Some State Money for Local Pothole Repairs will Benefit Southeast, other Putnam Towns

Putnam County and the local municipalities will have some extra money to go toward road repair this year.

It has been appropriated through the Consolidation Local Street and Highway Improvement Program, more commonly known as CHIPS, and the Extreme Winter Recovery fund.

“After the winter we just survived, we could use all the funding we can get so we can fill the potholes and get our roads back into shape,” said County Executive MaryEllen Odell in a prepared statement. “I want to thank Senator Terrence Murphy and Senator Sue Serino for ensuring our communities received an increase allotment.”

Lawmakers approved an additional $50 million over what Gov. Andrew Cuomo had proposed for roads, Murphy said.

Putnam’s Highway Commissioner Fred Pena traveled to Albany with Kent Highway Superintendent Rich Othmer and other local highway superintendents to advocate the need for more money to be distributed through the CHIPS program.

They requested a 40 percent increase in permanent CHIPS allocations and a $500 million boost in state aid to local roads, bridges and culverts from the $5 billion settlement of the state’s lawsuit against foreign banks.

Carmel Superintendent Michael Simone said “Very disappointed to say the very least, after going to Albany and lobbing the Senate and Assembly asking for 200 million over 5 years and 500 million for our bridges, culverts, and drainage. One would think the infrastructure would be most important and the fact the governor called it “pork barrel” money and said ‘local municipalities should take care of their own local roads’ is absurd.”

While the increases per municipality were relatively small, county officials said, municipal highway departments will pool resources together with the county’s highway department to optimize productivity. Through collective tracking and the sharing of equipment through inter-municipal agreements the highway departments can be efficient and get more done with less.

Odell and the highways superintendents are asking Murphy and Serino to fight for $150 million from the foreign bank settlement to be distributed among the county, town and village highway departments so local roads can be fixed.