan shows very little to aid the detainees, which is the point of any incarceration after all. They are mostly detainees after all, not prisoners. We’re trying to solve not make problems.
I enclose a list of cuts developed during the sessions. It still costs at least $80 million (with interest).
Efforts to “cut costs” on this Coxsackie monster are likened to choosing a Cadillac and then arguing over accessories. Of the $54 million cost only a few million might be shaved, but in almost every case these savings add maintenance or utility costs.
The list of potential cost saving is a distraction. Notice that shared jail costs are spent out of budget and without any loan. A shared jail is the only practical and likely legal solution.
The site is largely inappropriate since it is clay and has no current utilities. Geothermal is not possible, which means utility costs are significant. No solar is planned. Maintenance of the building will incur new and large debt even before the loan is paid. A new roof is likely at the 15 or 20-year mark, $9 million even if 60 mil or 90 mil rubber is specified.
Costs to operate the facility are high, include maintenance and utilities, salaries, and on and on. These are ON TOP of the $89 million loan cost and incurred by a county already at the top of its legal 2% property tax cap.
Further, Mr. Groden’s 2018 budget, presented in April at the Middle School, shows no growth. There are no plans to create non-seasonal, non-public, for-profit new money businesses here. This means there is no way to repay an $89 million loan.
Economics was discussed in the second afternoon by presenters. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates twice this year. The seasoned predictions are that the economy has peaked. The ramifications for Greene County are similar to the failed housing market. We are considering a facility we cannot afford.