After decades of missed opportunities, the Town of Cobleskill broke ground Friday on a $9.2 million project that will extend water and sewer-and economic growth-as far as Howe Caverns.
"This is a long overdue project," Supervisor Tom Murray told a crowd of about 40 people gathered at Crossroads Barn. "I hope now we can be competitive."
As long ago as the 1960s, the Route 7 corridor had been identified as the most likely spot for commercial growth, Mr. Murray said, but the town was forced to watch as first FedEx-with an estimated 400 jobs-and then Lowe's took their business elsewhere.
Natural gas service was established in the corridor in 2003, he said, but without water and sewer, that wasn't enough.
"Today marks a new opportunity for the town and surrounding communities," he said. "We're excited about this opportunity for our future. We hope we can be competitive and we know we have the horsepower to make this happen."
The $9.2 million project includes funding from the new York State Economic Transformation Area Program, Howe Caverns, Schoharie County, NYS Office of Community Renewal, National Grid, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Town of Cobleskill, with $4.1 million from the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council and financing through USDA Rural Development, NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation, and Key Bank the final pieces needed to move it forward.
Emil Galasso, co-owner with Charles Wright of Howe Caverns, praised Mr. Murray and Schoharie County Planning and Development Director Alicia Terry for finding a way to make expansion there possible.
"Howe Caverns is a treasure that belongs to the county," Mr. Galasso said.
"Of the things we needed most, public water and sewer for the Route 7 corridor topped the list."
And by linking job creation to the project, Cobleskill was able to leverage much of the needed funding, Ms. Terry said.
Already, the water and sewer expansion project is bearing fruit, Mr. Murray said:
In June, Stewart's Shops, which had been looking at the Route 7/145 spot for several years, purchased the Crossroads Barn from Realty USA with plans to build a second Cobleskill store there once the lines are completed.
Assemblyman Pete Lopez praised the project and predicted it would bring the community "tremendous benefits," and Mayor Mark Galasso called it a "win-win-win project for all of Schoharie County."
"We're all neighbors here," he said. "At the end of the day, I don't live in the Village of Cobleskill, I don't live in the Town of Cobleskill, I live in Schoharie County."