The deputy mayor of the Aurora Village Board has resigned in protest of the board being left out of the decision to put a sheriff's substation in a Wells College-owned building in the village.

Ken Zabriskie, lifetime resident of Aurora, resigned from the board at its regular meeting Wednesday night. His term expires in 2010.

Zabriskie said he was reacting to “underhanded dealing with Aurora Inn and Wells College's negotiations to put a sheriff's office in the Heary Building.”

“The college negotiated the deal with the sheriff's department and sent a letter to the village board after it was a done deal,” Zabriskie said. “Why even have a village board?”

“I'm tired of knocking my head against a wall,” he said. “This is just evidence of the college's getting what it wants. When I was elected, the locals wanted to have a local voice and to keep an eye on things.

“It was a great surprise,” Lili MacCormick, village trustee, said. “Ken took it very much to heart. It's a great loss and I don't know quite what we'll do without him.”

“I didn't foresee any problem with it,” Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould said. “I truly thought everybody knew. It wasn't meant to be kept secret. There must have been some miscommunication.”

He said the mayor and at least two of the trustees knew, so he sent the college, town and trustees a “thank-you” letter.

“I truly believe this is going to benefit everybody that lives on the southern east part of the county,” he said.

“Kenny's (Zabriskie) a benefit to that board,” Gould said on learning of the resignation.

While Zabriskie verbally resigned, he has not yet submitted a written resignation.

Village residents were lukewarm about a substation when surveyed by a taskforce. MacCormick viewed the question about the substation as one to be discussed by the board before action was taken. So she was also surprised by the sheriff's letter thanking the board.

“Thanks for what?” she asked.

“The feeling was it was rather underhanded,” she said. “I'm pretty new and had no idea this was something George (Farenthold) had been pushing for years.”

Village trustee George Farenthold said he had raised the idea of a sheriff's substation in Aurora a number of years ago, after working as a fireman and realized the importance of response time. The survey showed mixed results for the village providing public space for a substation.

“We're a small space, not near anyone,” he said.

The office on County House Road in Sennett and the substation in Moravia are miles away.

“I'm pleased we can have a situation to give at least a presence,” he said.

“I'm sorry my friend resigned,” he said. “There's a lot of frustration with day-in and day-out activities. We've had to make a lot of tough decisions. He takes this very seriously. I'm very sorry he's no longer my deputy mayor.”

Gould said he was approached by the Wells College president after an incident of serious criminal mischief in the village on college property, earlier this year.

“The only reason that we did this is we were asked,” Gould said.

Gould added the idea was to have a law enforcement presence that might act as a deterrent as well as decrease emergency response time in the eastern part of the southern half of Cayuga County.

The Wells College building had space available, and Wells offered it for deputies to use without cost to taxpayers.

“Before it was offered, the village board should have had the opportunity to determine if it was needed, necessary, or welcome,” Zabriskie said.

The station is a sub-satellite of the Moravia station. No one is assigned to the Aurora site, but one sergeant and four deputies, three of whom are on road patrol, have keys to the office and can stop there to use the computer, phone, and update paperwork.

Deputies normally patrol the area, but the stop-off point could work to cut down on the 20-minute response time from Moravia to Aurora in an emergency, Gould said.

The sheriff advised the Cayuga County Legislature of his intention to use the sub-satellite facility, but no resolutions were necessary because it was at no cost to taxpayers. Wells provides everything, including utilities.

Three months ago, Gould met with the undersheriff, road lieutenant, village mayor, and two college representatives and looked at the building to see if it fit his needs. Two months ago they moved in equipment and began using it.

“It's a win-win situation for everybody, especially the people in the eastern/southern part of the county,” he said. “Just the presence of a parked patrol car on the street can make people slow down on Route 90 and deter crime.”

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net