Last Portion of Report Documentation Withheld, Could be Used for Legal Action

The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors has one part of the Fitzmaurice Report still under wraps. The official documentation for the second portion of the Report has still not been released. There is general consensus of Board members that the information should be made public in time, but there is a wait for the release.

District Attorney Jim Sacket spoke to the County Board on November 1st, waiting on further information before coming public on recommendation for legal action. Hundreds of pages of County records, emails, and other documents are included in the portfolio.

The documents have been partially summarized in the second part of the Fitzmaurice Report and are partially culled from public record. However, the information taken from County emails remain private and include names of employees that were redacted in both issues of the Report. Sources indicate that the documentation includes more content revolving around how Supervisors or former Supervisors such as Martin Shrederis and Tom Murray were involved with giving more power to Cassandra Ethington. According to the first part of the Report, Murray was also involved with Ethington and Conservative Party Bill Hanson.

This documentation could be used after the public hearing on Cassandra Ethington's employment with the County. Whether or not legal action will be filed is unclear, but circumstances are different than the first portion of the Report's documentation. The first set of documentation was released, but did not include as much sensitive information.

Legal Protection's End May Bring Suits Against Ethington

Cassandra Ethington's issues with residents of Schoharie County will not end at the dismissal hearing early next month. The event, tenatively dated for early December may very well see the currently-suspended Personnel Chief fired from her position with the County. While this would be a dramatic event, other issues will likely take its place.

First is the end of a legal shield for Ethington. As of today, any lawsuits filed against Ethington for her role as Personnel Director will be met by the County. In the past, as with lawsuits filed by Penny Grimes, Ethington was defended by attorneys paid for by the County. Once she is let go, the legal protection ends and the costs come straight from her pocket.

Beyond this, the risk of lawuits appear very high. Previously dismissed lawsuits for employees such as Grimes, Eva Gigandet, and Sean Jordan could be re-litigated. In addition, employees that were let go during her tenure with the Personnel or Health Department may now sue, understanding that the County is no longer behind her.

While the County itself may be sued by current and former employees, the chance of personal lawsuits has risen with the release of both portions of the Fitzmaurice Report. These could begin by the end of the year.

Town of Fulton Elects Judge Who Can't Serve

Residents of the Town of Fulton went to the polls on November 5th with two choices for Town Justice: Republican Ronald Jeffer or Democrat Charles Shoemaker, both of whom are respected figures within the municipality and neither of which had qualifications unbecoming of service. Or so they thought.

The Schoharie News has learned that the Schoharie County Board of Elections received a letter on November 4th, the day before the election, by Mr. Jeffer asking that his name be removed from the official ballot, but due to the lateness of his request he remained a candidate for Town Justice and would go on to win by just 29 votes over Mr. Shoemaker.

Why would Mr. Jeffer request that his name be removed by the Board of Elections?

Well, it turns out that Mr. Jeffer, who is employed by the federal government as a postmaster in the Town of Fulton, is ineligible from holding public office because of his federal employment under the Hatch Act. As such, he cannot legally serve in the position he was just elected to, which has left Town of Fulton voters in a peculiar situation. 

According to the Board of Elections there is legally no winner in the Town of Fulton until Tuesday morning, but the question has to be asked: since Mr. Jeffer is clearly victorious with his margin exceeding that of potential absentee and affidavit ballots, and by his own letter acknowledged his inability to serve, who exactly will become Town Justice in Fulton?

That decision could very well be made by the Fulton Town Board, which according to New York State law, has the ultimate power to appoint individuals in the case of a vacancy of any town office, including that of Town Justice. Now who they would appoint is another story altogether - Mr. Shoemaker would be the logical front-runner considering his candidacy and close finish last Tuesday, but the Town Board can legally appoint whoever they wanted.

Combining the illegal election of Mr. Jeffer and the too close to call Town Supervisor's race between incumbent Phil Skowfoe and challenger Francis Tatten, the Town of Fulton has become a hotbed for post-election controversy and discussion, a notoriety one doubts they were aiming for when entering the ballot box.

