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On Feb. 18 Assemblyman Phil Palmesano and a representative from Sen. Tom O’Mara’s office toured the empty rooms at the South Vine Valley Road house that nine people used to call home until last week.
After the tour, Palmesano is still wondering why the house can’t be made safe for the people who were living there up until last week. “While I certainly understand and support the need to make sure any facility is safe for the residents who reside there, I am not convinced the existing home could not have been improved to meet the needs of the residents who have resided there for so many years,” Palmesano wrote in an email after visiting the home.
Last month, state officials notified residents of the home and their families that they would need to move so renovations could be made to the home. Following the renovations, which state officials say are needed so the house will meet new fire safety codes, new residents — most likely from Monroe Developmental Center — will be moved into the home. Some family members and community members have expressed their dismay that the people who called Vine Valley their home for many years were uprooted with little notice, and they are concerned that the new occupants of the home could include individuals who are listed on the state’s sexual offender registry.
Palmesano says problems and misunderstandings could have been avoided if the issue was presented to families differently. “It’s how you ask your question,” he says.
For the third time in the past month, about 70 people met at the Middlesex Fire House Saturday to hear the latest developments about the Middlesex Individual Residential Alternative home owned by Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities Service Office (DDSO).
Palmesano reported on a meeting he and O’Mara had with Courtney Burke, commissioner of the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. Saying he was extremely disappointed by the response from Burke’s office, Palmesano said, “It just seems to us this is not in standingwith their (OPWDD) model of putting people first.”
Saying Commissioner Burke painted a “rosey” picture of the way people are adjusting to their new homes, he said he disputed some of her comments during their Feb. 15 meeting. He read an email received from the commissioner’s office at 6 p.m. Feb. 17.
The email said the water storage capacity of the fire sprinkler system in the home is inadequate and that additional structural deficiencies make it impossible to maintain the highest level of fire protection.
On Feb. 18 Assemblyman Phil Palmesano and a representative from Sen. Tom O’Mara’s office toured the empty rooms at the South Vine Valley Road house that nine people used to call home until last week.
After the tour, Palmesano is still wondering why the house can’t be made safe for the people who were living there up until last week. “While I certainly understand and support the need to make sure any facility is safe for the residents who reside there, I am not convinced the existing home could not have been improved to meet the needs of the residents who have resided there for so many years,” Palmesano wrote in an email after visiting the home.
Last month, state officials notified residents of the home and their families that they would need to move so renovations could be made to the home. Following the renovations, which state officials say are needed so the house will meet new fire safety codes, new residents — most likely from Monroe Developmental Center — will be moved into the home. Some family members and community members have expressed their dismay that the people who called Vine Valley their home for many years were uprooted with little notice, and they are concerned that the new occupants of the home could include individuals who are listed on the state’s sexual offender registry.
Palmesano says problems and misunderstandings could have been avoided if the issue was presented to families differently. “It’s how you ask your question,” he says.
For the third time in the past month, about 70 people met at the Middlesex Fire House Saturday to hear the latest developments about the Middlesex Individual Residential Alternative home owned by Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities Service Office (DDSO).
Palmesano reported on a meeting he and O’Mara had with Courtney Burke, commissioner of the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. Saying he was extremely disappointed by the response from Burke’s office, Palmesano said, “It just seems to us this is not in standingwith their (OPWDD) model of putting people first.”
Saying Commissioner Burke painted a “rosey” picture of the way people are adjusting to their new homes, he said he disputed some of her comments during their Feb. 15 meeting. He read an email received from the commissioner’s office at 6 p.m. Feb. 17.
The email said the water storage capacity of the fire sprinkler system in the home is inadequate and that additional structural deficiencies make it impossible to maintain the highest level of fire protection.
While some improvements were made (additional smoke detectors and paneling replaced with sheet rock), while the former residents were living in the home, there are still issues that need to be addressed.
According to the email, the sprinkler system will be upgraded this spring. Other modifications to prepare for the new residents will include an egress control system, new fire doors and safety alarms.
Staffing ratios will increase from one staff to four residents to 1:3 to ensure full supervision around the clock. “There is no need to include any fencing or property access limits. We will not be moving in anyone with a history of elopement,” says the email.
Palmesano and O’Mara asked the commissioner if the home can be renovated to meet the needs of the original occupants. The email explains that the home no longer meets the increased needs of the original occupants, who are aging and may have mobility problems.
Some of the barriers include the property’s steep grade, a fire exit that includes a long stairway and the sunken living room.
According to the email, residents have moved to Romulus, Painted Post, and Clifton Springs. Two of them have moved to the state operated Dresden IRA and one moved to the Hamilton Street IRA in Penn Yan owned by Arc of Yates. One has moved to Waterloo, but is transported to the Arc of Yates Day Treatment program. Others have moved to homes in Ontario County.
Palmesano said he challenged Burke when she commented that families were supportive of the moves. He showed her a letter he had received from Tracy Dunton, whose sister, Bonnie lived in the home for 17 years.
Palmesano said he would like to talk to other family members about their experience with state officials, and he asked two women who volunteered in the home to document their experiences. One of the women, Lynn Lersch, who frequently visited the home with her dog for pet therapy, described how sad one of the men appeared the last time she saw him.
Fred and Janet D’Urbano of Hopewell attended the meeting to share their concerns about their son, Carmen. He lives in the Monroe Developmental Center that is slated for closure by the end of 2013.
The D'Urbanos are worried that Carmen will be moved farther from them after he’s just begun to make progress. They want the public to know that not everyone in Monroe Developmental Center is from the city, and not everyone there is a sex offender.
Reflecting on Saturday’s meeting, Palmesano says, “Senator O’Mara and I appreciate very much the genuine concerns raised by some of the family members of the Middlesex IRA home and members of the community about the relocation of the residents of the Middlesex IRA home, a home that some individuals have lived at for almost 20 years. We also understand the concerns that have been raised about the future use of that home and the communication, or lack thereof, between the OPWDD and the local community. Senator O’Mara and I will continue our communication with OPWDD on this issue while ensuring the community is informed of any new developments.”
