Ex-highway chief knocks plan for Newstead/Akron DPW facility
A former Newstead highway superintendent has joined the chorus of voices critical of plans for a joint Newstead/Akron public works facility.
Gary Fogl, who held the post until about eight years ago, told the Newstead Town Board on Monday that combining the town and village Department of Public Works operations under one roof would be a “mistake.”
Speaking at a work session prior to the board’s regular meeting, he also said that converting an existing industrial building on Indian Falls Road into a joint DPW operation is “not feasible” for the town.
“It’ll add at least a half hour delay in getting the plows out” to some sections of town, Fogl said. And he added that the site would increase the travel time for town public works employees to get to work. The town’s current facility is on Jackson Street.
“If you want to do something [to consolidate], why not combine the village and town halls?” Fogl asked.
“I haven’t heard one person in favor of this,” he told the board.
Fogl, who was highway superintendent for about 20 years, also was sharply critical of the Village of Akron, asking: “Why reward the village with a new building when they didn’t keep up the one they had?” The village’s aging facility off Parkview Drive has a badly leaking roof, among other problems.
Supervisor David Cummings and Councilman Harold Finger said they appreciated Fogl’s comments. “We’ve heard variations of what you’re saying,” Cummings said.
The proposal for a joint DPW complex has been under study for well over a year by a Joint Facilities Committee and town engineers Wendel Duchscherer.
Two options were studied: building a new complex on 14 acres of town-owned land on Buell Street near the town park for roughly $3.4 million or buying the former 8.5-acre Northeast Caisson site in the Five Corners Business Park, owned by Peter Henley, and converting it to use as a DPW facility.
On Aug. 11, the Town Board passed a resolution entering into an agreement with the village to “offer a bid price” for the Henley property. Nathan Neill and Daniel Shonn, attorneys for the town and village, respectively, would draw up the proposal to be presented to Henley.
Cummings said Tuesday that the attorneys have been given a top price, which he declined to specify, to offer for the property. Henley originally was asking $2 million.
The two attorneys also have drawn up an intermunicipal agreement outlining details of ownership, finances and managerial responsibilities of a joint DPW complex. Cummings said the Town Board “has made some changes” to the document, which has yet to be submitted to the Village Board.
The Village Board has not yet acted on either the agreement to make a bid for the Indian Falls Road site or the intermunicipal agreement. Because of the Labor Day holiday, its next meeting is Sept. 8, when the Town Board will also be holding a regular meeting.
Neither municipality has made a final decision on the DPW proposal, and an informational meeting will be scheduled for the community, possibly sometime this fall.