Middleburgh Best House Victorian Christmas Tea December 14th

The Middleburgh Best House medical museum will continue its annual tradition of ringing in the Christmas season over tea with friends. The event on Saturday, December 14th between 1-4pm will be served with tea, hot chocolate, and fine desserts. The event has been a cooperation between the Best House, its parent the Middleburgh Library, and the Century Club.

Lame Duck Board of Supervisors Meets Friday

The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors will be meeting on Friday in the first of two lame-duck sessions facing the current slate of supervisors following last Tuesday's political realignment at the ballot box, which will result in four to six new individuals taking seats on the county board - pending the final absentee count in Blenheim and Fulton.

However, several issues still face the county board in the remainder of 2013: managing the continued fall-out caused by the Fitzmaurice Report's findings, revising the 2014 county budget to meet public expectations after last week's hearing on the subject and internally re-configuring board politics following the results of election day which will usher Republicans back in control come January with a slim majority.

There is currently no public agenda posted on Schoharie County's website for the board meeting, which will convene at nine Friday morning on the third floor of the county building in Schoharie. All meetings are open to the public and typically take a one hour recess for lunch in the vicinity of eleven thirty to twelve, followed primarily by the introduction and passage of operating resolutions.

One thing to watch is how Chairman Phil Skowfoe acts as his re-election hopes hang in the balance of 24 absentees in the Town of Fulton and, if he's victorious on that front, whether he will retain the bipartisan coalition that holds his chairmanship together or if Republicans will coalesce around their own candidate in the fast approaching January meeting. 

Sharon Hosting Small Business Event

Sharon is holding an event celebrating the expansion of business that the community has enjoyed over the last several years. The Small Business Saturday will be on November 30th starting with the American Hotel in the Village of Sharon Springs from 10am to 6pm. There will be special vendors open and all visitors are encouraged to visit the eclectic mix of businesses in Sharon.

Investor Makes Case for Maranatha Change

Interest in the Town of Richmondville's special board meeting on Maranatha and the potential for a new investor to come in reached such levels yesterday afternoon that the Town Court exceeded its occupancy level of 46 people and proceedings were moved to the Fire Department less then a half mile down Main Street to accommodate the approximately 75 residents that were in attendance.

 

With substantial debts including electric and water bills, an unpaid consultant and a roughly $20,000 equipment audit facing whomever acquires Maranatha, potential investor Da-Lai Wu said that it was a "no brainer" that all outstanding bills would have to be paid in advance of his New York City investment firm's potential takeover.

 

Mr. Wu, who addressed the audience of residents and politicians, told the crowd that in the future he needs assurance that the Town of Richmondville wouldn't continue what he summarized as a business unfriendly attitude towards the project he is seeking to acquire. Saying that if he wanted to expand Maranatha to include a tennis court or other buildings under his potential ownership that he should be able to do so without hindrance.

 

However, with the original project dependent on millions in state grants, and the strings that are attached, nothing can occur unless all parties involved are on board for a waiver by Empire State Development, which will need the cooperation of the thus far skeptical Town of Richmondville to be considered.

 

Stella McKenna, who currently owns Maranatha and is operating out of her secondary location in Cobleskill for the time being, said that "this needs to happen now" and that we "can't wait another week." State Senator Jim Seward concurred, stating that "if nothing happens, it remains an empty building."



Schoharie News, WSDE Announce Partnership

The Schoharie News and WSDE would like to announce a partnership between our news service and Schoharie County's premier radio station AM-1190 WSDE and their affiliate lite-94.3 FM, which is owned and operated by Ed Sherlock of Middleburgh. 

While the details of the partnership are still evolving, both parties have agreed in principle to share content and help promote the other on their respective formats, with the Schoharie News supplying news updates for WSDE's daily broadcasts and WSDE promoting the Schoharie News to potential advertisers and on the air. 

On WSDE's November 27th edition of "Talking Schoharie County," which airs weekly on Wednesday mornings from nine till ten, Schoharie News editor Timothy Knight will co-host the program with Mr. Sherlock to discuss the topics of the day from across the county. 

Both parties will retain full ownership of their original entities and the partnership is subject to continued joint approval. 

