In 1986, the owner of the marina at West Barrier Bar reached an agreement with the state of New York defining its ownership. The settlement resulted in the marina owner retaining approximately four acres and the state retaining approximately 14 acres of the bar. The state offered its property to Cayuga County to be used as a park and the county accepted in 1988.

The agreement required that the property “be properly improved and maintained for park and recreation purposes.” The agreement also has a reversion clause. Any change in the use of the property would result in a reversion of the property to the state and/or would require state and possibly federal approval.

Although grand improvements never took place, modest improvements have been made to lighting, access roads, parking and traffic control. Most of the people visiting the bar quietly enjoy the free public access to Lake Ontario and the bay. Many people would rather the bar stay in it's current, natural state.

Unfortunately there are some people who visit the bar for activities such as underage drinking, loud parties and vandalism. In an effort to discourage these activities the county asked Cayuga County Soil and Water to install large rocks and locking gates to limit vehicular access to remote areas. These efforts, though deemed necessary, were ill received by many people who believe the access should be open, free and natural. If the parks department had the financial resources to patrol and enforce the rules at West Barrier Bar things would be different. The fact is we do not.

Steve Thomas, owner of the neighboring marina proposed improvements to the bar in return for some privatization. Such a proposal was a change in use that would require the prior approval of the state and federal governments. The thought was that private landowners on the bar combined with other improvements would enhance authorized use and discourage unauthorized and illegal activity.

I have asked for a recommendation from the local governments and they have formed a committee to consider local ownership of the bar. If such a recommendation is made I will discuss it with legislator Christopher Palermo, The Parks Commission, The Public Works Committee and ultimately the full Legislature. Please keep in mind anything that we do will require state approval for sure and may require federal approval, as well.

Empty beds, mounting debts, and the specter of the newly appointed Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century. These were just some of the challenges facing Auburn Memorial Hospital nearly a year ago.

Today, I am proud that Auburn Memorial has been spared from closure because of several critical actions that were taken to significantly improve the hospital and ensure that it continues to provide quality service to the residents of Cayuga County for years to come.

Last spring, I met with administrators, members of the board of directors and staff at the hospital to discuss the financial challenges that needed to be overcome for the hospital to survive in the future.

The first step in restoring the financial health of Auburn Memorial was securing money that would stabilize the finances of the hospital and put it on the road to recovery. After my meetings with hospital administrators, I successfully secured $1 million in the state budget for operational expenses and to update Auburn Memorial with state-of-the art medical, surgical and rehabilitation equipment.

In addition, I immediately began advocating to Gov. George Pataki for Auburn Memorial to receive funding through the Heal NY program. I am proud to say that Auburn Memorial was recently granted $4.5 million in State funding.

We also kicked off a grass roots effort to encourage residents to mail postcards to my Senate office voicing their support for the continued operation of Auburn Memorial. By the end of the campaign, I was extremely pleased to forward to the commission almost 5,000 signatures in support of the facility. Many generous members of the community contributed their own money to support Auburn Memorial and strengthen its fiscal health.

Auburn Memorial was at a critical crossroads and the future of the hospital was at risk as a result of soaring financial costs. Bob Bergan, president of the board of trustees, and other members of the board took aggressive steps to reduce the deficit and restructure the business practices of the hospital. Knowledgeable consultants in the health care field were brought in to review the financial health of Auburn Memorial. Through the leadership of the board, actions implemented at the hospital began to yield positive results.

Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our families. Keeping Auburn Memorial serving our area was critically important for our region and I am now sure our local hospital will continue its legacy of service well into the future.