Committee approves Golden Hill signal; developer, county and federal funding arrangement described

The Ulster County Public Works and Capital Projects Committee on Feb. 10 approved funding and contracts to install a traffic signal at Route 32 and Golden Hill Lane and advanced related infrastructure work to support a nearby developer’s project.

The committee adopted Resolution No. 19 to amend the county’s capital improvement program for the Golden Hill transportation improvements and approved a contract (Resolution No. 20, per the agenda) to begin installation work. The committee also approved two agreements with Golden Hill owner/developer entities: a $300,000 developer contribution (Resolution No. 21) and a separate $679,100 contract to build a pump station supportive of the Golden Hill project (Resolution No. 22).

Why it matters: County staff said the developer contribution and the pump station contract are tied to a larger federal funding picture — a congressionally directed funding award routed through the county and HUD — and that the structure of that federal award affects whether certain work will be subject to federal Buy America provisions.

What staff said Mr. Doan, Department of Public Works/Planning staff, told the committee the project was the beneficiary of ‘‘congressionally directed funding’’ and that the county is working with HUD on the contract. He said the federal process has been slow and that the federal award could still fail to materialize. The committee was told the county will set Penrose up as a subrecipient so the county would pass through federal funds only after the federal money is received.

Doan said the parties had restructured the arrangement to address Buy America concerns. He said the intent was to split the congressional award so that ‘‘the county would get $500,000 for its signal, and Penrose would get $500,000 for its water treatment plant’’ if the federal funds come through. Doan said Penrose had originally committed $300,000 toward the signal; if the federal award arrives as anticipated, Penrose would instead pay additional money into the signal project so that the eventual split would be 50/50.

Committee action and conflicts Legislator Litts moved adoption of the signal resolution; Legislator McCullough seconded. Committee members voted to pass the signal resolution out of committee with a recorded tally of 4 yes, 0 no and 1 recusal (recusal was noted on the record as being for employment). The contract with Jorey Excavating and the Penrose agreements were also approved; some votes recorded abstentions for employment on the record.

What is not resolved Staff emphasized the federal funds were not yet in hand and said no county payment to the developer would occur until federal funds were deposited into the county account. The committee also discussed how Buy America conditions could change project allocations; staff warned the federal process is ‘‘abysmally slow, and it may disappear,’’ as Mr. Doan put it.

Next steps County staff said construction inspection work will be procured (some inspection work under $50,000 may not require separate legislative approval) and that the contracts will move forward to the full legislature for final action.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the meeting transcript and limited to named participants.