KINGSTON – Minority Leader Glenn Noonan soundly reprimanded the Ulster County Legislature's Democratic majority during the January 8 organizational meeting for voting down a resolution calling for a public hearing on his proposed sex offender law.

Calling the vote "irresponsible," he said, "you've had since September 4 to work on this and you haven't done anything at all."

He said that since Ulster County sex offender resolutions have been in committee, "we've had other counties dumping their stuff in Ulster County," a reference to the recent relocation of a Rockland sex offender to a Kerhonkson motel.

In early December, Rockland's DSS placed a registered sex offender, Christopher Palma, into a room in Ulster County's Colonial Motel, citing their inability to find him adequate housing in Rockland that conforms to the county's sex offender law. Palma has since relocated to a Day's Inn in Nanuet.

Noonan accused the chair of the criminal justice committee, Legislator Frank Dart, of dropping the ball on the matter. He said that when the Kerhonkson case first came to light, he contacted Ulster County Executive Michael Hein, Legislator Dart, and Director of Ulster County Probation Department Robert Sudlow to initiate dialogue about his proposed law. "Bob Sudlow was the only one who got back to me," he said.

Suggesting that Dart "wake up" to the problems in his district, Noonan claimed that of the 118 known Level 2 and 3 offenders residing in Ulster County, "the majority of them live in the Kingston area." He said that Dart should compile monthly data regarding these offenders to determine if they are from Ulster County and if they live near schools, churches, or day-care centers.

In response to Noonan's accusations, Dart said, "Campaign 2009 has begun. Legislator Noonan is on a soapbox and this is much too important an issue not to do it right the first time."

Dart implored the Republicans to send the resolution back to committee so that he can hear from the experts and report the findings to them by February's session. As chair of the criminal justice department, he has scheduled a January 27 meeting with experts in the field to get professional feedback on how best to legislate this complex issue. Expected to report status and advise at the meeting are Probation Director Robert Sudlow, Ulster County Mental Health Director Marshall Beckman, County Attorney Dan Heppner, and Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum.

Noonan added, "If we wait until February to schedule a public hearing for March to vote on this in April, you'd better all pray nothing happens between now and April."

Outraged by the glacial pace of the legislature to act, Noonan asked, "Where was our sex offender law when a Rockland sex offender moved to Kerhonkson — in committee still? What happens next week when another county comes up here and dumps somebody in Kerhonkson?"

His resolution mimics Rockland's Pedophile-Free Child Safety Zone Act, which prohibits offenders from living or having employment within 1,000 feet of facilities that would provide them easy access to potential victims.

Noonan acknowledged, however, that the resolution does little to dissuade other counties from sending their offenders to our county. He argued that the onus of responsibility lies on the motel owners who agree to house them: "If the motel owner doesn't agree to it, it doesn't happen."

For his part, Legislator Frank Dart defended his record in regard to imposing sex offender laws, saying, "I'm the one who initially proposed a law back in 2006." The problem is that any proposed resolution cannot legally address the problem of a relocating offender. Dart said, "if the offender wants to live in Ulster County, we're stuck with him."

It is the job of Ulster County Social Service Commissioner Roberto Rodriguez to find housing for local offenders — a difficult task in an area that lacks sufficient housing. The housing shortage forces Rodriguez to temporarily place offenders in local motels, whose owners are, according to Dart, "raping the system because we're paying top dollar for these offenders to live in less than ideal conditions."

Dart cited a growing body of evidence indicating that many sex offenders go underground rather than try to conform to sex offender laws. The longtime legislator said that many states are also reconsidering their sex offender laws. He pointed to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times that questions the efficacy of Jessica's Law.

Articulated in the story are a California state panel's findings that the residency restrictions imposed by the law are counterproductive and cost the state $25 million annually. The panel is urging the governor and legislature to change the law.

Ulster County Legislator Brian Shapiro asked all his colleagues to "be brave here" and to consider the facts regarding the resolution. Calling sex offender legislation "one of the most complicated issues for any county to deal with," he argued that to "rush to a public hearing" with the resolution, "as written" and without the type of professional input that Dart recommends "would actually endanger public safety as opposed to upholding it."

Further, Shapiro accused Rockland County of pushing sex offender legislation through only to end up paying astronomical fees to house offenders, as was evidenced by the Palma case.

Palma voluntarily entered Rockland County Summit Park Hospital's in-patient crisis unit in April 2007. County officials agreed that Palma had been unable to find housing that reconciled with the law. As state law prohibits the hospital from releasing a patient without a home, Rockland County paid $60,000 in hospital charges for the next 18 months until they negotiated placement for him in the Ulster County motel.

Calling it a "tough issue," Legislator Susan Zimet said she was willing to support a law that is well thought out and "will protect our most vulnerable from sexual predators."

She said, "Some people think if you put too many restrictions, the sex offenders go underground and you use lose your ability to monitor them."

Zimet also urged that any legislation target "real sex offenders," and not the unfortunate teenagers who have perhaps erroneously been labeled sex offenders while engaging in sexual acts as a consensual party.

Palma, of Rockland County, was 21-years old in 2005 when he was arrested on charges he had sex with two minors and possessed child pornography.

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