This building, located at 111 Port Watson St. in Cortland, will soon be the new home of the Cortland County Mental Health Department. (Photo via Google Maps).
A Bell and Spina project manager addressed Cortland County legislators at the Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting on Tuesday, detailing three plans the company has for the new County Mental Health Building set to open in late 2024.
Project manager Dennis Spina noted the project, which will be located at 111 Port Watson St. in the City of Cortland, is still on track to hit that deadline.
The county plans to undergo the bidding process at the end of the year, prompting a year-long construction process throughout next year.
The different options vary in the placement of the building’s egress and ingress points. The building would qualify to be considered as a historic building, Spina said, opening up potential avenues of funding at the state and federal levels through preservation grants. The Brewer-Titchener Building, formerly owned by Apex Tool group, shut down in 2015.
The county mental health department is currently operating in a small building on Clayton Avenue in the city. The Port Watson Street facility will have 40 parking spaces, Spina said Tuesday.
The County Mental Health Department, with the number of patients in the thousands, is projected to see an 8% increase next year, according to a press release from the county.
The department experienced a 30-year high for total sessions in August of last year, with 1,734 sessions to 850 patients in that month.
The new building will double the space provided.
“This space is really going to be maximized, and every part of it is going to be focused on our community,” said Sharon MacDougall, the director of community services at the County Mental Health Department. “I think one of the best things we’re happy for is not just that this building would meet our current needs, but that it has the potential to be a 50-year building that our department can really utilize.”
