Hurley officials have found a series of cost-saving measures to bring the cost of the new highway garage down from $9 million to $7.3 million.
With about $1.5 million in reserve, the cost to taxpayers would be about $5.8 million to $6 million, but Boms said it’s possible to squeeze that number down to $5 million with further savings.
“We decided that [Highway Superintendent] Mike Shultis will take care of all the paving, and he will also be clearing the land,” Supervisor Mike Boms said at the Jan. 27 meeting.
Significant savings will come from the decision not to heat six of the 10 planned garage bays.
“We all put our heads together to try to figure out how we can reduce this and still keep the right function that we need going into the future, but do some reduction in the cost,” Council Member Debbie Dougherty said.
If the town can trim the construction budget down to $5 million after using the reserve, the bond will result in a tax increase of $60 per year on property valued at $350,000.
Moving into a new highway garage will save the town about $90,000 per year in rent for a 5,200-square-foot building on Basin Road in the town of Kingston, which the highway department has called home since the Dug Hill Road facility was condemned by the town after it was deemed unsafe.
Hurley says RAPID Act derails home rule
The Town Board is expected to vote on a letter at its Feb. 3 meeting opposing the Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Deployment Act, or RAPID. It accelerates the siting of major renewable energy facilities and electric transmission lines.
Boms warns Gov. Kathy Hochul wants 200 battery energy storage system (BESS) plants across the state, and the RAPID Act usurps actions such as the town’s six-month moratorium on such plants—an action made possible under home rule. That authority allows towns to pass laws protecting quality-of-life standards without state interference.
Boms has been a vocal opponent of BESS facilities since Terra-Gen proposed a 250-megawatt project at the former Coleman High School site just across the town line in Ulster.
Recently, Hurley Republicans have also made a stand against the proposal.
“Placing an industrial-scale battery plant in the heart of a residential neighborhood is a fundamental threat to public safety,” said Stephen Bauer, longtime professional firefighter and Republican Committee member. “These projects are prone to uncontrollable fires that release toxic gases like hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen cyanide. We cannot support a project that threatens our families and schools in the event of a catastrophe.”
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