MONTICELLO — Since July a group of residents have showed up at almost every meeting of the county legislature to advocate for the Care Center at Sunset Lake.

They say the nursing home and the Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA) should remain under county ownership, and that a for-profit agency would diminish quality of care.

At last week's Executive Committee and full board meetings they urged the legislators to remove wording they say indicates possibility for a sale from the resolution (which passed 8-1 in August) and the RFP.

The county formed a Local Development Corporation (LDC) to gather potential agencies to lease the Care Center.

An RFP asking for applicants was due on Friday.

But the residents were concerned that even though a lease was in the works, there was still language that would allow for the sale of the Care Center and the CHHA.

“I need to trust that you guys aren't going to sell the facility… and as long as that sale language is in there, I can't trust you,” said resident Cat Scott, who has been a vocal proponent for keeping the Care Center, in which her mother is a resident.

Chairman Rob Doherty maintained that their intention is to lease, not sell, the facility.

Legislator Joe Perrello questioned why they couldn't take “sale” out of the resolution.

County Attorney Michael McGuire responded that either the legislature could take the resolution back from the LDC and change it, which requires a super majority (six votes), or the LDC could vote to change it.

Legislator Nadia Rajsz, Chairwoman of the Health and Family Services Committee and member of the LDC, said she would request them to do that.

The next meeting of the LDC is December 17.

Prior to that morning's legislative meetings, the residents organized a “Honk for Healthcare” rally to support the county's continued ownership of the Care Center and the CHHA outside of the Government Center.