Partly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 54F. Winds light and variable..

Partly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 54F. Winds light and variable.

MORIAH – A controversial new State Police substation could be open in Moriah within two or three years.

The Moriah Town Council has unveiled plans to obtain a prefabricated modular building for use as a State Police substation and place it next to the Town Courthouse on Park Place.

Town taxpayers would pick up the $350,000 cost of the building, Town Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava said, assuming voters approve it at a public referendum in November.

The plan so far is for the town to own the building and lease it to State Police, who haven’t had a local substation since the one in Crown Point closed about a year ago when the building it was in was determined to need extensive repairs to meet state building codes.

State Police said two troopers would work out of the new Moriah satellite station, the same as they did at Crown Point. They were reassigned to the Schroon Lake substation after the one in Crown Point closed.

Some residents say Moriah already has a large police presence, between State Police from the Lewis station, the Essex County Sheriff’s Department and Moriah Town Police.

In a letter to the Press-Republican, Moriah resident Lari Trapasso said the state recently closed the Moriah Shock Incarceration Facility, which hurt the town, and now wants the town to pay for its new State Police satellite station.

“So the town has to pay the full amount for the substation by raising our taxes?” Trapasso wrote. “Then we will lease the building to the state for zero dollars a month and also be responsible for paying all the maintenance costs on the building. Great deal, isn’t it?”

Scozzafava said Trapasso isn’t wrong.

“I don’t necessarily disagree with that concept (of the state buying the building),” he said. “If the town’s willing to give the land…”

The supervisor said they plan to ask the state if it will pay for the substation construction.

If the town bought the new building it would be paid off in five years, with the cost to taxpayers about $36 a year with a $100,000 home assessment.

At a public informational meeting on the idea, Sgt. William Maverick, Lewis station commander, said it takes troopers about 20 minutes to get to Moriah from Lewis.

Some residents said State Police sit for hours running a speed trap at the Champ sightings billboard parking area on Main Street and might simply increase their presence there with a local substation.

“I’ve heard that also,” Scozzafava said. “Are we actually going to get (patrol) coverage from the State Police? The pros, in my opinion, still far outweigh the cons.”

Scozzafava said the need for the substation is driven by a drug problem in Moriah.

“I wouldn’t support it if I didn’t feel we need more coverage,” Scozzafava said. “Many people have told me we need more patrols.

“We are heavily dependent on the New York State Police and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. The State Police respond to 40 percent of the calls.”

The Moriah Town Police Department had two full-time officers, but lost one to retirement last year, with another slated to retire in a year and a half.

Scozzafava said they haven’t been able to find replacements.

At the meeting, Capt. Harold Litardo, of State Police administration at HQ Troop in Albany, said it would be one of their smaller substations.

“We would need approximately 1,000 square feet,” Litardo said. “A 400-square-foot garage will house the cars.”

Scozzafava said a final determination hasn’t been made yet on whether to erect the building, but must be made by Aug. 8 to get it on the general election ballot.

“This will be a town board decision if we decide to move forward with it,” the supervisor said. “We‘ll decide in May or June if we put it on the ballot.

“It has to go to referendum, regardless of how we finance it,” he continued. “I’m working on securing grant monies (if the town buys it). There are some.”

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