The Cayuga County Office Building, which has been closed since late May, will remain closed for the next two years.听
The revelation was made at a special county Legislature meeting Wednesday. The building will be closed as the county consults with environmental engineers on the source of asbestos-containing vermiculite deposits and develops an abatement plan.听
It will take up to two years to complete the abatement of the county office building, officials said at the meeting.听
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With several county departments displaced by the closure, the Legislature approved a resolution to lease 63 Genesee St., the former home of Lyons National Bank and the Play Space in downtown Auburn, for $29,005 a month. The lease is for two years, with an option for a five-year extension.听

The building at 63 Genesee St. in Auburn.
The county Department of Social Services, which temporarily relocated to the Old Post Office, and the county treasurer's office will move to 63 Genesee St.听
It will cost the county $1.1 million to set up the departments at 63 Genesee St. Roughly half of that amount is eligible for federal and state reimbursement.听
The resolution passed by a 7-4 vote, with most of the Democratic caucus and Legislator Tom Winslow, R-Weedsport, supporting the measure. Legislators Hans Pecher, C-Genoa, Robert Shea, R-Union Springs, and Mark Strong, R-Moravia, opposed the resolution. Legislator Stephanie DeVito, D-Auburn, supported the resolution, but was recorded as a no because she was not visible on Zoom during the vote.听
Pecher criticized "the whole damn process" while explaining why he opposed the resolution. He believes the Legislature has not been consulted during the closure.听
"It's been three months and all we're getting is pebbles of what needs to be done," he said. "I feel it's an insult to the whole Legislature that there hasn't been a meeting or meetings for us to discuss what we think ought to be done because we haven't been told anything."聽
Cayuga County Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman disagreed with Pecher's assessment, telling him she's had "nothing to inform you with" until the recent development that the county office building closure would be extended.听
"This has been quite a situation that we did not know would balloon into what it is today," McNabb-Coleman, D-Sennett, said. "We've been handed this process that we now have to undergo, and it's a huge mountain to climb."聽
McNabb-Coleman also explained that the county's leadership explored sites to house departments, but unnamed legislators who serve on the resource group were "hard nos" on many of those options. It wasn't until the first special meeting, which was held Thursday, that the county received numbers on how much it would cost to lease 63 Genesee St.听
"At the end of the day, it's our obligation and our duty to get these folks in chairs, and it's our obligation and duty to serve the public in a way that's appropriate," McNabb-Coleman said.听
The recent problems with the Cayuga County Office Building began in January when a wind storm damaged the roof. A temporary fix allowed the building to reopen while the county advanced a project for more extensive roof repairs.听
In May, granular material was found in a fifth-floor office. Tests confirmed it was vermiculite, which contains asbestos.听
County leaders decided to close the building for the summer. The initial plan was to return once the roof repairs were completed, but a聽follow-up inspection found vermiculite throughout the building.听
At the Aug. 27 county Legislature meeting, McNabb-Coleman said there were change orders that have delayed the roof project and the county was waiting for an asbestos investigation plan. She scheduled the first of two special meetings to discuss the building closure and the need for temporary sites to house affected departments.听
The county Legislature did not take action at the first special meeting. The follow-up meeting Wednesday focused on leasing 63 Genesee St., not what the county plans to do with the shuttered office building.听
Government reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.