BY JIM AUSTIN
COOPERSTOWN CRIER
After years of delays and
frustrations with the agencies
controlling the federal purse
strings, the future of the village’s
Gateway Project is looking
brighter.
The project will make improvements
to Linden Avenue, create
parking and a visitor center at
the south end of the village and
reconstruct the access road to
State route 28.
During last month’s board
meeting, the trustees discussed
the possibility of having to
abandon the project because of a
looming deadline for the federal
funding. In order to meet the
September deadline, the project
design would have to be complete
and ready to go out to bid.
Included on the long list of things
to accomplish were the required
property acquisitions _ all had
been agreed to, but ownership
had not been transferred. The
biggest concern was the piece
of property to be acquired from
the school district and whether it
would require a public referendum.
In order to proceed with the
project, the board had to approve
signing a contract with
CLA Site, the Saratoga-based
company that has been providing
design and technical
assistance to the village.
The problem was the state
funding portion of the project,
which was supposed to
pay for the design work. The
funds had been approved, but
the state was not sending out
checks because of its fiscal
problems.
To approve the design
contract and continue with
the project would require the
village putting up the money
with the idea of receiving
reimbursement in the future.
If the September deadline was
missed, however, the funds
put up by the village and the
project could be lost.
The state’s financial crisis
has held back our ability to
move forward, said Deputy
Mayor Jeff Katz, chair of the
Gateway Technical Committee.
We could front the money,
he told the trustees, but there
is certainly some risk.
``It continues to be a difficult
process,’’ he said. ``The
cash is what we don’t have.
The cash is what we planned
on to move forward.’’
``I’m uneasy committing the
money when we don’t know
when we’ll receive reimbursement,’’
Mayor-elect Joe Booan
said, adding that it was very
possible the money wouldn’t
flow from the state.
The board discussed approving
the contract and authorizing
CLA Site to perform
up to $40,000 in work through
the month of April. It would
keep the project moving and
allow the trustees to reassess
the situation during their April
meeting.
``I don’t want us to be
the ones to blame for it not
happening,’’ said Trustee Neil
Weiller.
The board approved the
contract by a margin of 4 to 1
with Booan voting against it.
During the Gateway Technical
Committee meeting four
days later, some of the concerns
were addressed.
Booan, a member of the
committee, did not attend the
meeting, but said in an email
the Katz that his ``biggest
concern is that we can meet
the deadlines for the next
round of money.’’
Katz told Peter Loyola from
CLA Site that the board had
approved the contract for the
design phase and expressed
the board’s concerns about
the property acquisitions and
the village’s ability to meet the
September deadline.
Loyola said it is possible a
referendum will not be required
to obtain the property from
the school. A board resolution
may sufficient, he said, adding
that there is a strict process that
must be followed to obtain the
different properties.
``We’d love to move this thing
much quicker, but we are aware
of the funding issue,’’ Loyola
said.
He tried to reassure the
committee that the reimbursements
from the state will come
through.
``There are so many projects
in the same position,’’ he said.
Loyola said his firm should
have the design documents
100 percent complete by the
end of August.
``We want to make sure no
tax dollars are being spent
on this. That was always the
goal,’’ he said. ``We’re moving
this forward, but once we hit
April 30, it’s time to say yes
or no.’’
