Town of Hanover Supervisor Lou Pelletter reached out to several politicians across the state and the New York State Department of Health to advocate for the sale and development of the site for the purpose of establishing a residential mental health and rehabilitation facility, under the name New York Medical Center.

The most recent plans for the proposed residential facility would consist of 180 total beds — 140 for behavioral health and 40 for substance abuse. Once fully operational, the facility would provide upwards of 300 jobs.

In recent conversations with Raymond Manning of New York Medical Center and Brooks-TLC Hospital CEO Ken Morris, the Town and the Village of Silver Creek have been led to believe that a standalone emergency room could be a realistic part of the plan. In the past, Pelletter was told that it was unlikely that the State would grant a license for an emergency room.

Pelletter’s advocacy is in large part due to the emergency needs of the Town, not just the mental health and substance abuse needs.

OBSERVER File Photo The former Lakeshore Hospital has been closed since 2020.

“I’m doing everything I can with the idea that I want that emergency room,” Pelletter said.

The Town’s assessment of the facility dropped dramatically after Lakeshore Hospital closed in 2020. The Town hopes to reevaluate the site once it is sold and developed.

In other developments, the Town Board approved a grant agreement and disbursement request form regarding a New York State Engineering Planning Grant pertaining to a sewer study to determine the capabilities of the Town’s existing sewer plant. With anticipated development of the former Lakeshore Hospital site, a potential hotel and/or housing complex, developments of the land behind the hospital, and the Seneca Nation land, the Town is seeking more information on its capabilities within the current infrastructure.

“If everything goes forward, we’re going to run out of capacity – not tomorrow, but years from now,” Deputy Supervisor Bernie Feldmann said.

Capabilities will be on a “first come, first serve” basis, meaning that any development after the Town’s system has reached its capacity will require a pre-processing plant.

As the Town’s ongoing water line replacement project along Routes 5 and 20 wraps up in the coming months, the State Department of Transportation (DOT) lane reduction project will commence later this month. Feldmann said the timeline for the completion of the waterline project is eight to 10 weeks, while the DOT project will take approximately two years to complete.

Feldmann urged residents to contact the Town Board and the Town Clerk’s office if they encounter safety issues while the projects are ongoing. “We want it to be safe and productive, and be as proactive as we can