A Yates County bridge repair remains stalled over design requirements while work begins on a new eight-bay T-hangar and taxilane at the county airport, officials told the Legislature's Public Works Committee on Sept. 8.
Highway Superintendent Doug Rapalee said the Ferguson Corners Road bridge project was at a “complete stall” because the state Department of Transportation and the county's engineering consultant, B&L, differed on how to proceed. The project needs a design that meets scour-mitigation requirements, he said. The minutes give no revised construction schedule or cost.
Roads, bridges and county buildings
The highway department outlined ditching work on County Roads 15, 36 and 40 as part of its 2027 capital planning. The County Road 36 work would include tree removals, and lawmakers discussed the condition of Pre-Emption Road. Other bridge and drainage projects on the department's list included Ridge Road, Milo Street and the hamlet of Bellona.
Rapalee said a vendor had made another submission on the Bellona drainage and culvert replacement project, with a guarantee that it could meet the stated requirements. The minutes do not say a construction award was made at this meeting.
At the Torrey landfill, workers added signs identifying monitoring well locations and continued perimeter fence repairs. A severed gas vent pipe was repaired with assistance from the town of Milo, Rapalee reported.
Buildings and Grounds Director Joe Reed said a reconfiguration of the county Public Health offices was about 80% complete, with doors and frames for new openings still outstanding. Work on a Public Defender suite was next on the department's list. Design for an AHU12 air-handling unit replacement was complete, and staff were preparing bid documents.
Airport hangars and public safety facility
Committee Chair Sarah Purdy said the airport's eight-bay T-hangar and taxilane project was mobilizing equipment and bringing in materials. Seneca Flight Operations representative Rich Leppert said the existing T-hangars were full and three people were waiting for space. He expected the new hangars to be occupied no earlier than spring 2027.
Leppert also said a new NYSEG substation in Milo was intended to make electric service more consistent and reliable, not to add capacity now. An expansion could add power in the future, he said, but the minutes record no such commitment.
Resident Jack Ossent questioned why he was told to submit a Freedom of Information Law request for detailed spending records on the proposed public safety building. He argued that the information should be readily available given public interest in the project. The minutes do not record a response resolving his request.
Doug Paddock, reporting on the ad hoc public safety facility committee, said officials were waiting for a construction estimate from Pike and information from potential property owners. A report to the Public Works Committee the previous month listed $422,522 spent on the project to that point. The figure was spending reported at that time, not a final construction cost or approval to build.
The committee later went into executive session to discuss a proposed land acquisition and the financial history of a corporation. Purdy explicitly said the land discussion was unrelated to the public safety facility. The public minutes record no decision on a site or construction contract for that project.
Several highway contract amendments were forwarded toward the full Legislature without formal objections at the committee meeting. That referral was not itself a final legislative vote on the amendments.
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