State Budget Shuts Down Great Valley Youth Facility
Local and State Officials Trying to Find a New Use for the Facility
By Kathleen Kellogg

A year-long push against a cost-saving plan by the state Office of Children and Family Services’ (OCFS) to close two 25-bed residential treatment centers for troubled youth in Cattaraugus County has failed with passage of the state budget.

The Cattaraugus Residential Center in Limestone and the Great Valley Residential Center on Mutton Hollow Road in Great Valley must be shuttered by July 1 when the 2009 fiscal year begins.
“Tragically the Budget has passed and the Great Valley and Limestone Youth Residential Facilities will be closed by Gov. Paterson and Democrats in the state Legislature,” stated state Sen. Cathy Young, R-I-C-Olean.

Young said the voices of local people were ignored and the move will leave the eight-county region with no services.

The Limestone facility now houses less than a half-dozen youth. Both it and the Great Valley facility, which has seen no referrals of youth since late last year, continue to be staffed. But about 50 affected workers are beginning moves toward retirement, bumping into other jobs around the state or layoffs

The Great Valley facility is located on the lands owned by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Its buildings could be demolished and the site returned to its natural state.
But not if Mark Ward has anything to say about it; Ward is a county legislator from Great Valley and the Ellicottville School Superintendent who grew up on Mutton Hollow Road near the facility. He recalls holding a flag in 1962 at the dedication ceremony by Gov. Rockefeller
He’s been working behind the scenes with local and state officials to find another use for the facility and Ed Borges of the OCFS is preparing a real estate prospectus for potential buyers
Borges said educational facility and a long-term health care facility for seniors have been mentioned. He invites anyone with ideas for re-use to call him at 518-473-7793

Ward said he started an alternative school that is part of the Salamanca School District and he would like to see an alternative school for grades 7-12, similar to one run by BOCES in Cuba.

While some believe Gov. David A. Paterson might be convinced to cancel the closure, Ward acknowledges the lobbying efforts of numerous local officials but said it’s time to move on.

“Sometimes there comes a point where you have to recognize that you fought the good fight. Rather than spin our wheels, I want to move in the direction of keeping a viable economic engine in the community,” Ward said, noting that his efforts are still in the early stages.

Cattaraugus County Legislature Chairman Crystal Abers, R-South Dayton, acknowledged the fiscal crisis and said it’s unfortunate to have to shut down a facility that cost so much money to set up.  She added that she would have preferred keeping at least one of the two facilities open but she hopes the local schools will get behind the reuse effort.

That center resembles a spacious summer camp adjacent to state lands and visitors are shown a new wastewater treatment facility built last year to serve the classroom and dormitory buildings, an emergency generator and up-to-date boiler heating system. A security system is functioning, with cameras, a videoconferencing communications system linked to satellite and a high-speed phone line connection nearing installation are also part of the functioning on-site operations. Other amenities, still being maintained, repaired and polished by some of the staff, are a fitness center, a gymnasium, a wood shop and other up-to-date infrastructure items.

Ward described his idea of a centrally-located place where kids who don’t function well in the regular school environment could be prepared for graduation. Ward said the discussions are in the early stages but he began a proactive effort in advance of the closure, hoping to prevent a total shut-down by talking to school officials, BOCES, social services agencies, the Rehab Center and the county Probation Department. Some other ideas suggested would also focus on children and include a camp for city kids, a YMCA camp, an equestrian center, a one-stop probationary facility for youth, a respite care center, or a shelter for kids in trouble.

“You leave everything on the board,” said Ward. “My chief thinking was it could remain a viable place for employment, jobs, and people.  It’s going to be different, not the same but that doesn’t mean it’s bad, we’re just reusing it. “

He said he has not reached that level of discussion about the Limestone facility because he thought that one would be preserved because it is the newer of the two.