DDSO to be discussed tonight

AMENIA — The future of the Taconic Developmental Disabilities Services Office (DDSO) will be discussed Thursday at a Town Board meeting at the Amenia Elementary School auditorium at 7 p.m.

Diana Ritter, comissioner of the state’s Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner (OMRDD) is scheduled to give a presentation at the beginning of the meeting and also hold a question and answer session with the public.

In a previous interview, town Supervisor Janet Reagon said Ritter is currently reassessing institutions across the state and wants more information about the DDSO.

Ritter, along with County Planning Commissioner Roger Akeley, met with Reagon in early September about the future of the DDSO. After the meeting, Akeley said Ritter emphasized the state’s commitment to the DDSO and told him the state is in favor of keeping the facility open.

In August, plans were revealed for a new Local Intensive Treatment Center (LIT) that would be built on the DDSO’s 350-acre campus.

The project involves constructing a new 36,900-square-foot, 60-bed multi-building complex, which would include residential units and a program building. Some of its residents have reportedly had dealings with the criminal justice system.

Also listed on Thursday night’s agenda: resolutions to accept a low bid for the town’s water meeting project and to authorize and purchase delivery for cement blocks to the transfer station, as well as an update on the Mechanic Street project.