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Ogdensburg resident raises concerns over Paterson Street project cost, city approves borrowing $4 million

Posted 3/25/14

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg city councilors approved borrowing up to $4 million for the Paterson Street Project Monday. The action drew concern from Paterson Street resident Tim Winters, who was …

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Ogdensburg resident raises concerns over Paterson Street project cost, city approves borrowing $4 million

Posted

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg city councilors approved borrowing up to $4 million for the Paterson Street Project Monday.

The action drew concern from Paterson Street resident Tim Winters, who was worried about the cost to taxpayers and reduced space for snow removal once the roadway is widened.

Winters referenced a recent estimate put forward by engineers which placed the taxpayer share of the project at $998,885, about $600,000 more than was previously discussed.

Ogdensburg City Comptroller Philip Cosmo said the original estimate for the local share of the $7.4 million project was around $380,000.

Although the scope of the project did not change, Department of Transportation officials reviewed the plan and determined several aspects of the project were “betterments,” and therefore would not cover the costs.

Winters questioned what the “betterments” entailed.

City manager John Pinkerton explained that they weren't additions to the original project, but that DOT officials had recategorized portions of project that weren't directly related to the roadwork.

He said the city had sewers that were around 100 years old and that it made fiscal sense to address them while the road was torn up. These improvements had been included in the original project, but the state recently shifted the cost to the local level.

The federal government will contribute $5.14 million and the state will pay $1.24 million toward the project.

Cosmo estimated the city will need to borrow about $2.5 million to pay contractors upfront as the federal and state funding will be issued on a reimbursement basis, but the resolution passed Monday allows the city to borrow up to $4 million.

The project would improve 1.1 miles of Paterson Street with plans to restore pavement to good condition, separate the storm sewer system from the existing combined storm/sanitary system and improving intersections, sidewalks and drainage.

The project would also widen the roadway to include two 12' wide travel lanes and two 7' wide parking lanes.