BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — The town board is mulling a permanent easement to St. Lawrence County to allow construction of two new county highway facilities at 19 Madrid Ave. where the town highway barn is located.

The board listened to a pitch for the easement from St. Lawrence County Highway Superintendent Donald Chambers and discussed a resolution to create the permanent easement for the county at their meeting Tuesday, April 13.

The town and the county highway departments have shared use of the land, which is owned by the town, for years. The county now has a plan to construct a new highway garage and a salt storage shed there. However, to be able to secure financing for the project, the county needs to secure an ownership interest in the land. The permanent easement satisfies that requirement.

At the April 13 meeting, Chambers discussed the project and showed maps of the proposed work.

The county’s plans call for a salt and sand storage building and a 6-bay truck storage facility at the site.

Currently the site includes one small county building, three larger town highway buildings, fuel pump stations and space for sand and salt storage.

The draft easement would include a proposed access way and an improved fuel island, Chambers told the board.

The county superintendent declined to cite a specific total cost for the project due to the county still having to go to bid for the construction.

Chambers and town highway Superintendent John Keleher explained that the size of the access ways into the site planned in the easement allows clearance for traffic flow of tractor trailers delivering salt onto the lot for both departments.

“We’ve researched that to make sure what we are proposing would work with any size vehicle,” Chambers said.

He said the plan is not creating any new driveways or traffic patterns on the lot.

Keleher told the board that the space the county is requesting is space it has used at the town lot for years. “Basically . . .the easement you see there is what they’ve been using,” he said.

Chambers pointed to the shared services between both departments at the lot which have saved money and time for each.

Chambers said the county wants the new buildings at the site for two main reasons. Environmentally, the department doesn’t want to have its salt and sand left outside. Operationally, the county superintendent said a vehicle storage facility would allow better maintenance and care of county vehicles in an indoor workspace for county workers.

Town board members questioned what the town and county gain from the land rights being turned over the to county.

Town Board Member Marty Miller said he was concerned about giving up the space to the county through a permanent easement due to how it may impact the town’s future plans at the lot.

“The town is giving something big up… which is this permanent easement that the financiers demand,” said Town Supervisor Ann Carvill. She suggested an agreement which would see the county paying an annual rental fee for the permanent easement in return.

“That would be something my board would have to discuss,” Chambers said.

Chambers suggested that the outlines of the easement could be altered to satisfy the town, perhaps just including the new building footprints and egress.

The town board agreed to table the resolution on the easement to allow further discussion.

Chambers said he wished the plan could have been presented earlier in the year, but cautioned that the building season has begun and that the county would like to break ground on the new buildings this year.

“We are trying to get this (easement) so we can have a bid opening in mid May,” he said.

Later in the board meeting, the board members reiterated their concerns about what the town would stand to gain in the transfer.

Miller said he felt that a lot of the board’s concerns could have been ironed out if the county had “invited the town to the table at the beginning.” He said the town could have perhaps planned to share a new salt storage facility with the county as a for instance.

“We’re the goose with the golden egg and we’re not getting (anything) at the end of the day,” Miller said.

The board opted to table further discussion, develop questions for the county on the easement independently and then reconsider the matter at a future meeting.