FEMA approves $37M plan for new Schoharie County building

April 29--FEMA has agreed to a $37 million plan that will enable Schoharie County to relocate its public safety facility, which was heavily damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, federal lawmakers announced Wednesday.

After personal appeals, the Federal Emergency Management Administration approved a framework that will allow the county to relocate the building away from the Schoharie Creek and out of the flood plain, according to a media release from U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both D-N.Y., and U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook. This important project had been delayed for years, they said.

"This is wonderful news for the taxpayers of Schoharie County and the hard-working men and women of the Schoharie County Sheriff's Department," Gibson said in the release. "They have persevered with abundant strength, dedication and community spirit in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and the loss of the public safety building."

The public safety building, at 157 Depot Lane in the village of Schoharie, has housed inmates, the Sheriff's Department and road patrol operations, the county emergency operations center, and the 911 emergency communications center, the release said.

During Tropical Storm Irene, the facility was heavily damaged, with floodwaters reaching the ceiling on the first floor, officials said, and most operations were temporarily relocated and the majority of the building remains uninhabitable.

Several employees still working at the 157 Depot Lane building said Wednesday that they were excited that funding for a new facility was approved. Schoharie County has been housing inmates at the Albany County jail, officials said.

According to the federal lawmakers, Schoharie County and FEMA regional staff recently agreed on a framework for the total project cost of $37 million, which includes $1.5 million in insurance proceeds. The project will have a 75 percent federal cost share, officials said.

A site for sale on state Route 30 in the town of Schoharie, about a mile from the existing building, has been identified as the possible location of a new public safety facility, according to William "Bill" Cherry, county treasurer and food recovery coordinator. A possible timetable would be for construction to start in about a year and take two or three years to complete, he said.

Cherry said the people of Schoharie County deeply appreciate the support and personal intervention shown by Schumer, Gillibrand and Gibson.

"This important project will guarantee that such a vital facility and emergency response center will never again be left vacant and inoperable at the critical moment when it will be most needed should we face another disaster," Cherry said in the release.

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