County Employees Recognized for Years of Service

Above photo: The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors recognized many employees for their years of service at the Feb. 20 meeting. Photo by Chris English.

SCHOHARIE COUNTY —  Many Schoharie County employees got recognition and words of praise for their years of service at the Friday, Feb. 20 county Board of Supervisors meeting.

"I believe we have a very diverse team, we should be very thankful for the crew we have," BOS Chairman Bill Federice of Conesville said of the county workforce.

Employees are recognized and given Certificates of Appreciation every five years. At the Feb. 20 meeting, Department Heads handed out the certificates to the employees under their supervision and made remarks lauding their work.

Recognized were:

Emergency Services: Santa Dibble, 10 years; Emily Hartzel, five years; Public Works: Robert Morrell, 25 years; Joshua Cain, 15 years; Anthony Giammattei, five years; Social Services: Renee Young, 30 years; Julie Kulesa, 25 years; Jo Anne Boss, 20 years; Susan Loubier, 20 years; Lori Proudman Knoebel, 20 years; Melissa Lynk, 15 years; Carla Gullotto, 10 years; Tracy Colton, five years; Jessica Vangurp, five years; James Bryant, five years; Karen Wellman, five years; Youth Bureau: Susan Riquier, five years; Cody Robinson Bullock, five years; Information Technology: Richard Kuhn, 10 years.

Sheriff's Department: Lisa Bartholomew, 30 years; Timothy Caiazzo, 20 years; Joseph Prall, 20 years; Raina Robinson, 15 years; Lena Lansing, 10 years; Probation: Nathan Wood, 20 years; Theodore Huggins, 10 years; Mental Health: Theresa Wetsel, 10 years; Office for the Aging: Meg Ann Parsons, 10 years; Jennifer Risse, 10 years; Treasurer: Jennifer Fernandez, 15 years; Old Stone Fort: Daniel Beams, 25 years.

Two Department Heads, Office for the Aging Director Meg Ann Parsons (10 years of service) and Youth Bureau Director Cody Robinson Bullock (five years) were among those recognized.

"Meg is so helpful when we have an issue," Federice said. "She truly has compassion and empathy for the clients she works with.

"Cody has become a real asset to the county. There is an enthusiasm with him I think is contagious. You can tell he loves his job."

In other news from the Feb. 20 meeting, BOS Vice-Chairman Donald Airey of Blenheim said there will be more public informational sessions in March or April on a proposal from Albany-based nonprofit Rehabilitation Support Services to replace the former county jail at 157 Depot Lane in the Village of Schoharie with 60 affordable apartments. The jail has been unused since being severely flooded by Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Airey said that an info session held at Schoharie Junior-Senior High School Jan. 29 was very informative and that future ones should be even more detailed. He added that representatives from CSD Housing, development coordinator for the project, will be at a Board of Supervisors meeting soon to update everyone present on the project.

Airey's report on the matter prompted skepticism from fellow Supervisor William Smith of Broome about constructing the three-story apartment building on a property that's in the flood plain and where the jail had been flooded out. Airey responded that lifting the property out of the flood plain is part of the plan and he believes that mitigation effort will be successful.

"It has to be built up about three feet and they're bringing in a lot of material to do that," Airey said. "It will cost them a few million dollars but it's doable and will be done."

He added that bringing long-vacant and deteriorating properties back to life is worth the effort.

"We have a building there that's a continuing liability," Airey said. "We either mitigate or we give up, and if we give up, we abandon."

He also lamented some postings on Facebook that have referred to the proposed apartment building as a homeless shelter. Not accurate at all, said Airey.

"There are things on Facebook that are simply not true," he noted.

Literature from RSS available at the Jan. 29 informational sessions stated that "30 of these apartments will be for individuals voluntarily engaging in support services, all living independently. This is not a homeless shelter, group home or treatment facility."

In other business from the Feb. 20 meeting, the BOS approved a resolution appointing county Supervisor Alicia Terry of Gilboa, county Director of Planning and Community Development Services Shane Nickle and Trevor Bender of the county Industrial Development Agency to the Southern Tier Eight Regional Planning Development Board. All three terms are through Dec. 31, 2028 or until the individuals leave their positions. It was announced at the meeting that Nickle will be retiring effective June 14.

In a matter related to the resolution, the BOS approved a motion put forward by Airey to "affirm and confirm" the county's intention to join the Northern Borders Regional Commission by virtue of a motion passed back on June 17, 2022, and to make Schoharie County eligible for funding from Northern Borders starting in federal government fiscal year 2027.

Terry stressed that the county still needs to leave itself in a position to take advantage of any help from the Southern Tier and Appalachian Regional Commissions.

"We don't want to slam the door," on those two commissions, she said.

"Agreed, and this doesn't do that," Airey responded.