Forum Tuesday to discuss county plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 26, 2009
For more information contact:
Linda Mussmann (518.209.7966)

The BOTTOM LINE will host a public meeting Tuesday, February 3, to explore and discuss the pending plan to move critical social service agencies from Hudson to Claverack. The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m., in the city of Hudson central firehouse, located at 77 North 7th Street.

The plan, as proposed by the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, under the leadership of Chairman Art Baer (R-Hillsdale) and Minority Leader Doug McGivney (D-Kinderhook), calls for the relocation of vital human services away from the city and into the countryside, to the former Ockawamick School.

This plan will dismantle the county seat as it now exists, and will strike a blow to the most fragile of our community's population at the same time. While the impact on the City of Hudson will be the most profound, this is an issue of great concern for the entire county.

All discussions related to this plan and the purchase of the 77,000-square-foot former school building on Route 21C, were conducted by the Board of Supervisors largely away from public scrutiny. At the only public hearing (held in July 2008 at Montgomery C. Smith Middle School) not one person of the dozens who spoke – residents of Hudson and the county, alike – favored the move. Thereafter, public dialogue was cut short and the building purchase approved, despite clear community disapproval.

The Bottom Line's intention is to bring this discussion into the light of day – to make the public aware of the impact this proposal will have on their lives, and to initiate a genuine dialogue with the community on these issues.

The forum will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 3 at the City of Hudson central firehouse, 77 North 7th Street. We invite the public to attend, but we especially hope to hear from those directly effected by this ill-conceived plan, and encourage them to come forward and join in the conversation.

About the Bottom Line:
Founded in 2001, the Bottom Line Party focuses on issues that effect the health, safety and economic well-being of all Hudson residents, but especially for the working class and poor.