Sykes signs off, board moves forward with $680000 salt shed project – The River Reporter

By ELIZABETH LEPRO

TOWN OF DELAWARE, NY Ed Sykes gave the last aye of his eight-year tenure as supervisor of the Town of Delaware Wednesday, December 11, agreeing with all but one of the town board members to accept a $680,000 bid for a new highway salt shed.

The current Delaware highway barn is in dire condition, Sykes said, citing flooding and holes in the roof. This is the second time the town has sent the project to bid, hoping the price would be lower.

If we went back and said were going to bid it again, I dont know that it would be any different using the same set of specs, Sykes said.

The towns engineering firm, Delaware Engineering secured $493,000 in grants for the shed from the state. That grant, said engineer Dave Ohman, comes with stipulations from the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) that make the project more expensive. Additionally, the shed will be 3,000 square feet with a 30-foot opening for machinery, larger than other nearby highway sheds.

Several people in the audience Wednesday questioned the high price tag, and the specs for the new design.

This isnt just a plain salt shed that several municipalities could have built, Ohman said, in response. In regards to the QIP [grant] money, you have to comply with the state Office of General Services requirements for the structure, so youre not going to build something that you could build in the Town of Fremont or you could build in the Town of Callicoon. This is something that has to go to a higher standard.

Though Al Steppich expressed his reluctance to accept the bid, Chris Hermann was the only nay vote. Ed Sykes said that no one has been willing to work with him on building the barn for less, which has forced him to rely on the grant.

After the vote, the town will move forward with the project under the direction of incoming supervisor Steve Lundgren.

Earlier in the evening, county manager Josh Potosek delivered a report on the 2020 tentative Sullivan County budget.

The county plans to appropriate $233,129,442 for the year, a $1,157,564 decrease from 2019. The county is planning a 1.59 percent tax-rate increase.

Also notable in the report is that the county is expecting $1,800,000 in revenue from room taxes this year, $2,650,000 in casino gaming and $49,000,000 in sales tax, all of which are increases from 2019.

Here are some other takeaways from Potoseks report:

Notably, the town is budgeting $500,000 to a homeless housing intake and processing center near the Department of Family Services on Community Lane in Liberty. This is something that deputy of the department William Moon has been advocating for in the last several years.

Harold Roeder, the representative from the Upper Delaware Council (UDC), also signed off on Wednesday. He has appeared diligently at the monthly meetings to offer reports on water.

Roeder made one last speech about inadequate state funding for the UDC Wednesdaythe agency has received the same funding since the 80sbut ended his tenure on a positive note.

Ive had the privilege of being the chair of the UDC three times in 22 years, Roeder said. And I just have to tell the people here and the board, I have been honored to represent this title and you people and all the supervisors that were here when I served I hope Ive been able to be of help to you.

Roeder received a round of applause from those gathered.

Sykes rounded up all the projects hes been involved in, including the new Callicoon Water District, working with the state agency regulations, the sewer project and this ongoing project of moving the highway department. He finished with a sentimental thought.

Its been my great privilege and honor to serve people in the Town of Delaware, Sykes said. It has also been my great honor and privilege to work with some really great people, including this board Everybody truly loves the town, and I thank you guys for that.

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Sykes signs off, board moves forward with $680000 salt shed project - The River Reporter