We the undersigned being Military Veterans, Family and Friends of Military Veterans, Legislators, Administrators, Public Officials and all other Residents of Greene County, New York, and the same for the surrounding Counties, do hereby sign this petition in support of the Catskill CBOC Veterans Clinic remaining in its present location. Whereas, this clinic has served the Veterans of the Greene and Columbia County community for over eleven years, and our own Congressman and highly decorated Military Veteran, of the current 20th District endorses this location upon public statements to local media and others; and, Whereas, there is ample appropriate space available in this building, that meets the needs and standards of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and those needs required by the nearly 1300 Greene and Columbia County Veterans currently receiving medical care at this facility; and, Whereas, the owners of the current location in Greene County have fully met the requirements and deadlines of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Solicitation For Offers, in contrast to that in Columbia County where the Department of Veterans Affairs is allowing delays without proper notice and updates of such delays to all interested bidders; and, Whereas, this facility was originally chosen over eleven years ago, because it is the most centrally located appropriate building for provision of VA medical treatment for the intended Greene and Columbia County Veterans; and, Whereas, even as it stands, this facility is still much further for some Greene County Veterans than it is for any Columbia County Veterans; and, Whereas, all Columbia County Veterans have reasonable access to several VA Medical facilities that literally surround the borders of Columbia County, in contrast to a complete lack of VA medical facilities available to outlying Greene County Veterans; and, Whereas, entire Greene County towns, housing hundreds of Greene County Veterans and their families, have been utterly devastated, even essentially cleared from existence, leaving hundreds of Greene County Veterans homeless, or living among ruins; and, Whereas, these Greene County Veterans facing financial ruin, must already drive more than 40 miles for their Primary care at Catskill CBOC, and over 60 miles for any care required at the Albany VAMC, would be forced to drive over 50 miles for primary care in the proposed Columbia County location. This move would essentially render the “Columbia Greene CBOC” an utterly useless entity for more than half of Greene County Veterans; in favor of Columbia County Veterans already endowed with ample and reasonably accessible VA Healthcare Treatment Facility options; and, Whereas, Greene County Government has been forced to absorb the impossible costs of restoring devastated towns, roads, bridges, schools; and is assisting hundreds more families than could have been projected, in the wake of the storm damage; and, Whereas, Greene County no longer retains multiple sources of County revenue available to Columbia County; which did not sustain comparable storm damage: Greene County will not have resources available to provide Veterans transportation to a biased peripherally located VA Clinic in any section of Columbia County; and, Whereas, in the event this vital resource, currently providing centralized healthcare without causing undue hardship to any Columbia County Veterans, is in fact relocated to the speculative tangential Columbia County location, Greene County Veterans; particularly, those underprivileged, and outlying rural Veterans, will suffer undue hardship: We the Legislation, the Administration, the Veterans, the Friends and Families of Veterans; and all of the residents of Greene County, New York; hereby request the following: You allow our Catskill CBOC, to remain in the Greene Medical Arts Building; without further delays, and tactics allowing insufficient bidders to alter and modify their proposals until such meet VA requirements; when, in fact, the Greene Medical Arts bid has already met those standards and requirements; and, is the most fair and central location for all Greene and Columbia County Veterans this clinic is intended to serve.

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