By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg Mayor Bill Nelson says he and his fellow St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center task force members have a lot of questions regarding the facility’s future, after the Office of Mental Health said six wards will be closed by 2017.

The closures are part of planned changes to the state hospital system announced Wednesday. Most services now offered in Ogdensburg will be transferred to a Regional Center of Excellence in Utica and Syracuse.

"I don't know what exactly they are planning on closing," he said. "The way I understand it we are going to have some presence at the facility, but we aren't sure what that will be."

Nelson said the loss of any inpatient care is bad news for individuals undergoing treatment at the facility.

"My concern obviously, as it has been from day one, is people seeking inpatient services will be traveling to Utica," he said. "That is a concern and that is going pull a lot of people away from their families while they undergo treatment."

According to the release, no jobs will be lost immediately and current employees will be offered "opportunities," but Nelson says he expects the number of employees at the Ogdensburg location will decline.

"This isn't just an economic impact, but these folks add to the quality of life in our community. These are our little league coaches and our scout leaders. If they have to relocate for work, that is going to hurt us," he said.

Nelson said members of the task force, which worked for the past few months to keep the facility from closing, will have a conference call with OMH Commission Kristin Woodlock next week.

"We have a lot of questions for the commissioner. I can't comment what kind of impact we are actually looking at because we don't know what is actually going to happen," Nelson said. "We don't know what services we will be keeping, what we will be losing, or what will be expanding. We need more answers."

According to the OMH release, downsizing of the facility will begin with the closure of an adult inpatient ward in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, according to a plan released this afternoon by the state Office of Mental Health.

St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center inpatient care will "merge" with the Empire Upstate Regional Center of Excellence, which will have facilities located in Utica and Syracuse.

In the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the state will close five additional wards at SLPC.

According to the release, outpatient and community services currently operated by SLPC will be continued as a community hub of the Empire Upstate RCE, and will expand outpatient care in Ogdensburg and other hubs throughout the region.

The St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center sexual offender program will continue in Ogdensburg but will be operated by the Central New York Forensic Center of Excellence.