Merchants’ group reviews ADA project, multiple grant awards

MILLERTON — From updates on the village’s long-awaited sidewalk replacement project to news from Eddie Collins Memorial Park and the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, the Millerton Business Alliance (MBA) kept itself up-to-date on what’s been happening with local projects and community resources at its meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 8.

MBA members gathered behind the Irondale Schoolhouse at the Main Street trail entrance for their meeting at 5:30 p.m.

Having met with the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) and engineers for the sidewalk project, Mayor Jenn Najdek explained that one of the reasons the project got “bogged down” is because Millerton combined two different grants for the project, one of which was an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance grant. 

Normally with sidewalks, she said, “You have to make certain parts ADA-compliant, but you’re not saying it’s an ADA-compliant project.”

Najdek said the village combined the ADA grant it received for ADA improvements at the Village Hall building and bundled the grant into the sidewalk project, resulting in “making the ADA compliant piece oversee the entire project.” 

She explained there are certain forms that have to be filed with the DOT to get exemptions for the ADA piece, and that there have been three different lawsuits over the past couple of years involving villages and towns that put in grants claiming to be “ADA-compliant but in the end they weren’t.” 

In the end, Najdek said those towns and villages were sued, and their sidewalks were all ripped out and redone at the municipalities’ expense.

Najdek said the DOT and village project engineer are trying to keep that from happening to Millerton. Seeing as the engineer filled out the necessary forms and submitted them to the DOT, she was told it could be between a week and 10 days before the village gets the green light for its sidewalk project. 

At this point, Najdek said she didn’t see the project happening before Oct. 1, and once the DOT gives the green light, she said there will be an on site meeting with the DOT and the individual who will oversee the ADA component of the project.

With the village’s grant for this project set to expire on Sunday, Oct. 31, Najdek said the village is planning to apply for an extension of the grant. Furthermore, she said Millerton is moving forward with a request for proposals (RFP) for engineering services for the other side of the sidewalk to make sure it can be ready once it is given permission to begin work. Once she gets a start date for the project, the mayor said she’ll let merchants know.

North East town Supervisor Chris Kennan announced the town received a $250,000 Municipal Investment Grant (MIG) from Dutchess County for the construction of the actual highway garage that is being shared between the town and village. Given the increase in material prices, he said the construction of the highway garage has been put out to bid again. (For more on the MIG award, go to www.tricornernews.com.)

Jeanne Vanecko said the village also received an MIG grant from the county to update Eddie Collins Memorial Park into the temporarily-renamed Millerton Community Park, worth $328,000. Along with putting the park over its funding goal for Phase One and into Phase Two, she said this means the items that were removed from the project can be added back in, such as installing electrical charging stations and bringing in workers to repair the playground equipment.

Going back to the sidewalk project, Vanecko said Townscape has raised money to replace all the trees on Main Street, but if the sidewalk project starts too late, they won’t be able to replace the trees until next spring. 

In terms of sequencing, she said the trees will remain in place while the sidewalk is being laid. While that work is done, though, Townscape could lay the conduit underneath the sidewalk for the village’s annual holiday lights. As it stands, Vanecko said Townscape will move forward with the same program it has provided for the community in years past for the holidays.

Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association (HVRTA) Chairman Dick Hermans then told the MBA his group received a $75,000 grant through the Park and Trails Partnership Grant program earlier this month for improvements 4 miles of trail running through Taconic State Park. 

Kennan added the town is working on a parking lot on Rudd Pond Road to help take pressure off of the village for people who want to access the Rail Trail further up from the village.