by Thaddeus Flint
New Lebanon’s “sidewalk to nowhere” is going just there, nowhere, after a four to one vote at last Tuesday’s Town Board meeting in favor of shelving the project and telling NYSDOT that they won’t be getting their money back.[private] “We have had a long struggle making a decision on this,” said Town Supervisor Colleen Teal before the vote.
That struggle might have gone on even longer had NYSDOT not given the Town just a very short time to make a decision to either go forward on a project conceived by a previous administration or pay back the money spent on conceiving it.
All that conception, it turns out, was expensive. Even though the Town was originally told by design firm Creighton Manning that the completed original project of 1.5 miles of sidewalk would only cost New Lebanon about $75,000 with the rest of the estimated $1.5 million coming from NY and the Feds, the Town has already paid $34,475 and the sidewalk is zero miles long and just a plan on a shelf nobody wants to look at. The total project cost now stands at close to $120,000. Of that New York State put in all of $5,000, and the Feds $80,405.
“That Board was just shoving it down the people’s throat,” said Councilman Mark Baumli of the 2013 administration headed by Mike Benson who moved forward with the project on an “if you build it they will come” philosophy with hopes of developing the Town, attracting a supermarket, and broadening the tax base.
Not everyone was of the same philosophy. Some didn’t want their Town developed. Some didn’t believe a word Creighton Manning said (even NYSDOT questioned the firm’s $1.5 million estimate, putting the number closer to $3 million). Some didn’t like that their land would probably be taken under eminent domain. Some didn’t want to have to get up and shovel snow off a sidewalk on land that used to be theirs but wasn’t anymore. Some didn’t think the sidewalks would get enough use to warrant the cost. And some liked the idea, but they weren’t as loud.
Two petitions, one against the project and another asking that the project be put to a public referendum were circulated. Both petitions were more or less ignored by much of the Board then, with the exception of then Councilman Matt Larabee, who’s similar requests to have a referendum were similarly ignored.
The current administration, however, rather than ignoring all that public outcry, is actively acknowledging those petitions, along with the input of all the public hearings on the project as means of cancelling it and not paying back any of the money. One way of doing this, in theory, is to show “significant public opposition to the project”.
The Supervisor crunched all the numbers and found what she believes is just that. Of everyone who registered their opinion since 2013, 59 were for the sidewalks and 158 against. Of just residents it was 41 for and 150 against. Of businesses it was 14 for and 17 against. Of those who faced eminent domain it was 5 for and 13 against.
“My gut response is don’t move forward” said Teal, who added that it wasn’t necessarily true that “if you build it they will come.” They can’t come because New Lebanon lacks the infrastructure, notably municipal water and sewage, needed for new businesses to profitably build there. “We are putting the cart before the horse.”
“It’s a bad plan at a bad time,” said Councilman Chuck Geraldi.
Councilman Kevin Smith called the plan a “fiasco” and said there was no reason to believe that funding the state and federal governments were saying would be there in the future would actually be there in the future.
Only Councilman Dan Evans voted to save the project, troubled with the thought that by ending the plan on such a bitter note with NYSDOT future Boards of New Lebanon might never get another chance at sidewalks should the need ever arise.
There is also the possibility that the zombie-esque plan that keeps coming back from the dead might still not be dead. It’s conceivable NYSDOT might still want their money back. What their definition of “significant public opposition” is might be more significant than 158 residents out of a total population of around 2,500.
“I would not have voted to stop the project if I was not extremely confident that we will not have to pay the funds back,” Teal said in an email after the meeting, conceding however that “very little in this world is guaranteed.”
“What I can say is that I am willing to fight as hard as I can to make sure that we do not have to pay it back,” said Teal. The final vote to move forward with not going forward was met with a round of applause.
“I hope I never have to make another decision like this,” said Teal.
NYSDOT might wonder at the audacity of this little Town that tells them they won’t be getting their money back—just days after DOT finished re-paving the routes 20/22 corridor—and then asks the agency to come out and inspect their roads for speed limit changes.
The Board voted with all in favor of submitting five roads—Chair Factory Road, Canaan Road, County Route 34, West Hill Road, and Lovers Lane—to NYSDOT to see if they could be posted at a speed less than what they are posted at now, which is nothing.
The popular belief is that a road without a posted speed limit is 55 MPH, but this is a “misunderstanding” said Teal. The speed limit is what is actually “safe and prudent” for the conditions of the road.
NYSDOT came out awhile back to look at Chair Factory and didn’t think it was prudent to go over 15 MPH on that road. They don’t have a sign that low so it was never posted. All the roads are in better shape now, so DOT will be asked to return and do a traffic study to determine if speed limits signs can be posted. There was some wonder though if anyone would ever enforce the limits even if they did exist.
“A sign is not going to slow anybody down,” said Highway Superintendent Jeff Winestock. He advised that residents talk to their friends and neighbors whom he believed made up “95%” of the people speeding along these back roads. Still, residents would like to see something done. “We have an obligation to submit that request,” said Teal.
The next monthly Town Board meeting, Tuesday October 11, will be preceded by a five minute public hearing at 6:55 pm on a proposed amendment to the sign law.
Residents interested in the exciting task of municipal budgeting are also invited to attend 2017 Budget workshops on Wednesday, October 5 and Monday, October 17, both held at the Town Hall at 6 pm.[/private]