Rotterdam building plan uncertain
Town rejects proposal for public safety facility on Hamburg Street
By Paul Nelson
Published 11:17 pm, Friday, April 12, 2013
Rotterdam
The realization by town officials that they were in jeopardy of flouting municipal law and its purchasing policy has left plans for a new public safety building on hold.
The action has also angered supporters of a proposal to locate the facility to Hamburg Street.
Town Board member Robert Godlewski, who was the only member of the panel to vote Wednesday night in favor of the $8.7 million proposal by Highbridge Development LLC, blasted his colleagues for bungling the process and misleading residents. The plan called for restoring the long vacant 4.6-acre Grand Union building, with about 250 parking spaces, and selling it to the town.
He argued Friday that the board should never have voted on a resolution seeking Rotterdam's "intent" regarding housing the police department and judicial complex at 2696 Hamburg Street, the long vacant site of the old Grand Union.
The resolution failed after the town received a revised $5.9 million proposal from the Galesi Group — $3 million lower than Highbridge's bid — and a presentation by Rotterdam Comptroller Jacqueline Every and John Paolina, a fiscal adviser on town finances.
The financial experts told the board that the town could afford to bond about $5.2 million on the public safety project without job and service cuts or breaking the state's two percent tax cap.
"I don't know what the hell they were thinking," Godlewski said Friday. "I don't know why it took them that long to realize they can't afford it."
While he understands the appeal of Hamburg Street, Supervisor Harry Buffardi contends the revised Galesi proposal was a game-changer.
Besides the project's "fiscal implications," Buffardi said there are "legal implications" because there was no request for proposals as required under the competitive bidding process. He said competitive bidding could yield even more savings for the town, public hearings, and maybe even a public referendum.
"We want to do it the right way," he said. There are no scheduled dates in the near future to discuss the matter.
Paul DeMilio, a Hamburg Street Merchants Association board member, said he was so surprised by the vote on the Highbridge plan that he stepped out of the room and thought about leaving but returned. "I personally thought with all the sentiment, buying versus leasing, that it was a done deal," said De Milio, who has also serves on the executive board of the Rotterdam Business Association. "We felt confident."
An earlier proposal from the Galesi Group called for renovating Building 50 at Rotterdam Industrial Park to include the special features police and courts require, including a holding cell and chambers for the municipal judge. The work was scheduled to take about six months, after which the town would lease the 33,000-square-foot property from Galesi. The new proposal, which Buffardi said calls for purchasing Building 50, was sent via email to the town on Wednesday morning.
The Town Board's action leads Godlewski to believe the idea of locating the county's central dispatch center in the Hamburg building is dead.
"If we get central dispatch, I'll be shocked," Godlewski said. He said several business owners on Hamburg Street left Wednesday's meeting feeling angry and betrayed because they believed the public safety building would be built on their block and help revitalize the area.
Buffardi said the town's hands were somewhat forced by the county's desire and a October deadline to get its central dispatch center online and opened in 2014
The town could generate some revenue by leasing space to the county at its new police and judicial complex. "The county was anxious to get our intent so they can make a decision on where they can locate county dispatch," said Buffardi.
Schenectady County Attorney Christopher Gardner said Friday that county officials within the next week or two hope to make a determination about where the dispatch center will be housed.
"We need to go forward quickly, and we try to partner with towns and cities when its cost-effective," Gardner said, adding they need at lease 5,000 square feet.
pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Rotterdam-building-plan-uncertain-4431526.php
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