Stamford Chamber of Commerce Sponsors Holiday Farmers Market November 23

The Greater Stamford Area Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring a holiday pop-up farmers' market on Saturday, November 23 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Frank W. Cyr Center, where the former Rexmere Hotel was located, on 159 West Main Street in the historic Village of Stamford.

With over 35 vendors expected, and countless items available for shoppers on the eve of Thanksgiving, it is encouraged by the local chamber of commerce for consumers to "think local FIRST" when considering their preparations for the upcoming holiday. 

Not only will a variety of local flavors and creations be available, ranging from New York State maple syrup products to farm-fresh meats and a touch of marmalade, but you will get to the know the farmers and other vendors that represent the financial backbone of the greater Stamford community and to support their efforts. 

For more information, including a complete list of vendors, please visit www.CatskillMtns.org 

Vote in Our New Poll: Who Do You Believe Would Make the Best County Board Chair?

In this new poll, we are asking readers to opine who should be the next Chair of the County Board. Assuming that the current candidates in the lead all win, there will be three Chairs on the Board: current Chairman Phil Skowfoe and former Chairs Harold Vroman and Earl vanWormer.

There are no freshmen in this poll, as the chance that they would be selected is slim. What do you think? Vote on the sidebar!

Schoharie News Poll Reflects Overall Election Results

The latest Schoharie News poll has closed out, with very similar results to those that were shown at the ballot box last week. County-wide there was a 15.6% vote for candidate Todd Ethington for Sheriff. In this unscientific poll ran for the last seven days, we find:

Yes: 154- 82%
No: 34- 18%
Total: 188

This poll was placed up last Tuesday night and reflects the overall feeling with the over a dozen races across the County, and not just one in particular.

Community Forum to Address Heroin, Pain Medication Addiction November 20th

Have you ever wondered how big of a problem Heroin and prescription pain medication addiction is in Schoharie County and what you can do to help?

The answers to these questions will be available at a community forum on Wednesday, November 20th, 6:30 PM at the Cobleskill Fire Department where a panel of representatives from the judicial system, health care industry, chemical dependency field and other community members will provide information and answer your questions on this increasingly worrisome and relevant topic.

Unfortunately, as revealed by the local police blotter and recent stories showing nearly ten arrests in the past year in Cobleskill for both the sale and possession of Heroin, the vile illegal substance is plaguing our community and raising public concerns over how to slow the growth of its expansion into Schoharie County. 

Patriot Highlander Challenge to Launch Registration Today for Pro-Veterans Event

 

The non-profit Patriot Highlander Challenge is a massive obstacle course built at Sunny Knolls Farm in the Town of Cobleskill, boasting the creation of six and three mile long endurance events. However, the most impressive aspect of this project is not its magnitude of obstacles but its mission of supporting local Veterans.

 

 

 

Inspired in part to raise funds for multiple pro-Veterans organizations - primarily Team Red, White and Blue and the Adaptive Sports Foundation -  and to aid local Veterans reintegration into society, the Patriot Highlander Challenge was constructed in hopes of bridging a gap within our local wounded warrior population by uniting their inner challenger with their status as a Veteran.

 

Both Cobleskill Stone Products and Howe Caverns have signed on as "silver-star sponsors" of the Patriot Highlander Challenge, which is scheduled to take place on September 13th of next year, and starting this morning: so can you.

 

Registration for the challenge opens to the general public at eleven and costs $55 per person, with proceeds going to help local Veterans readjust to their communities after the hell of war in Iraq and Afghanistan cost thousands of soldiers limb and mental ease alike. Sponsorship is also available for those who would like to financially further the event's success.  

 

So whether you are looking forward to scaling obstacles such as the "Battle of Saratoga," or to financially support this outstanding project's mission, you can do both at the The Patriot Highlander Challenge website or help spread the word via social media by liking their official facebook page.



Town of Richmondville Board to Meet November 12th on Maranatha

The Richmondville Town Board will be holding a special meeting on Tuesday, November 12th at 10:00 am to discuss the Maranatha Project and other town business. The meeting will be held at the Town Court and comes after months of public scrutiny over the process leading up to and after the project was shut down due to accumulating energy debts owed to Richmondville Power and Light.

