Rockland Legislators Table Hi-Tor, Reject Probation Fee

One of the items on Tuesday's Rockland County Legislature's Planning and Public Works Committee dealt with Hi-Tor Animal Shelter. Hi-Tor has had financial difficulties, has been deteriorating and becoming more uninhabitable.

This county-owned property is the only animal shelter in Rockland. On the PPW committee's agenda was amending the capital projects budget to add $650,000 to facilitate the repair and upgrade the Hi-Tor animal facility. 

However, there was no motion and the issue was tabled. 

At the Budget and Finance committee meeting that followed, they rejected, 8-1, a bill that would impose an administrative $20 fee per month for those on probation.

• Requesting that the NYS Assembly pass Bill A.8669 and the NYS Senate pass Bill S.6561—an act to amend the executive law in relation to authorizing the adoption of a local law requiring certain individuals currently serving or who shall be sentenced to a period of probation upon conviction of any crime to pay the local probation department with the responsibility of supervising the probationer an administrative fee of up to $20 per month.

With Legislator Alden Wolfe not present, the committee chose to defer an item that would establish and create a joint legislative/executive task force on fiscal improvement. 

At the Budget and Finance committee meeting that followed, these items were unanimously passed:

• County-owned real property located at 2 New Hempstead Rd, New City, is no longer necessary for public use and authorizing the sale of said real property by public advertisement
• Approving acceptance of grant in the amount of $300,000 from the NYS Department of Health creating healthy places to live, work and play grant for April 1, 2012 - March 31, 2013, which may be followed by a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) award of no more than 10 percent or $30,000 making a total grant award $330,000 and authorizing execution of all necessary grant documents by the county executive
• Amending the 2012 budget by approving the acceptance of additional funds in the amount of $425,207 from the NYS Office of Mental Health for the 2012 calendar year to be distributed to the Mental Health Association of Rockland County.
• Appropriation of funds from the U.S. Department of Justice for reimbursement to the Rockland County Sheriff's Department under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces overtime and authorized expense/strategic initiative program
• Amendment and extension of an agreement in excess of $100,000 with CP/RP Rockland Associates Limited Partnership to increase the Contract in the additional amount of $87,500 for a total contract sum not to exceed $575,000 and to extend the term for the period from July 2, 2008 - July 31, 2012 for the lease of space for the storage of voting machines
• Amendment agreement in excess of $100,000 with Nyack Hospital for prenatal clinic services as per specifications in RFP-RC-2010-024 for an additional amount of $1,400,000 from Jan. 1, 20 - Dec. 31, 2012 for a total contract sum not to exceed $2,957,404 (amount is over a 5-year period) 
• Additional purchases in excess of $100,000 from Brega DOT Maintenance Corp for paratransit bus fleet inspection, preventive maintenance and repairs for the Rockland County Department of Transportation in an amount not to exceed $400,000, from March 1, 2012 - Feb. 28, 2013. And in a total amount not to exceed  $1,984,856 from March 1, 2008 - Feb. 28, 2013 with all purchases to be made by formal purchase order
• Appropriating the sum of $1,500 to Jewish War veterans of the United States of America-PFC. Frederick Hecht Post #425 Spring Valley for patriotic observances in 2012
• an Agreement with the NYS Department of Transportation for the MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) member agency federal-aid master project comptroller's contract in an amount up to $8,310,970, for April 1, 2012 - March 31, 2022 and authorizing execution of all necessary documents by the county executive.
• Amendment and extension to contract over $100,000 with Nixon Peabody, LLP in an amount not to exceed $60,000 for a total contract sum not to exceed $1,739,000 for additional legal services in connection with property acquisitions/condemnations for the western Ramapo sewer extension project and the village/town sewer extension project, extending the contract through Dec. 31, 2012 and authorizing execution of the contract by the county executive