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Olean to study city garage replacement; DPW director says current site insufficient
Summary
The council directed the public-works director to report back in July on options for the city garage and salt shed; the director said the existing site is too small and structurally deficient, and officials discussed exploring shared facilities and grant opportunities.
Olean’s operations and strategic-planning committees on May 20 asked the public-works director to prepare an initial plan and cost estimate for replacing or rebuilding the city garage and associated salt-storage facilities.
James, who the committee addressed about the garage site, said he toured the facility with operations staff and reviewed a 2021 engineer’s report. He told the committee the current site is not sufficient for the city’s long-term needs and that an ideal facility would likely require substantially more land — roughly six to eight acres — to consolidate bays, parts storage and vehicle workspaces.
Council members urged creative options, including shared facilities with nearby jurisdictions or regional partners, grant-seeking, and looking at alternative sites that could free the current one for redevelopment. One councilmember noted the city’s downtown garage site had been identified in a prior review as a possible redevelopment parcel.
Why it matters: the garage houses equipment and is critical to winter operations, streets and fleet repairs. Committee members said staff safety and long-term operating costs justify a funded study and professional engineering design work.
Next steps - James will convene staff, review the 2021 report and present a preliminary plan and cost estimate at a July meeting, including short-term fixes that could be implemented in the coming fiscal year and options for long-term site replacement or consolidation. - Committee members requested the administration explore grants, shared-service partnerships and potential redevelopment uses for the current garage site.
Limitations - No construction or contract awards were made; the committee requested a planning update and potential scope for hiring engineering design professionals to develop a project plan that could be financed in future capital budgets.
