Greenburgh Bd discusses capital budget safety improvement requests

HIGHLIGHTS OF 3rd PRE BUDGET DEPARTMENT CAPITAL BUDGET REQUESTS INCLUDE --

TRAFFIC LIGHT AT FORT HILL ROAD, ARDSLEY ROAD, EXPLORING ROUNDABOUT JACKSON/SPRAIN, SIDEWALK ON FT HILL ROAD (UNDERHILL TO LONGVIEW), OLD TARRYTOWN ROAD AND TAXTER ROAD

Safety improvements on Dobbs Ferry Road (near Sprain Parkway), Sidewalk on Dobbs Ferry Road

On May 21 the Greenburgh Town Board held our third meeting to discuss department capital budget requests. The requests are wish lists. In the coming days I will be working with our new Comptroller The new Comptroller, Kimberly Gutwein preparing a proposed capital budget. This years process has been the most open in memory. All departments that are submitting requests have discussed the requests in public. I’ve been sharing links to the discussions. . We plan to finalize the proposed 2024 capital budget within the next few weeks (hopefully sooner). After I submit a proposed capital budget to the Town Board there will be public hearings.

You can watch the latest round of departmental presentations from the May 21 Town Board work session here https://greenburghny.new.swagit.com/videos/305908.

• Traffic light at Fort Hill and Ardsley Road, $650K – to control traffic and pedestrian movements. The cost includes engineering design. This is the location where there is currently a blinking light.

• Jackson and Sprain Road intersection traffic improvements, $100K – the town plans to explore the possibililty of constructing a roundabout at the intersection: Jackson Ave/Sprain Road.

• Sidewalk projects, $600K – Fort Hill Road (from Underhill to Longview), Old Tarrytown Road (County Center Road to Bronx River Parkway) , and Taxter Road sidewalks are recommended. Almost 12 miles of new sidewalks have been funded or constructed around town in recent years.

• Dobbs Ferry Road sidewalk, $500K – from Sciortino Place to Route 119. $1.5M construction costs, with $1M grant from the Federal Transportation Alternatives program matched with $500M from the Town. This will build a 5 ft. wide sidewalk (3,000 linear feet) on the south side of Dobbs Ferry Road, along with drainage.

• Dobbs Ferry Road sidewalk, $500K – from Sciortino Place to Route 119. $1.5M construction costs, with $1M grant from the Federal Transportation Alternatives program matched with $500M from the Town. This will build a 5 ft. wide sidewalk (3,000 linear feet) on the south side of Dobbs Ferry Road, along with drainage

TYDCC-SPECIFIC CAPITAL REQUESTS

Folded into the DPW budget are several high-priority items specific to the Department of Community Resources/Theodore D. Young Community Center, namely:

• Parking lot, $2M – . This is phase 2 of work partially being covered by a Community Block Development Grant that called for replacing the Lois Bronz playground (complete) and replacing the parking lot next. The lot is quite dated and not ADA compliant. It also suffers drainage problems when hit with heavy storms and overflow from the Manhattan Brook. The work is pricey as it would involve adding water storage, inlets and damming under the lot. This is arguably the most heavily used building in Town, serving many seniors, and the lot is very busy.

• Elevator replacement, $300K – is to replace a critical system that is 33 years old. Hurricane IDA flooding wiped out some components that were salvaged/replaced but the unit is elderly and needs replacing before it fails, leaving many seniors unable to get to the second floor.

Finally, the HVAC system, $750K – involves replacing the boiler on the 2nd floor and two A/C units on the roof. The building is a complicated network of 16 zones with many systems on the way out. The first floor boiler was replaced this year as part of a $50K grant from Senator Cousins’ office. Climate control and comfort are key to maintain the community center.

DPW ITEMS ACROSS TOWN BUILDINGS THAT INCLUDE TYDCC INCLUDE:

• Electronic Signage for notifications in the TDYCC, Library, Nature Center, $130K – Includes permanent digital signs notifying the public of events and other important updates.

• Security updates and improvements across town-owned buildings, $800k –

• Roofing projects, $2M – The TYDCC problem areas are over the gym, where the flat roof has pooling water and leaks onto the new floor. The board discussed possibly also folding a new solar project into the roof replacement needed. The current solar is 14 years old, first generation, and not performing as it used to/should be. Its function has been to help heat the pool. If roof work is happening, it might be time to consider a new solar install as well to further offset the electrical usage of the building.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ITEMS

A Budget item:

• Odell House, $500K – the Revolutionary era historic house suffering great disrepair for many decades is undergoing a massive reconstruction/repair to become an open museum. Two phases of construction are complete: temporary stabilization that kept house from falling down; and roof repairs fully done. The third phase is permanent stabilization, a 1905 rear extension rebuild, full siding and shingles underway now and projected for completion by September this year. The fourth phase, requesting funding for this round, will be electrical, lighting, interior finishes, security, plumbing, septic, ADA accessibility, for roughly $1.4M. The request is for the Town to match an EPF Grant of $500K with another $500K. Work could begin Nov. and continue for another year. The total Odell restoration project is $3.2M, of that $1.1M funded by the Town and $2.1M in grants.

• Solar at Town Hall, $400K – $1.2M project minus state and federal rebates leaves us with $400K town expense to add more solar to the Town Hall roof and create covered solar structures in the parking lot. The initial expense will in years lead to paying for itself and earning money after to the tune of $70K per year. This is anticipated to be a shovel-ready project for Nov-Dec this year.

Paul Feiner

Greenburgh Town Supervisor