Residents and legislators raise safety, shelter and hotel-denial concerns; legislature calls executive session on DSS matters

Speakers at the Tompkins County Legislature’s Jan. 7 meeting urged the legislature to investigate health and safety conditions at the Asteri building in Ithaca and raised operational concerns about the county Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Code Blue shelter. Legislators then pursued follow-up, and the meeting moved into executive session on related personnel and confidential matters.

Community member Zach Wynne told the legislature the Asteri building has continued incidents that required first-responder assistance, including overdoses and two deaths listed on the Ithaca police community dashboard. He asked the legislature to determine the county cost in first-responder man-hours and to investigate how many people have died at the building since it opened. Wynne also asked whether a move-in coordinator position funded with $95,000 in ARPA funds remained unfilled and whether the county would seek to recoup funds if the position remained vacant. "I look forward to the discussion of the Vicino Group's tax abatement ... I think it would be helpful to determine exactly how much the responses to the Asteri building are costing the county," Wynne said.

During public comment and later in legislators' privilege of the floor, multiple speakers described problems at the Code Blue shelter and DSS service delivery, including delayed distribution of funds intended to get people access to showers and a case in which a person with a registered service dog was denied a hotel room. A municipal speaker, Terry Rose, said she had been provided temporary housing but was denied when bringing a registered service animal. Legislator Travis Brooks described the immediate situation of a man present at the meeting with a service animal who had been denied hotel entry because DSS would not pay the pet deposit. Brooks urged the legislature to find a near-term fix; "We have somebody who has nowhere to go," he said.

County administrator Corso Kunfik said DSS issues are a top agenda item for his office. County attorney Maury Josephson reported the county had received a response from DSS about the specific complaints but noted that discussing particular cases can implicate confidentiality and personnel matters and therefore may require an executive session. Josephson also said, as a matter of policy the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) does not reimburse for pet deposits, information he said the legislature received from DSS.

After discussion, a motion to enter executive session to consider matters involving the medical or employment history of particular persons and legal advice passed unanimously; the presiding chair announced that no action would be taken when the legislature reconvened. The transcript records the executive session motion and a unanimous vote to enter into the private session.

Legislators and staff also noted federal deadlines on ARPA spending and said the county cannot "claw back" previously distributed ARPA funds but must use them for similar purposes or return them to the federal government. The legislature asked for further follow-up from administration and DSS, and several legislators urged a report back to the Health and Human Services committee on an advisory council to provide community input to DSS operations.

No formal policy change was adopted at the Jan. 7 meeting; instead, the legislature requested further information from administration and county counsel and moved into executive session to discuss confidential personnel and client matters.