by Thaddeus Flint
The sidewalks in New Lebanon are “muddier” according to Town Supervisor Colleen Teal. Not that there are sidewalks with mud on them, yet.[private]Two public hearings in August on a proposed sidewalk plan– a plan brought to life and then allowed to die by the previous Town administration before it was brought back to life yet again by NYSDOT–found that residents want to “take more time to look at this” rather than make a decision forthwith, writes the Supervisor.
“There were a lot of good questions raised,” Teal said of the public input, according to the minutes of the meetings prepared by Town Clerk Tistrya Houghtling.
Some questioned the estimated costs for moving forward with the sidewalk project which has already cost the Town out of pocket over $34,000. NYSDOT is saying that if the project is cancelled New Lebanon would be on the hook for another $85,000 in repayments to the State and the Federal Government.
Further research by Teal after the hearings found that an estimated easement cost of $13,000 is very likely ”a low estimate.” A more accurate estimate is believed to be $20,000 of which the federal funding is expected to cover 80%, so the total could be $4,000.
Build costs were originally in 2012 dollars with a $200 per foot of sidewalk estimated. NYSDOT now estimates between $175 and $350, which isn’t really all that helpful when every penny counts. Teal decided $200 seemed too low and went with $262 per foot, which would come out to around $475,000 for the entire project to build. Rounded up to $500,000 because there is government involved, and New Lebanon would be looking at a future build cost of $100,000 for a sidewalk one side of the road running .2 miles from EZ Mart to Tilden Road.
It is unknown how many people per day would find this thoroughfare necessary. At the moment much of the entire route can be easily walked well back from the highway, most of it across a large empty lot behind the Gallup Inn. There is a small section, around 300 feet or so, from West Road to Tilden Plaza that would require a walk on the road shoulder. A new sidewalk would, however, allow wheelchairs and be substantially smoother. Someone would also have to keep the snow and ice off the sidwalk, though nobody is certain just yet who that somebody (or those somebodies) would be. [/private]
Another question asked was if the property owner from which the easement was needed, Tilden Plaza, would be on board with selling the needed property in the first place.
“They are in support of moving ahead with the sidewalk project,” said Teal.
Supervisor Teal, according to Houghtling’s minutes, has also looked into NYSDOT’s imperative that the project either go forward or the money has to be paid back. That might not be exactly true. “She has spoken with a number of people including supervisors in other towns and several engineers who have stated that this has not been their experience,” noted Houghtling. Valid reasons for not going forward and not paying back the money are environmental issues or “substantial public opposition,” said Teal.
Public opposition hasn’t really been all that substantial, at least not when compared with when the project first came to light back in 2013. Many would like more time to explore the issue further, perhaps come up with a new plan that might better serve the Town that will be faced with paying for something that might never be used if it’s not done right.
Time, however, is running out. NYSDOT is adamant that a decision be made without delay.
“At the September meeting, the Town Board will have to decide how they want to proceed,” Teal wrote in an email August 26. “I really am not sure how the Board is going to vote. I am pretty sure there will be votes on both sides, but just don’t know how it will play out.”