Sullivan County Legislature approves multiple resolutions, appoints board members and rejects gas rate increase; public commenters urge return of adult care fac

The Sullivan County Legislature approved a series of resolutions in block, appointed members to several county boards, and adopted a resolution asking the Public Service Commission to reject a state gas-company rate increase. During public comment, residents urged the county to retake control of a local adult care center, asked the legislature to consider youth STEM funding, and urged the county to oppose a proposed trash incinerator.

On routine business, the legislature voted to approve resolutions numbered 1 through 39 in a single block; the clerk recorded the outcome as "9 zip," indicating nine yes votes and no dissent. Resolution 40, a grant program item that the clerk noted had been amended at the prior meeting and identifies the grant as non-reimbursable, passed with an 8-to-1 vote (one legislator opposed). The legislature moved additional blocks: resolutions 41–51 passed (vote recorded as a block approval), and resolutions 54–59 passed by voice vote recorded as "9 zip." Appointments to committees and boards were also approved: a motion to appoint members to an agricultural and farm committee passed with eight yes votes and one abstention (Matt McPhillips abstained because he sits on that board); a resolution to appoint members to the Sullivan County Land Bank passed with two abstentions from Matt McPhillips and Nick Salamone.

The legislature considered resolutions 60 and 61 together; the clerk recorded a vote reported as "7 zip" with Legislator Nadia Reich recused from the vote. A separate resolution asking the New York Public Service Commission to reject a gas-company rate increase passed with an 8-to-0 vote recorded as "8 zip," with Matt McPhillips again noted as abstaining because of a working relationship. The final business item listed as agenda item 63 also passed by unanimous voice vote.

Public comment included three substantive speakers. One resident urged the county to "take it back" — a reference to county control of a local adult care center that was placed on the market five years earlier — and called the prior administration’s handling of the facility and related tax payments a misstep. The resident said the county spent "a fortune in the millions" supporting the local development corporation and that the institution should have been tax-exempt under its certificate of need, citing a Harris Beach memorandum dated June 21, 2021, and referring to a tax-certiorari process.

Chris Lesser, identified by the clerk, asked the legislature to consider discretionary or grant funds to support a local STEM team from Narrowsburg that recently competed with 31 teams and finished 12th. Lesser requested help with safety gear and other supplies and noted that participation in STEM programs had been linked locally to improved graduation rates.

Star Hesse urged legislators to oppose plans for a trash incinerator, saying incineration is "the most expensive and the most polluting way to eliminate trash" and warning, "Don't kill the golden goose of tourism and drive people away from our county." Hesse urged the county to consider alternatives to incineration and cautioned against environmental and health impacts.

The meeting record shows routine procedural motions for each block vote; where abstentions or recusals were noted, the transcript identifies the legislators and the reason (for example, board membership or professional relationship). The meeting adjourned following the recorded votes.