Residents have raised concerns on Maranatha for a variety of reasons ranging from the project's misuse of state grants, which is currently under investigation by the Office of the State Comptroller, to its six month backlog of electric bills that despite the Village of Richmondville's best efforts could not be met under a budget plan.

 

For two months the publicly funded $5 million facility on Route 7 has sat in the dark, forcing Maranatha to resume activities in their old offices in Cobleskill while frustrating both customers and residents alike over the costly project's shuttered doors and faulty fiscal mismanagement, which might be leading to organizational changes within.

 

According to the project's official facebook page on Tuesday, November 5th: "We are still working with an investor and new management." Adding that "There are certain legal precedents that must be processed in order for the investor to come on board. Once the paperwork is finalized, a date for reopening will be set."

 

One can only assume that the content of Tuesday's board meeting will cover recent developments concerning a new investor and management team at Maranatha, which may or may not lead to the facility's eventual reopening. But whatever the case, there are still many unanswered questions that the public has the right to know on the project's series of financial missteps, fiscal mismanagement and questionable adherence to state grants.

Milone: Thank You

Supervisor Milone requested that the Schoharie News publish this brief thank you letter to the citizens of Schoharie:

Town residents voted 62-38% to re-elect Mr. Milone over former Supervisor Martin Shrederis in an election that saw voter turnout increase 20% over 2011's campaign, which featured record low numbers across the county, due to the devastating effects of Hurricane Irene.

 

Toys for Tots Readies for Christmas, With Help from Schoharie County

 

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, which has provided toys for underprivileged children since 1947 and has held a strong presence in the Capital District for the past 45 years, has several collection stations in Schoharie County this year that will be accepting donations until early December.

 

 

Including the Schoharie County Child Development Council in Cobleskill, Community Maternity Services in Schoharie and the National Bank of Coxsackie in Middleburgh. NBC will be accepting donations during office hours until December 9th and will be also be present at this year's Miracle on Main Street in Middleburgh to receive additional gifts.

 

Toys for Tots is a non-profit charitable foundation that provides disadvantaged children with joy and happiness through out the Christmas holiday, which millions of our brightest and upcoming generation desperately need as our economy remains in a fragile state and collecting any thing more then part-time is a job in itself for struggling parents. 

Letter to the Editor: Maranatha Mess Is a Significant Concern

Dear Editor:

The Maranatha mess in Richmondville should be of significant concern to residents of Schoharie County. The vast majority of the capital used to build and operate (however briefly) this for-profit, commercial business came from taxpayers. While public incentives for private business are nothing new and can make sense when they encourage real economic development, the scale of tax payer funds given to Maranatha in the form of direct grants, low interest loans and tax abatement's is staggering and is measured in the millions of dollars. The flow of that money was facilitated in large part by the Schoharie County Economic Development Agency whose Director then retired from the agency to become a consultant to Maranatha. Such a convenient and profitable relationship between a County employee and a developer may not be illegal but it should be.

The primary grant given to Maranatha was based on the condition that an historic structure on the site would be restored. It was a stretch from the onset to consider Maranatha eligible for a “Restore NY” grant (ahead of worthy downtown revitalization projects) but when the barn was pulled down by ropes and a tractor, restoring the barn began to look like a transparent ruse to gain access to public funds. Claims of inadvertent damage to the barn as justification for its destruction are not supported in any way by the evidence. A review of documents obtained under FOIL found no insurance claims, no request for compensation made to the “guilty” contractor, no inspection record, no photos and no reports describing the damage. From a documentation perspective the damage never happened, yet the developer was allowed to spend the public money intended for restoration on other things. What the things are is unclear but it would appear that the money was not used to make loan payments, pay overdue utility bills or make the payments in lieu of taxes granted by Schoharie County Industrial Development Agency. The money is gone and the bills are still due.

The Town of Richmondville made the transfer of public money possible by acting as an agent for the funding. Town officials kept the money flowing despite internal documents, including emails, that warned of financial irregularities, funds released without appropriate authorization and double billing. With absolutely no evidence of the alleged damage to the barn, Town officials kept submitting signed vouchers on behalf of the developer and channeling money to her from State agencies. Town officials signed and submitted hundreds of thousands of dollars in vouchers for what was termed “reconstruction” work, despite the fact that the barn was first neglected, then demolished.

