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Town of Wheatfield Board awards bid for fence around former landfill

Fri, Aug 11th 2017 02:25 pm
By Lauren Zaepfel
Tribune Editor
The Wheatfield Town Board accepted a bid from New York State Fence for the installation of a fence around the former Niagara Sanitation Landfill on Nash Road. The landfill previously accepted waste from various chemical companies.
New York State Fence was the low bidder out of three that were submitted for the project with a total price of $106,800.
The other bids included one by Woodsmith Fence Corp. at $153,800 and another by Fox Fence at $219,500 - which were high enough for Wendel, as the town engineer, to contact the low bidder to ensure it had an adequate understanding of the specs and requirements of the job.
After reviewing the project with New York State Fence, the company confirmed it will honor its price.
Wendel engineer Tim Zuber said Wendel recommended the Town Board award New York State Fence the project.
The Town Board members unanimously voted in favor of accepting the bid.
"It's been a long haul, but it will be nice to get this done," said Town of Wheatfield Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe.
The board also agreed to authorize Wendel to provide services during the installation process, including construction administration and observation, at a cost of $8,900.
Some of the administration tasks include issuing notices of awards and notices to proceed, conducting a preconstruction meeting and answering questions during construction.
Last year, New York State Sen. Robert G. Ortt secured $75,000 in grant funding for the fence.
Deputy Supervisor Larry L. Helwig mentioned Ortt had said there might be additional funding for the project available if the board requested it.
But Cliffe said, "I did bring that up (with Ortt's office) and was told that there will be no further funds forthcoming."
When asked why Ortt's office was unable to provide additional funds, Cliffe said, "There's always a possibility, but it's probably a matter of budgets, it's probably a matter of what's available."
The fence is expected to be completed this year.
In other news:
•Although the Town Board indicated last month it would not accept a $756,000 grant from the New York State Department of Transportation for a sidewalk on Krueger Road, Cliffe pointed out the board has not yet responded to the DOT's offer.
This comes after all board members, excluding Cliffe, voted against accepting the grant after hearing from residents who were either for or against the sidewalk. Cliffe stated he is still in favor of the sidewalk.
"DOT would like an answer, because if they don't give us the money they can give it somewhere else," Cliffe said.
The board recently discussed asking the DOT to change the scope of the grant to allow the funds for the sidewalk to be put instead toward widening Krueger Road's shoulders. "That's not going to happen either," Cliffe said Monday night. "So we just need to sign the letter saying 'Thank you' or 'No thank you.' "
After the meeting, Cliffe explained the town spoke with its grant writer Bernie Rotella. He said, in order to change the request from a sidewalk to widening the road, the DOT would require another map plan and report.
This would include another study of the road (after one was already conducted for the sidewalk plan) to determine how expensive it would be to widen the shoulders, Cliffe said.
"In the interim, the guys (councilmen) are figuring it's better for us to do it ourselves, possibly without a grant - if we can even get a grant - and nobody is prepared at this point to give Wendel $5,000 or $6,000 or $8,000, whatever it is, to do another map report that's going to sit on somebody's desk in Albany for another year. ... We don't know if it's going to come true anyway."
Cliffe requested the board members be ready to make a decision at the next Town Board meeting on Aug. 21.
•Town Board members approved two motions regarding moving forward with phases of two subdivision projects in the town.
The board approved the final stage of the Ashwood Subdivision off Shultz Road, which will include the construction of 13 single-family residential lots.
The board also approved phase two of the Eagle Chase Subdivision project, located off Lockport Road. This phase will include the construction of 12 single-family residential lots. Both projects were approved with conditions, including that construction during the phases must be completed in accordance with current town details and standards, and the developers must submit a drainage plan to Wendel and the town drainage committee. Also, the developers must maintain drainage on and around the subdivision properties during construction.
A $50,000 road bond was required for both subdivision projects to pay for any potential damage that may be made to adjacent town roads during the construction process, as well.

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