It could be a hot mid-summer in Sullivan County. The county legislature may make a decision at their July monthly meeting on a general design for a new jail.

Depending on whose estimate prevails, the jail will cost between $45 million and $60 million

Goldberg Associates, a Midwest firm, says a new jail could be built for $45 million.

LaBella Associates, which appears to be the preferred developer with some legislators, and in particular, with the people who run the jail, including Sheriff Michael Schiff, has put a bottom line price tag of $60 million on the project.

In February, County Manager Josh Potosek prepared a comparison of four options � building a facility at $50 million, $60 million, $70 million and $80 million. In all cases, he said property taxes will increase.

�At the $50 million mark, there would be a total over the course of a couple of years of a 2.25 percent tax levy increase and it goes up to the $80 million about a 5.76 percent tax increase,� Potosek said then.

County Legislator Cindy Gieger, speaking out during Thursday�s monthly legislature session, said there clearly is not enough information to make an intelligent decision.

�If we move ahead with the decision, from what I understand in my preliminary review of the contract with LaBella, we need to show whether it�s possible to afford this or not,� Gieger said. �I haven�t had conversations or discussions with bond counsel, county treasurer. There�s been very little discussion on the financial end of this jail project.�

Gieger said what they are talking about now would push the current county debt service from $80 million to perhaps up to $216 million.

Legislator Chairman Scott Samuelson, a fellow Democrat, said Gieger is jumping the gun.

�She absolutely knows that there are going to be meetings going forward so that the legislators can all be brought up to speed, and then we will have a public discussion on it, including financing,� Samuelson said. �All of the details that we�ve been looking at over the past year, we�re going to put them all at one time at one table.�

Look for that to happen at the July 17th meeting.

(Source: MidHudsonNews)