Linda Ober / The Citizen

Story:

AUBURN -- Modifications to the Cayuga County Community Mental Health Clinic would lead the county toward compliance with state standards and offer patients and staff almost double the space in which to work.

And though Legislature Chairman George Fearon, R-Springport, predicts the entire renovation project could "approach $1 million," he believes it will be economically beneficial for the county in the long run.

"It will pay for itself in time," Fearon said Monday at the Legislature's Ways and Means Committee meeting. "I think it's a wise investment."

The committee unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Fearon to enter into an agreement with Beardsley Design Associates so that the firm can draw up a schematic design for the clinic, located at 157 Genesee St., Auburn, in the basement of the Historic Post Office. Costs for such services, if approved at tonight's Legislature meeting, are not to exceed $24,400.

Renovations are needed because earlier this year, the clinic was placed into the state's lowest possible certification category due to nine citations, many of them involving inadequate office space. Its reissued operating license is in effect for just six out of a possible 36 months.

Cayuga County faces a variety of sanctions if the citations -- some of them repeat offenses -- are not corrected. The county currently receives more than half a million dollars from the state for the clinic's comprehensive outpatient programs.

For more, read Tuesday's Citizen