Schoharie County supervisors defended their decision to commit $2 million for the water and sewer lines to Howe Caverns Friday by saying that the project will be a boon for the Route 7 corridor and a boost to Schoharie County taxpayers.
The project, which will cost a total of $7.8 million, is long overdue and will do much more than provide water and sewer service to the proposed Howe Caverns dinosaur park, supervisors said.
They’ve come under criticism in recent weeks for committing public money to the project, almost a first for the county.
“The future is going to show we did the right thing at the right time,” said Dennis Richards of Middleburgh. “If you sit back and do nothing, you're wrong.
“This is an opportunity for the county to move forward.”
Cobleskill Supervisor Tom Murray was even more effusive in his praise of the project, which will also be funded by $2 million from Howe Caverns.
Running water and sewer lines from the Village of Cobleskill will help bring businesses to Route 7 and add property tax and sales tax revenue to the county coffers, thereby lowering the burden on the taxpayers, he said.
“This has to be done,” Mr. Murray said. “We can’t stay where we are because we're falling off the cliff...
“It has to happen or we're going backwards.”
Two huge projects that would have provided tax relief and jobs, Lowe's and FedEx, were lost because of a lack of water on Route 7, Mr. Murray said.
Alicia Terry, the director of the county planning department, added, “The real beneficiary for this project is the Route 7 corridor.”
In addition to putting in county funds and the $2 million from the caverns, a grant is being sought from the Economic Development Administration for $2.575 million.
“We're using Howe Caverns as a pawn to get funding for this project,” Mr. Murray said. “Howe Caverns is not getting one dime of this money from the county.”
The Howe Caverns project could, he said, generate more than $750,000 in property taxes and more than $1 million more in sales tax revenue, and at least $147,000 more in bed tax revenue, as well as 300 jobs.
Once the dinosaur project is done, the number of visitors at the caverns could grow from 160,000 to more than 500,000 a year, he said.
That type of traffic will require many more businesses along Route 7 including hotels, restaurants and convenience stores, Mr. Murray said.
The project will also include a zipline, a 3,800-square-foot gem and minestone building and an enclosed pavilion, all on target to open this May.
“The people this draws to our area will be overwhelming,” said Martin Shrederis of Schoharie.
More businesses and development will require more services, but the project and subsequent development will reduce tax increases because of other rising costs in the future, Mr. Murray said.
Not all supervisors or residents at last week’s meeting applauded the spending of county dollars for the project.
When county employees are being told that times are tough, the timing may not be right, said Phil Skowfoe of Fulton.
“I’m not saying there’s not a benefit down the road but at this point when everyone is tightening their belts, it doesn't seem fair,” he said.
Resident Earl Gaskill wondered about who the real beneficiary of the county's funds will be.
“You’re wrong to take people's money,” he said.
Told that Howe Caverns and the Galasso family has committed more than $20 million to the expansion project at the Caverns, Mr. Gaskill said, “Let him put in $22 million.”
Mr. Skowfoe wondered if the development would pay off.
“Growth is good to a point,” he said. “but when the costs keep coming...You need to provide more services.”
Resident Peter Johnson warned that the final costs for large, public project are “always significantly higher” than first estimates.
“The infrastructure costs could increase substantially,” he said.
“There is a very significant risk, probably greater than the numbers reviewed.”
Despite the warning, most supervisors said the risk is worth it.
The cost to the county would be $2 million with a potential asset of $8 million in the extension of the water and sewer lines, noted Bob Mann of Blenheim.
“There is a risk in doing nothing,” said Dan Singletary of Jefferson.
“We can’t just look at today. We have to look at 20, 30 years down the road.”
Despite concerns, Ms. Terry said the project was a good investment for the county.
The typical lifespan for water and sewer lines is 80 to 90 years, she said, and the county could pay off the debt in 20 years.
“I understand the reservations and concerns but the problem is this is a time of flux in state government and federal government,” she said. “There is always risk.”
The project is an investment in infrastructure, she said. “That’s what economic development is.”