Chemung County Land Bank awards Walnut Street bid, reviews multiple rehab and demo projects; 19 Smith Road faces DEC review

The Chemung County Land Bank approved a contractor bid for a Walnut Street rehab and reviewed progress and costs across several repair, demo and new-build projects.

At the meeting staff reported two bids for Walnut Street: Paul Holmes at $101,575 and Griffin Construction at $99,450. The land bank accepted the Griffin Construction bid after a motion by Kevin (board member) and a second by Brent (board member); the chair called for the ayes and the motion carried.

Staff provided construction updates on active rehabs: work at Weber began April 1 and required a structural engineering review by Nathan Bins of Hunt to meet code; a smaller-than-anticipated porch was required by code and triggered a change order. Abatements at 1839 Davis Street and 6 South Walnut were completed last week; bids on the latter were returned and were discussed in executive session.

Environmental costs and reimbursements were addressed in the financial update. Tara (staff member) submitted a reimbursement request covering environmental demo costs, cited at just over $149,000. Staff said environmental testing and tank removal work generated additional invoices, including an $11,000 invoice from Beaver Petroleum; the land bank reported higher-than-expected grounds and utilities costs, and snow removal had already used a substantial portion of the annual grounds budget.

19 Smith Road: staff said the site sits within 100 feet of a wetland and adjacent to Catherine Creek, described in the meeting as a premier trout stream. The property will require New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) review; staff estimated DEC review and additional permitting could take 60 to 90 days and warned the agency could deny or require mitigation. Staff estimated preliminary additional costs for 19 Smith Road at roughly $40,000 using unrestricted funds, including a Phase I report (~$2,500), asbestos survey (~$3,000) and demo costs (roughly $30,000). Jim Detrick from Soil and Water was reported to be “very open to allowing some type of, like, a fishing access point or a community park or something here,” provided it remained low maintenance.

Other project notes: staff described plans to flip interior layouts for a proposed Underwood house to create a larger open living area and noted a new build’s size at about 1,380 square feet. The land bank is coordinating with SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office) and HCR (Housing and Community Renewal) on a letter of resolution for 204 West First Street; HCR signed off and SHPO provided initial approval but staff said higher-level SHPO sign-off was still pending and that Johnson Smith Architects would prepare a historical narrative and photos at a quoted fee of about $2,900 to satisfy SHPO’s documentation needs.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes of March 19: motion carried (mover: Traczek; second: not specified). Recorded as "all in favor, aye." - Approval of financials/reimbursements (including environmental demo reimbursement): motion by Kevin; second by Brent; motion carried. - Acceptance of bid for Walnut Street (Griffin Construction, $99,450): motion by Kevin; second by Brent; motion carried.

Why it matters: the decisions affect the land bank’s project pipeline, near-term budget for environmental work, and vendor selection for active rehabs. The 19 Smith Road site will require regulatory review and additional spending before any demolition or redevelopment.

Next steps: staff will pursue DEC pre-application or review steps, circulate SHPO materials and continue contract and permit work on rehab projects; bid awards will be finalized with Griffin contracted for Walnut Street work.