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Village of Saranac
Lake and Town of Harrietstown leaders met Monday to try and hash out
an agreement to jointly build and share a salt and sand storage
shed.
The slow-moving
project, which has been in the works since 2005, has been seen as a
key effort towards consolidation of the two governments.
“If the ultimate goal is to become one entity with one
board, I think it behooves us to start working together,” said
Harrietstown Supervisor Larry Miller.
“I’m hoping we’ll move forward from here.”
Miller called the
meeting to flush out any concerns on the project, which has been
under review by the Adirondack Park Agency.
He said he was told by the park agency that a permit is
expected around August 5.
The two boards, under
an intermunicipal agreement drafted last year, planned to build an
8000 cubic foot salt and sand storage shed on town-owned property
adjacent to the Harrietstown highway garage on John Munn Road.
The project, at that
time, cost an estimated $575,000 – an amount Miller said may now
be unrealistic because of rising construction costs.
The village received a
$175,000 state grant for the project in 2005.
The town has also been pursuing an $112,000 grant to put
towards the storage shed. “The
last word I had was that it looked promising,” Miller said.
With the grant funding
factored in, that leaves roughly $287,000 to be split by the town
and village, using last year’s figures.
Each board would need a four-fifths vote to approve the
borrowing of money for the project.
The supervisor said
he’s hoping to get new cost estimates.
If the pricetag goes up, he said the town could ask the state
for a larger grant. Mayor
Tom Michael said the village might be able to do the same.
But two issues
surfaced during the meeting that could further delay or derail the
project.
Village Trustee Jeff
Branch wasn’t convinced that the John Munn Road site was the best
place for the storage shed. “My
gut feeling is the best location would be on Van Buren Street next
to the village garage,” he said.
Miller argued that the
town has much more space – approximately 38 acres – to
accommodate future expansion than the three to four acres the
village owns on Van Buren Street.
He sketched out a
broader plan where the town property could be used to house both the
town highway and village public works departments while converting
the village DPW into a combined police, fire and court building.
“I was trying to take advantage of those 38
acres and look down the road,” Miller said.
But Branch said it
makes more sense to put government operations on the smallest
property possible, so what’s left over can go back on the tax
rolls.
He also wanted a more
solid plan. “Let’s
put a substantial plan in place and have a road map for future
boards,” Branch said.
Councilman Dean
Naegele warned that further delays could increase costs.
“The more we put it off, the more expensive it’s going to
be,” he said.
But, Trustee John
McEneany raised another concern, which he called a “deal
breaker.” He said the village shouldn’t hand over the $175,000 grant
because it had been secured by the community development office,
which is supported by village taxpayers.
“I’m not in favor of sharing the grant money,” McEneany
said.
Larry Miller said the
town would be willing to compensate the village for half of what was
spent securing the grant. But
he noted that it isn’t village money.
“That grant came from every taxpayer in New York State,”
he said.
McEneany also had
concerns about the proposed location.
He said the town’s 38 acres could potentially be used for
workforce housing.
The reason why the
storage shed is being built in the first place was also discussed.
Lee Keet of the Lake
Colby Association said they’ve documented high levels of pollution
coming into the lake from the existing village sand and salt pile on
Van Buren Street.
For the last four
years, the lake association has asked the DEC to postpone any
enforcement action as the town and village have worked to build a
storage shed. “We couldn’t care less where the shed goes,” Keet said.
“What we care about is the fact that the runoff is still
coming in heavy doses into the lake we all share.”
Mayor Tom Michael
suggested they seek bids for construction of the proposed storage
shed to get an idea how much costs have escalated.
The boards also agreed to look into the cost of building an
access road between the town’s John Munn Road property and the
village’s Van Buren Street site.
Another joint meeting
may be scheduled by the end of August or early September.
-Chris Knight, 7-8-08
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