Richmondville Town officials have feigned surprise and plead ignorance to the financial and community disaster that Maranatha represents but they are not being truthful. They knew of the problems with the project from Day One. They knew first hand about ever changing and nebulous design and business plans. They were made aware of inaccurate and incomplete environmental and site plan reviews. They off-handedly dismissed archaeological reviews that warned of significant negative impacts, they swallowed absurd jobs creation promises and they failed to ask for any meaningful evidence that an implausible business plan would not end up as the abject failure it was.

Public officials failed to even remotely exercise due diligence and ignored the obvious – Maranatha was a poorly conceived and executed project that should never have been given millions in public funds. Now that the worst case scenario has played out we can only hope the same public officials who bumbled their way through a multi-million dollar boondoggle can somehow limit further damage to the tax payers and help prevent another large, vacant structure from blighting the landscape and highlighting our embarrassing lack of professional leadership.

Bob Nied

Richmondville

County Records: Sale of CHHA Remains Mystery, Led to Current Issues

The transfer of the County Home Health services was one of the key moments in multiple threads leading to the Fitzmaurice Report. First, the sale was controversial and considered both unnecessary and puzzling to Supervisors such as Phil Skowfoe and Earl vanWormer. Second, the transfer of the agency to a private firm was handed over to Cassandra Ethington, directly leading to her placement as interim Health Director.

The process started at the April 21, 2006 meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Former Supervisor Dennis Richards of Middleburgh asked for a review of the efficiency of CHHA at no cost to the County. It would take three years and was seconded by former Schoharie Supervisor Martin Shrederis. The motion was approved without controversy.

The findings of the report were discussed in a July 21, 2009 special meeting. There were questions over why such a transfer should take place. CHHA was described as professional and an overall source of positive cash flow for the County.

On October 16, 2009 another discussion was held over whether a transfer of CHHA to a private company was necessary. There were similar questions regarding the arrangement, with Supervisor Skowfoe stating that if the agency broke even or made money it should be kept. Board of Health President Betsy Bernocco said, "You have invested money in the CHHA over the last several years that we believe will start to pay off on the collection of the services." Supervisor Mann of Blenheim made a motion, seconded by Supervisor Vroman of Summit to put out a request for proposals on the sale of the agency. Only Supervisors Skowfoe and Larry Phillips of Seward voted no.

At the November 10, 2009 meeting, similar concerns again arose. Top on the agenda was the CHHA, and documentation supporting the existing structure were presented. One was a positive letter from Bernocco followed by one of Dr. Thomas Greenlees, a member of the County Board of Health. He wrote in part: 

"Current Health Department revenue figures show that the Nursing Department has turned around the CHHA deficit and is coming very close to paying for itself.  I well realize the financial crisis that the county is enduring but I also realize that should we lose our Home Health Agency it may very well lead to the eventual demise of our organized county health department."

At the January 15, 2010 meeting, it was revealed that the County Board of Health carried a motion opposing the transfer of the CHHA. Former Supervisor Goblet motioned, seconded by Skowfoe, to support this position. The Board approved, with the exception of Mann. After this Supervisor Barbic of Seward even asked, "are we seriously looking at this?"

There were sporadic mentions of CHHA throughout the first portion of 2010, with concerns about keeping services open and about potential costs. The next in depth discussion happened during executive session on June 2 during a special meeting. There were no minutes taken of the discussion as it took place during executive session.

There was even further concern at the June 30th meeting. County Attorney West explained that other counties privatized their CHHAs because they often had more than one. Supervisor Murray of Cobleskill stated that he was "shocked" that HCR, the firm that was eventually chosen, "does not have to take calls." Seperately, there were questions on why HCR would be the firm to privatize, when a local company like Bassett Health Care was already involved within Schoharie County. There was then a motion to begin negotiations with HCR with the intent of having them take over the CHHA. This was made by Mr. Singletary.

