LEGISLATURE STUFF - The Same Old and the Very New

By Michael Ryan

CATSKILL - The old adage about something or someone moving slower than molasses in January cannot be applied to the Greene County Legislature and construction of the new Justice Center.

Mid-winter is traditionally a sluggish news period, legislatively speaking, taking care of routine annual designations and appointments..

Those details are being mundanely but necessarily accomplished including the appointment of Tanya Ernst as Clerk of the Legislature for the remainder of a 3-year term set to expire on December 31, 2027.

Ernst, in November, had been named temporary Acting Clerk following the sudden passing of longtime and highly respected clerk Tammy Sciavillo.

Ernst will continue in her role as confidential assistant to county administrator Shaun Groden.

Lawmakers, upon the recommendation of county treasurer Keith Valentine, designated the official bank depositories and the maximum amounts of money which may be kept on deposit in each as follows:

National Bank of Coxsackie ($25 million), Greene County Commercial Bank, Catskill ($125 million), JP Morgan Chase, Saugerties ($25 million), NBT Bank, Windham ($25 million) and Key Bank, Catskill ($25 million).

“All funds deposited in designated depositories will be in the form of

checking accounts, Money Market accounts or Certificates of Deposit and savings accounts,” the legislative resolution states.

Lawmakers selected the Mountain Eagle, a weekly publication based in Schoharie, and the Times Union, a daily publication headquartered in Albany, as official newspapers for the county.

The Mountain Eagle was chosen by Republican Party members of the legislature as the official Republican newspaper to publish Election

Notices and the Official Canvass for 2026.

Republicans, who number eleven on the 14-member legislature, also chose the Mountain Eagle to publish Concurrent Resolutions and Laws for 2026.

The Mountain Eagle was named by Democratic Party members of the legislature to publish Concurrent Resolutions and Laws for 2026.

Democrats, numbering 2 on the 14-member legislature, chose The Daily Freeman, based in Kingston, as their official paper to publish Election Notices and the Official Canvass for 2026.

Lawmakers in both parties declared that the Mountain Eagle, Times Union and Daily Freeman are, “fairly representing the principles of the Party to which we belong,” a fine journalistic tribute.

Legislature committee membership is staying the same as 2025, as follows (with the chairperson of the committee listed first):

—COUNTY RESOURCES, Michael Bulich (District 1, Catskill), James Thorington (District 6, Ashland, Jewett, Prattsville & Windham) Sherry True (District 8, Cairo), Jay Lucas (District 1, Catskill), Thomas Hobart (District 2, Coxsackie);

—COUNTY SERVICES, Sherry True, Patty Handel (District 9, Durham), Daryl Legg (District 7, Halcott, Hunter, Lexington), James O’Connell (District 3, Athens) Michael Lanuto (District 1, Catskill) and Lucas;

—ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM, Daryl Legg, Handel, True, Thorington, Bulich, Lanuto;

—FINANCE, Charles Martinez (District 2, Coxsackie), Greg Davis (District 4, Greenville), Legg, Bulich, True, Lanuto;

—GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Greg Davis, Martinez, O’Connell, Hobart, Lucas, Legg;

—HEALTH SERVICES, Patty Handel, Davis, True, Hobart, O’Connell, Lanuto;

—PUBLIC SAFETY, James Thorington, Martinez, Handel, Davis, Lanuto, Hobart;

—PUBLIC WORKS, James O’Connell, Thorington, Martinez, Bulich, Handel, Legg.

Legislature chairman Patrick Linger, the Majority Leader Matthew Luvera and the Minority Leader, Harry Lennon, have input on every committee.

All of the above appointments and designations have been approved in committee, earlier this month, awaiting passage by the full board on January 21, which is expected.

Meanwhile, work on the Justice Center is progressing on schedule and well within the original $28.8 million project budget, officials say.

The new wing on the county courthouse was deemed necessary to provide more room for the public defender and district attorney offices that are squeezed for space and still growing.

They are being joined by the New York State Office of Court Administration, a most welcome partner in terms of their $5 million up front contribution to the initial cost and accompanying $140,000 yearly lease.

Occupancy of the 3-story addition, including a bottom floor parking garage, is still scheduled for early April, marking a year since groundbreaking.

Moving-in could commence prior to April, according to county administrator Shaun Groden, noting furniture and equipment are being purchased.

Construction crews were slated to blast through the walls of the historic courthouse in December, creating a glass-lined, elevated walkway connecting the structures, a task that is now nearly completion.