In 1999, the Schuyler County Legislature began to consider consolidating office space for certain human service agencies. In early 2006, the County, while searching for potential sites to establish needed office space, identified a Building that had been unused for nine (9) years. The former Jamesway building in the Village of Montour Falls presented an opportunity to provide that office space. This building was an example of longstanding economic downturn suffered by the Village in recent years. This site provided approximately 35,000 square feet of space for County departments and employees with a balance of 15,000 square feet to be occupied by certain County-based agencies qualifying as charitable, 501(c)(3) organizations.

The Schuyler County Human Services Development Corporation (SCHSDC) was established by the County Legislature as a not-for-profit local development corporation on August 23, 2006. The Corporation’s mission statement is to “Relieve and reduce unemployment, promote and provide for additional and maximum employment, better and maintain job opportunities, and lessen the burden of government and act in the public interest.”

The shared goal between the County and the SCHSDC is to directly address blighted conditions in the Village through the investment of over $4.5 million dollars in building and site renovations. The Corporation played a central role by providing a source of revenue to acquire the Land and Building through the issuance of tax exempt revenue bonds. The Bonds are securitized by the Corporation’s interest in the Project and the leases entered into by the County and Agencies. The Bonds will be repaid as a debt of the Corporation with lease proceeds from the County and Agencies.

The intended purposes of the development structure include:

• Providing office and operating facilities for entities whose primary missions include relieving and reducing unemployment, promoting and providing for additional and maximum employment, and bettering and maintaining job opportunities within the County;
• Lessening the burdens of government by effectively shielding the County from unknown liabilities associated with acquiring the Land and acting as a proprietary landlord for the County;
• Allowing for flexible lease terms to be extended to the Agencies, along with future development opportunities to be realized for excess portions of the Land;
• Renovating and placing into service a long-vacant building located within a Village that has and continues to struggle with a faltering economy, thereby addressing the economic development needs of the community; and
• Consolidating employees of the County and the Agencies into a single location that will bring much needed business and traffic to Village businesses and stimulate indirect, yet crucial fiscal impacts – which, in turn, lead to further economic development and job growth.

The Human Services Complex houses the following department/agencies:

Department of Social Services Office For the Aging/NY Connects Youth Bureau/Families First Veterans Information Technology  Purchasing

Family Play & Resource Center Child Care Aware of Steuben & Schuyler Transportation Link-Line  Schuyler Head Start Cooperative Extension Workforce NY