MONTICELLO – “You
can’t do this to us,” said Monticello Village Manager David
Sager, emphatically, during a lengthy Sullivan County Legislature discussion
on a possible county homeless shelter just off the west end of the village’s
central business corridor.
“Monticello is the welfare capital of the Catskills,” said
attorney and businessman Steve Kurlander. “It’s got to stop.”
Another businessman, Dan Resnick, agreed.
“When you drive up Broadway, it’s scary,” Resnick said.
“It’s just dirty windows and dirty buildings.”
Pelton Street property where a homeless shelter is proposed
There was little argument from county legislators who generally didn’t
like the idea, either.
Republican Alan Sorenson, whose district includes Monticello, said the
whole thing is happening backward. He said the first step should have
been getting a sense of the community. Sorenson claimed that would have
shown little support for a shelter in the village.
Acting Health and Family Services Commissioner Joseph Todora defended
the proposal, saying it would provide a safe and ”structured”
setting where people, who would be there temporarily, would get the help
they need that that point of time.
Three shelters are planned, with the other two in the Liberty area.
Todora said Town of Liberty officials will support one of the shelters
at the county social services complex in the town.
Legislature Chairman Scott Samuelson said the discussion is very early
and despite reports and rumors he claims are circulating, nothing has
been decided on.
