OSWEGO – In a roll call vote, the Oswego County Legislature passed a vote to accept funds from Health Research, Inc for reopening schools during the July 15 meeting.
The resolution, HE-2, was brought forth by Legislator James Karasek and was met by some opposition on the floor. The Oswego Health Department will receive $4,040,498 in grant funding to “provide resources to local school districts to implement screening tests in schools with CDC guidance,” according to the resolution. The opposition was headed by Nathan Emmons of District 15 who was weary of the data that might be collected by Health Research Inc.
“The Health Research Corporation has to report directly to the secretary of youth and services for our federal government [such as] all activities related to this funding including all data collected via this funding. To me, this is an indirect stream of data collection that is bypassing our very own New York State Legislature and is going directly to our federal government to continue to surveil COVID-19 response, now on a school district by school district-wide level,” Emmons said. “I am very uncomfortable with this funding, I think this funding should be rejected by this legislature. Our schools have gotten American Rescue Plan funding otherwise and they need those types of funds for continued testing, they have those funds.”
Despite Emmons’ discussion, the vote was passed with 14 in favor, nine opposed and two absent, as Legislator Patrick Twiss and Legislator Robert Wilmot were not present at the meeting. The nine legislators who opposed were David Holst, John Martino, Bradley Trudel, Mary Ellen Chesbro, Stephen Walpole, Tim Stahl, Laurie Mangano-Cornelius, Ralph Stacy Jr and Emmons. After the meeting, Minority Leader Marie Schadt voiced her displeasure with the nine legislators who opposed funding, saying that she “can’t believe they said that.”
“It is shameful to refuse public funding to protect our children. One-hundred million people died in the Spanish Flu to reach herd immunity,” Schadt said. “We are in an unprecedented moment … If it hadn’t been for the SARS outbreak a decade ago, none of this vaccine they are using would have been able to pull the trigger on it.”
Schadt added further information on the grant, saying it will be used to provide tests and prevention of COVID-19.
Beyond this resolution, 29 others were voted on and passed. These include:
- HS-6 to award professional services contract RFP 21-CD-004 Family First Prevention Services to three separate organizations that will complete the contract together
- HS-7 to authorize budget modifications to the Office of the Aging to accept senior health improvement and nutrition education snap-ed funding
- IT-8 to establish capital project #0421, County Route 1A enhancements and authorizing the related budget modification
Another passed resolution was PS-1 to Establish Capital Project No. T0121 E911. This provides the police with a necessary phone system upgrade that will cost $500,000. PS-1 was unanimously approved.
FP-3 was also approved unanimously and is a resolution to urge New York State to pay previous years’ medicaid assistance money to Oswego County. The resolution, proposed by Martino, was described as “very important” by Martino who said that the state owes Oswego County $4.2 million. According to Martino, other counties in the state have also approved similar resolutions.
The agenda for the meeting can be viewed here as can other meeting agendas and records, including the meeting minutes when they are made available.
All county legislative meetings are held the second Thursday of every month. The next meeting will be held on August 12 at 2 p.m.
