It was déjà vu all over again Monday in Schoharie:
Speaker after speaker blasted supervisors' choice of the Route 30, Seebold farm for the next Schoharie County jail.
And after they were done, supervisors let their May decision stand.
An overflow crowd of about 100 people turned out for the public hearing, a quarter of them taking the mic to criticize the scoring process and offer alternatives-like Zicha Road and the Howes Cave fire training center, both of which had been considered but rejected.
Only two speakers-Schoharie Mayor John Borst and Schoharie businesswoman and resident Sue McGiver-supported supervisors' decision.
"We're really struggling," Mayor Borst said. Losing the water and sewer revenues the jail means "would be a tough road to hoe. Just look down Main Street. We're really struggling."
If the jail moves out of the village, Mayor Borst said, everyone else will have to pick up the slack.
Ms. McGiver, who spoke midway through the 75-minute session, blasted some of the speakers who'd come before her for attacking County Treasurer Bill Cherry's role in the selection process; some had called him a liar.
"I'm a little shocked," she said. "I'm ashamed of you...This is another example of a group coming out against something that could be good for the community."
As someone who's still rebuilding her business and her home from Irene, Ms. McGiver said she's very concerned about her taxes and the empty buildings on Main Street.
"[The Seebold site]...could bring jobs and taxes into the community and all you care about is your backyard," she said.
That's not true, said Doug Cornwell, who lives on Barton Hill Road, off and above Route 30.
"I'm sick of reading in the paper that the people on Barton Hill don't want this in their backyards," he said. "How about nobody's backyard?"
Mr. Cornwell and others criticized the 26.3-acre Seebold site's $375,000 price tag and the scoring of the 19 sites, and voiced zoning concerns.
FEMA surprised everyone when it agreed two months ago to fund a new $37 million jail instead of forcing the county to rebuild on the existing site.
"The last thing anybody in this room wants is to lose that," Mr. Cornwell said. "This thing can be resolved to please everybody in this room."
Chris Chase, who lives next-door to the Seebold site, agreed, asking supervisors to seek an extension for the FEMA funding and use the time to pick a better site.
"I don't want to see Schoharie County hurt in any way," she said.
Other speakers voiced concerns about traffic and lighting at the site, where they also said toxic waste has been stored in the past.
"We've been lied to," said Route 30 resident Wanda Colyer. "If there's a lawsuit and you agree with all the lies you've been told, you'll be liable too," she told supervisors.
But afterwards, Dick Lape, supervisors' chairman, said he was confident the selection process had picked the best site.
"We started out with 19 and narrowed it down to two," he said, Seebold's and Zicha Road. "I think the right procedures were taken."
After the speakers finished, Mr. Lape asked supervisors if they had any other business and when they did not, he adjourned the hearing.
Supervisors will move forward with the Seebold site, he said.