By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG -- The St. Lawrence Psychiatric Task Force will meet travel to Albany to meet with members of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's staff Dec. 10 to convince to the state to invest in Ogdensburg's mental health facility.

Chairman Chuck Kelly says 15 people will make the trip, but only few have been selected at this time.

Kelly said Ogdensburg Mayor William D. Nelson, St. Lawrence County IDA CEO Patrick Kelly and City Manager John Pinkerton are attending.

Kelly said Cuomo's top staff members will be at the meeting, but he is unsure if the governor will be present.

"He will be in Albany that day, but we do not know if he will be able to attend the meeting," Kelly said.

The task force has been working to stop the State Office Of Mental Health from closing adult and inpatient services at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center.

He said he was unsure what impact the meeting will have, but the goal is to show state officials that the hospital should be a “Center of Excellence” and is crucial to the entire North Country.

"It's very important. It's up to us to express the reasons why we feel this facility should not be closed. The cost to the area would be horrendous," he said, noting that the increased travel time and costs would hurt low-income families from Malone to Oswego.

He said each of the 15 representatives attending the meeting will discuss different subjects so that speakers aren't repeating each other or covering the same material.

"We are getting ready now and we are going to be prepared for it," Kelly said.

Informational binders including testimonials, letters, articles and other information regarding the center will be handed out to members of the staff as well as the Senate and Assembly. He said Ogdensburg manufacturer ACCO donated the binders and many businesses, organizations and schools have also helped the cause.

Kelly said the task force needs people who have had a positive experience with the facility needs to come forward and share their stories.

"We need more letters from individual and families telling their stories. If they are victims, we can protect their names, but we need their stories. They can send them to Ogdensburg City Hall in care of the task force," he said.

State Senator Patricia Ritchie and Assembly member Addie Russell will also be at the meeting.

The meeting will take place Dec. 10 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.