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| Steuben County Manager Jack Wheeler |
BATH – Long-range goals led to the Top Five accomplishments in Steuben County in 2019. The accomplishments include meeting state-mandated reforms to the criminal justice system in New York; putting in motion an extensive renovation project of the County Office Building and added parking near the building on East Steuben Street; and future plans for public health and aging services in Steuben. Lawsuits filed against the state and other counties several years ago led to system-wide changes expected to provide those charged with a crime a more timely and efficient defense. To meet the state’s new court requirements will mean a staged overhaul to the County Office Building, with the first step calling for county Legislative operations to move into the nearby Annex on East Morris Street. The move will free space needed for extensive renovations in the main building for more secure court-related functions. The changes also include more parking on the site of the former Bath Bowling Academy, which was damaged in September 2018 and demolished a year later. Steuben also has also responded to state mandates in criminal justice, and specifically bail reform and changes in procedures for the prosecution. Less physically obvious accomplishments include an in-depth look at future services for the aging in Steuben, and public health goals for the next three years. The Steuben’s Office for the Aging hosted the state’s public hearing on programs and services funded through The Older Americans Act of 1965 and how it will serve older adults and their caregivers during the next four years. The plan also includes the importance of key services offered by agencies in the area and gave the public a chance to weigh in on the plan’s goals and outcomes for the next four years. A wide-ranging review of community health needs this year by Steuben Public Health and Arnot Health, Guthrie and St. James hospitals, and input from area partners led to the 2019-2021 Community Health Improvement Plan.
The plan, which has been approved by the state, set mental and substance use disorders prevention, child and adolescent health, and tobacco prevention as priorities for Steuben County Public Health department and its local partners. 