Savage: county no longer considering site near Indian Kill Preserve
Schenectady County Chairwoman Susan Savage says the proposed Glendale Nursing Home will not be built anywhere near the current one, but concerns over transparency on the project still have some county GOP legislators calling out the Democratic majority.
The new Glendale Nursing Home will not be built on the current site or on any land adjacent to the current facility, said Savage in a Tuesday, Aug. 24, statement to The Spotlight. `The Hetcheltown Road site is not under consideration because of inadequate space and difficult and costly engineering challenges.`
Savage, D-Niskayuna, said the county is actually looking to build the new facility elsewhere. `We have focused our efforts on alternate locations, including county-owned property near the Schenectady County Airport and a location on Curry Road in Rotterdam.`
Neighbors of the Glendale facility expressed concern in recent weeks that a new facility would be built on open space adjacent to the one currently in use. A Glenville community group focused on preserving the field next the Indian Kill Preserve and the adjacent `sledding hill` ` areas near the current facility ` will hold a meeting Monday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. Several politicians are planning to attend the event, including Farley, fellow GOP legislator and Glenville resident James Buhrmaster and state Assemblyman James Tedisco, R-Schenectady. The meeting will include a slide show presentation and discussion.
`The public wants to know the answers,` said GOP Minority Leader Robert Farley, R-Glenville. `I will stand up for them to get them that information and demand that those that are in power provided it.`
Buhrmaster said that when the Schenectady County Legislature approved the $50 million bond for the project in May 2009, he and Farley never saw any of the sketches for the project, and they still haven’t seen any. Both legislators, the only two Republicans in the Legislature, said they were excluded from the planning process.
`Savage and the people who have worked on the project have done it in secret, and we have been attacked any time we question the project,` said Farley. `It needs to be done in a matter that everybody understands what is happening, and that they have a say in it.`
Savage said she has provided residents and fellow politicians with all the information she had on the project. When county officials settle on a site, said Savage, they will hold a meeting to present the proposals to the public.
She questioned how the controversy over the new nursing home even developed.
`I’m afraid neighbors were misled by some politicians to create a controversy where one didn’t exist,` said Savage.
Residents of Cedar Lane in Glenville said they became concerned about the plans for the new nursing home when they noticed surveyors in the field next to the Indian Kill Preserve in late July.
Kathleen Collar, member of Preserve the Field at Indian said the group was only concerned about the placement of the home and wasn’t against construction efforts to build a new facility.
Tedisco said he was interested in protecting the land as much as possible at the `Indian Kill Field` location because keeping open space is important. Tedisco said his office wrote a letter to the Schenectady County Legislature asking for information on the project.
Buhrmaster said he hasn’t been happy with the process involved in planning the new nursing home.
`I hope things aren’t being done for political approval,` said Buhrmaster. `The Glendale home should not be a political issue. It should not be slowed down or sped up because of politics.`
Schenectady County officials haven’t released any official documents, concepts, or sketches related to the project. Until Savage’s Tuesday announcement, there were no other possible sites revealed for the project.
County spokesman Joe McQueen said the current Glendale Nursing Home houses about 200 residents, so a new facility can’t just be built in its place. To maintain the best level of care, the residents need to stay within the current facility until the new one is completed.
County Legislator Karen Johnson, D-Schenectady, a co-chair of the project, also previously said the new home is necessary because of how old the building is and the institutional feel to the facility. Due to awkward construction of the current facility, sections can’t be individually demolished because the facility’s three buildings are interconnected and dependent on one another to function.“
