Downtown businesses are struggling to survive Cobleskill's water and sewer project.
Choking clouds of dust from the construction are keeping customers away, and until now, it was unclear whether any dust control was coming--and who's responsible for the clean-up.
Village crews stepped in to do the job over the weekend.
Started in late April, the project will replace 1880s water and sewer lines from the main intersection to North Street.
Although people expected traffic and parking problems, nobody at the start anticipated days-long haze of dust.
"It's horrible--dirty, dusty and there's no parking on Main Street," said Jacqui Hauser, who owns The Studio for Art and Craft and executive director for Cobleskill Partnership Inc., the downtown advocacy group.
Ms. Hauser is one of many merchants hurt by the project. (See related story.)
Believing the village should take charge, Sal Liardo of Pizza Shack said crews should wet down Main Street several times a day.
"It's frustrating," Mr. Liardo said. "I'm not asking for help. I'm asking for what should be done."
"I don't think our voices are being heard by the village."
Stephanie Livingston of Shear Design agreed with Mr. Liardo.
"I understand this project needs to be done," she said. "But where's the support for the businesses down here?"
Mayor Linda Holmes heeded the complaints. Several times she's urged contractor August Bohl to regularly spray the streets to control dust.
Mayor Holmes wanted the clean-up particularly for Cobleskill's weekend events.
"We wanted it clean for college graduation, and that didn't happen," Mayor Holmes said. "We wanted it clean for Memorial Day, and that didn't happen."
Ken Armlin, Bohl's superintendent for the project, said regular clean-up would be difficult.
"It's next to impossible to keep the dust down when you tear up this much pavement," he said.
Mr. Armlin said he'd run a sweeper and a vacuum truck on Main Street Friday evening, but that works only on the pavement, not the torn up part of the street that creates the dust.
He also recognized that businesses are hurting and may continue to suffer until the project's completion date, July 31.
"The work is on schedule, but it will be tight," Mr. Armlin said. "I'm doing this as fast as I can. I'm pushing as hard as I can."
Although Mayor Holmes believes the contractor should do more, she directed village employees to wash down the dust.
Saying that downtown is dirty "beyond what it should be," the Mayor said the village will hose down the street, keep track of the hours and send a bill to August Bohl.
"It shouldn't come on the shoulders of the village," Mayor Holmes said. "They want us to pay. We're not paying for it. Clean-up is part of the job."