The conversation seemed to become fatalist, almost as though the decision had already been made behind closed doors. Former Supervisor of Richmondville Barlow even said, "everybody is assuming this is a done deal and they should not assume until it is a done deal.  We are still in discussion." Dr. Greenlees told the Board:

"We were in a hole with mismanagement the CHHA did lose money.  When Jack Vanesky report revealed problems the Board of Supervisors said they would give us 18 months to turn thing around and we have done that.  In the 1^st quarter of 2010 we brought in $342,000.  Vanesky’s projections for 2010 are $1,263,000.  We are headed in the right direction." 

The question was then brought to a vote with multiple Supervisors voting yes, including Shrederis, Murray, Richards, and Singletary. Against were Mr. Barlow, Mr. Bradt, Mr. Brandow, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Manko, Mr. Skowfoe, Mr. VanGlad and Mr. VanWormer.

At the next meeting of July 16th, more details of the potential sale were discussed, with Skowfoe saying, "I am disappointed in the Board of Supervisors.  You are moving forward with little communication with the Board of Health and the Board of Health is against this." On August 20, Bernocco relayed to the Board that the Board of Health held a meeting and that the agency did not lose money. County Treasurer Cherry said that "we are about breaking even and providing a critical service to residents."

On November 19, 2010 the major work was done. Supervisor Richards announced that the State had approved the sale of the CHHA to HCR. The same meeting Supervisor Goblet made the motion to allow Cassandra Ethington to run the transfer of the CHHA.

A year later at the December 9th, 2011 meeting after there was severe concern that severe layoffs would hit the County, an old issue resurfaced. HCR was defaulting on payments to other counties that this could be a concern for the County's budget. An email from Bill Cherry was read, stating: "It is my understanding that counties will not be receiving the payments that they expected from HCR from the sales, and some counties are now withholding all fees that they are being billed for by HCR."

In April 2013, payments again were an issue as County Attorney West explained that HCR was behind on payments.

How the transfer of a major agency out of the hands of the County while opposed by the Board of Health is still a mystery. There have been bits and pieces of how the process convinced Supervisors to vote for the action but the initial impulse and the discussions behind the scenes are still murky. This transfer caused many of the issues that the County is dealing with today and remains controversial to many Supervisors and employees involved in health care in the County.

County Board Faces Tough Choices Over Leadership

 

If Tuesday's unofficial Town Supervisor results pan out from all 14 races, Republicans will head into the new year with control of nine county board seats or 55% of the weighted vote, leaving newly elected and veteran lawmakers to choose between continuing the bipartisan Skowfoe alliance or returning to the traditional partisan divide.

Which brings up the daunting question of who would Republicans support for Chairman of the Board in the latter option?

Tuesday's election fostered in four rookie Republican lawmakers onto the board, while the relatively new Mr. Lape enters his third term and the four remaining veterans have two former Chairmen in their ranks, neither of whom share a semblance of commonality towards the other besides the (R) next to their name.

However, one political consideration could narrow the Republican list down to one former Chairman who served through out most of the previous decade. That consideration being that after three years of rancor and discord - caused largely by a now-removed band of supervisors - the county board needs someone in the middle to lead and who has respect from both sides of the table.

Although that option is appealing with the board split narrowly 55-45% in weighted votes, all three of Tuesday's "too close to call" races featured Democrats, including Board Chairman Phil Skowfoe, clinging to razor thin margins. If the worst was to happen to their opponents, Republicans would hold a two-thirds super majority vote with no clear opposition for Board Chairman, further clouding the political waters and whether a sense of moderation would feel necessary.

On the flip side, several Republicans joined the Skowfoe alliance in the aftermath of the conservative faction's obvious failure in governance, and the question has to be asked if a feeling of loyalty still exists to the Fulton Supervisor after a contentious year long fight. All it will take is one Republican to remain in the alliance for Mr. Skowfoe to remain Chairman, granted he claims victory in his still undecided race.

Of course, all of this will be decided in due time, but with both sides largely sharing a common foe in the last election we can only hope that sense of bipartisanship lasts into the new year and beyond, as the county board has a lot of serious issues facing them in the coming years and it would be best if everyone worked together to resolve them behind one leader.




Middleburgh Library Holding Book Discussion November 19th

On Tuesday, November 19th the Middleburgh Library will be hosting a book discussion. Below is their post on Facebook.

Post by Middleburgh Library.