Work on Cobleskill’s Grandview Drive this summer will go only as far as money takes it.
Village board members discussed sidewalks, culverts and paving for the street, one of the most heavily traveled in the village because it leads to Cobleskill Regional Hospital.
“This road needs to be done desperately,” Mayor Linda Holmes said.
Cobleskill has in hand $81,000 ticketed for drainage work, about $128,000 in Chips, or highway funding, and $100,000 from Senator Jim Seward that’s intended for emergency services work.
Although that total is above the $290,000 for Grandview work, Mayor Holmes said other village streets need attention, too, and some of the Chips money may go to those.
Also, Mayor Holmes isn’t sure Senator Seward’s funds could be used for the Grandview work.
She plans to “reach out to other sources” to see whether any money is available. In particular, Mayor Holmes wondered about Schoharie County contributing or doing some of the work because the entire county uses the route to the hospital.
Vinnie Massarotti, who lives on Parkway Drive––which intersects with Grandview––heard that sidewalks were planned for his street. He thought Parkway sidewalks were inappropriate.
But Deputy Mayor Howard Burt assured him that Parkway wasn’t in line for sidewalks. Sidewalks on Parkway, Mr. Burt said, lead to only the hospital parking lot.
Sidewalks on Grandview would lead walkers to the hospital’s main entrances, Mr. Burt said.
Ideally, culverts would be done first, sidewalks next, and finally paving. Paving couldn’t be done first because doing sidewalks and culverts next would tear up the new pavement, Mayor Holmes and Mr. Burt said.
However, if not enough money is available this year, board members felt a thin layer of pavement would at least be an improvement.
“If we do nothing else, we’ve got to pave it,” Mr. Burt said.
Mayor Holmes agreed that the worst case would be just paving.
She expected the village to get cost estimates on the work this week to see how to proceed.