Legislature Votes To Rename Park; More Austerity Measures Passed

The Rockland County Legislature voted Tuesday night to cut $300,000 from contract agencies’ funding.

The resolution was the second item voted on in the committee of the whole that was moved from last week’s meeting to Tuesday’s meeting, along with . The contract agencies resolution passed 15-1, with legislator Doug Jobson voting against it.

The $300,000, which comes from a variety of agencies being cut by 10 percent, will go to the county’s contingency department.

Even though the legislators spent just shy of four hours discussing the two items on the committee of the whole agenda, they then had a full agenda for a regular legislature meeting as well. At that meeting, the legislature voted on a number of resolutions:

• The legislature unanimously voted to change the name of Demarest Kill Recreation Park in New City to the Zebrowski-Morahan Demarest Kill County Park in honor of former New York State Senator and County Legislator Thomas Morahan and former New York Assemblyman and County Legislator Kenneth P. Zebrowski. “This is not a political payback, this is a community payback,” Legislator Ed Day said. The two were instrumental in preserving the park and making sure it wasn’t gobbled up during jail expansion, Day added.

• Two public hearings were also set at Tuesday’s meeting. The first public hearing is for the Rockland Community College budget for the 2012-2013 year, which begins Sept. 1. The hearing was set for the legislature’s July 10th meeting at 7:05 p.m. The second public hearing set deals with the United States Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration calendar year 2012 capital projects grant. That public hearing was also set for the July 10th meeting, this hearing starting at 7:10 p.m.

• The legislature accepted a bid from Lorencin Contracting Corporation, of New City, for $256,800 to allow the company to supply and install sound absorption material on the concrete safety walls at the Police Academy Firearms Range. The money contains no county funds, as it will be paid for using Sheriff’s Department forfeiture funds.

• A resolution was passed that says the county will have to reimburse the towns of towns of Clarkstown, Orangetown, Ramapo, Haverstraw and Stony Point and the Village of Spring Valley for police officers assigned to the Intelligence Center. The county will pay $62,500 per officer, with Clarkstown and Ramapo sending two officers each to the center, netting each town $125,000. The other towns and villages all sent one officer each, netting them $62,500.

• The legislature also approved the purchase of a Remotec Andros HD2 Robot for the Sheriff’s Department using funds from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and no county money. The $147,360 robot is used to locate improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by conducting bomb searches in confined spaces such as buses, aircraft, other vehicles and buildings. It will join an older version that was also purchased with Homeland Security monies.  Accessories such as a radio transmitter, cable and tools, for the two robots are interchangeable.