By Mary C. Marvin

Apr. 15, 2015:  In tandem with our yearly operating budget, the trustees, village staff, and I have crafted a very comprehensive capital budget. It is quite far-reaching and aggressive as we deal with a village infrastructure, both above and below the ground, that is now 100+ years old. 

For the years 2014-2016, we have budgeted $3.46 million for capital repairs and upgrades.

Chief on the list is always paving, and this year's cycle of snow, ice, and freezing rain only exacerbated the needs, as potholes were unprecedented. On the list to be paved are Garden Avenue, Kraft Avenue, Stone Place on the west side, and residential streets that have been in the queue. Though almost $500,000 is allotted, it is stunning how far it does not go, as the average residential street costs upwards of $100,000 to pave.

We have also awarded a contract to televise and clean approximately 28,000 linear feet of sewer mains throughout the village. This work has been ongoing since February, involving high-velocity jet cleaning followed by the use of a root saw for root and grease removal. The chief culprit causing clogs is household and restaurant grease and the so-called biodegradable products such as hand and baby wipes. Since the debris clogs both the initial village pipes, and then the county system, residents are paying both in village and county taxes to free the pipes of debris. Even without obstructions, our 100-year-old clay pipes are crumbling simply due to age. Some of the spot repairs you see around the village cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. As illustration, the recent cost to replace a collapsed ten-foot section of clay pipe was $20,000, or $2,000 per linear foot.

On another important infrastructure front, the frequency of heavy rains and ice storms has destroyed municipal street trees at an unprecedented pace. In Superstorm Sandy alone, the village lost 50 mature trees. We budget approximately $130,000 yearly in operating costs to care for the trees we have--be it pruning, fertilizing, or stump removal--and our capital budget will be increased to reflect the need for the purchase of new trees. We hope to collaborate with local organizations to raise the awareness and financial resources necessary to restore the village to its former leafier, canopied look.

This is also the capital spending cycle for a new garbage truck, which costs upwards of $200,000. As I have mentioned in previous columns, because we have no indoor storage capability for our municipal vehicles, their life expectancy is not maximized to the degree possible.

New to the capital plan this year is a designation of approximately $250,000 to both upgrade and increase efficiency in our lighting configuration in the east-side business district. This will be the first phase of improving lighting throughout the village.

We will also be adding some stationary cameras in strategic locations throughout the village to complement the three mobile ones we have affixed to police cars. Stationary cameras have been not only invaluable in detecting the routine expired/suspended registrations, but also instrumental in apprehending sex offenders, tracking down stolen cars and vehicles involved in burglaries, and handling bomb scares. As illustration, a car stolen in our village was tracked down within five minutes via a camera in New Rochelle and the vehicle soon recovered.

As point of fact, these cameras per the vehicle and traffic law, in whatever jurisdiction they are located in New York State, can only enforce red-light violations according to current law and not transgressions such as crossing yellow lines, which is a bane in our village. A few states are now experimenting with camera use to monitor speeding.

Also new to our capital program are engineering costs related to the refinement of plans for a possible decking of the Kraft Avenue parking lot to add approximately 150 new spaces to our parking inventory.

We have also set aside $100,000 to improve the traffic signalization at the intersection of Pondfield Road and Midland Avenue. The area is currently being surveyed, and then suggestions will be forthcoming and implemented for increased student/pedestrian safety.

Finally, just an update on some ongoing capital projects. The flood mitigation (FEMA) plan is moving forward on schedule and is so far glitch-free. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Parkway Road bridge project. Bids went out in a timely fashion but only two responses were received. Though professionally spec'd out at a cost of $150,000 to $200,000, the bids came in at over $500,000 and $1 million dollars, respectively. We have learned that the companies that do this work in our region are gainfully employed with work on the Tappan Zee Bridge project, whose scope of work is much bigger. As a result, we are refining our bid and casting the net geographically much farther to interest qualified firms that may be farther afield.

Given the age and historic significance of our village, there are still many more capital projects worthy of investment that didn't rise to priority status but shall be undertaken in future years.