A special legislature meeting on Thursday will update Cayuga County residents on the status of the county services displaced as the county office building remains closed.
Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman said at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting that the special meeting will discuss leasing options for departments that were quickly relocated following the Genesee Street building’s May closure.
“Is it going to be expensive? Yes. Is it going to be another transition? Yes, and we just have to do this because it is our charge to do this.”
It was originally anticipated that the building would remain closed until the end of August to allow for repairs on the building to take place; however, the building, located at 160 Genesee St in Auburn, has been plagued by issues this year.
In January, the 58-year-old structure was closed after violent storms caused roof damage. Short-term patches were made to keep the building usable until more permanent repair work could be done.
On May 29, the office building was once again closed after heavy rains. Testing revealed the rains caused asbestos-containing materials to accumulate at several windows on the property requiring abatement.
On August 14, the Auburn Fire Department was called to extinguish a fire on the building’s facade.
At the Tuesday meeting, McNabb-Coleman stated that work would recommence on the roof repairs after they were halted to await a change order. Additionally, she said that an update on the asbestos investigation plan will be presented at September’s legislature meeting.
“We’ll no more about the proposal of that plan and we’ll get some idea of timeline”
McNabb-Coleman also took the opportunity to thank county employees for their patience in the unexpected transition to new locations or working from home.
During the privilege of the floor portion of the meeting, Melissa Reeves, a county employee spoke out about the working conditions she and her fellow employees have to deal with following the office building’s closure.
The special legislature meeting will take place at 6:00p at the Ward O’Hara Ag Museum.
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