Another Delay
A special Common Council meeting took place on Tuesday night to consider the purchase of 701 Union Street for reuse as a police and court facility. Council president Don Moore opened the meeting by explaining that it had been the intention to bring the issue to a vote at the meeting, but "some problem with the title" has been discovered and "reservations have begun to develop."
Two of those reservations, which seem to be coming by way of Alderman Wanda Pertilla (Second Ward), were things that have already been addressed: environmental concerns raised by the Phase II environmental study (not a problem so long as the soil isn't disturbed) and police support of the proposed location (Gary Graziano, police commissioner, reported that all but one of the members of the police union were in favor of the proposed site). One was a concern not heard before: police response time. How quickly could the police get to where they were needed from a location at Union and Seventh streets? (Fourth Ward supervisor Bill Hughes, Pertilla's brother, helpfully offered the information that most crime in Hudson occurs below Fourth Street.) What if the train were coming through when the police were summoned to the scene of a crime?
The concern about response time seems calculated to frighten people. It's not as though our Hudson police officers hang out at the station, as Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife did in Mayberry, waiting for someone to call for help. The police cars and the officers are on the street. They're dispatched to where they're needed from where they are. Besides Hudson is only two square miles, and the police know when the train will come through.
Gossips has much more to report about the special meeting and the proposed police and court facility, but for the time being the news is that there is to be a public hearing about the new facility on Wednesday, November 20, at 6 p.m. at the Central Fire Station. Subsequent to the public hearing, on Friday, November 22, at 5 o'clock, there will be another special meeting of the Common Council to vote on purchasing 701 Union Street.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK
...an itsy bitsy little tiny title problem with the tin can bunker. . could it be the city already owns it? just like the 4.4 acres?...the city has now spent 11,000 dollars in rent for an empty tin can, that could have kept someone full time on the city payroll for a year! or, we could gain eleven commissioners...
ReplyDeleteIs there cause for concern "(not a problem as long as the soil isn't disturbed)" of what is buried or found under the top layer of ground at 701? Could the site of 701 Union St been a landfill in the past?
ReplyDeleteI trust that the Common Council either has or will seek answers to the environmental study prior to purchase.
The problem, as I understand it, is Radon. There are effective and inexpensive ways to ensure radon isn't a health hazard. Ventilation is the key.
DeleteIf the City continues to arrest (at gunpoint) citizens for fishing from public property, we're going to need a much bigger station to house these new criminals.
ReplyDelete