BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON - Who, when and how much will it cost to pave a stretch of the Miner Street Road from the village limits to Taylor Park? 

Members of the Canton Town Board examined that scenario at their monthly meeting on Sept. 11.

The road has been milled but it’s not known when paving will take place. The town contracted with the St. Lawrence County Highway Department to perform the paving but county officials say that may no longer be possible due to extensive emergency repair work from Hurricane Debby on Aug. 9.

The town agreed to put the job out to bid with a requirement to complete the work this paving season. 

“We need to get bids back in a timely fashion,” said Town Highway Superintendent Steven Smith.

A Legal Notice will be posted with a due back date of Sept. 26 at 10 a.m. with the board expected to take action on the paving bids late that day.

The Legal Notice reads: The Town of Canton Highway Department is seeking bids for the paving of the Miner Street Road Project. Specification sheets for the project can be obtained at the Highway Superintendent’s Office at 9 Stiles Avenue, Canton, NY;  or the Canton Town Clerk's Office at 60 Main Street, Canton, NY, 13617. The vendor shall represent said company and be authorized to pave. All bids must be in a sealed envelope and received by the Town Clerk’s, 60 Main Street, Canton, NY 13617 on or before 10 a.m. September 26, 2024. Bids will be opened and considered at 10 a.m. the same day. The Town reserves the right to reject any or all bids. A non-collusion bidding certificate is required with all bids.

The paving phase of the Miner Street Road project is just one of the many challenges the town council has faced.

Once completed, a stretch of the Miner Street Road from the village limits to Taylor Park will have two 10-foot driving lanes and mainly two 3-foot shoulders for pedestrian and bicycle use. That decision was made by the Canton Town Board at a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

Original plans called for two 10-foot travel lanes and two 5-foot pedestrian and bicycling lanes. But once construction got underway, it was determined this roadway was not wide enough to accommodate these specs.

Councilman Randy Brown voiced his displeasure with the whole process, saying having a clerk of the works on board could have rectified the situation.

“I’m not throwing anyone under the bus but going forward, I think we could have avoided problems from the beginning to the end,” said Brown. “Steve tried to make a bad situation better.”

At an earlier meeting, Trustee James T. Smith said he has been involved in the project since day one and supporting the project.

“It was a good idea to get something to Taylor Park. The plans looked good and it wasn’t until the implementation phase that issues arose,” Smith said. “I’m not in favor of putting something in place that we are fairly certain will fail.”

Trustee Wayne Cuthbert agreed.

“The idea was thought through well but the design was not. Let’s do it right and make it last,” he said.

In the end, Town Supervisor Mary Ann Ashley and the four board members placed their trust in Smith and unanimously approved the reconstruction plan.