Aging Infrastructure Addressed in Jewett

JEWETT - Big bucks have been spent on a necessary task in the town of Jewett, with officials keeping their fingers crossed the greenbacks could boomerang back, even as bigger bucks are money in the bank.

Government leaders, last week, reported completion of a new roof on the sand/salt shed at the highway department to the tune of $46,750.

It reportedly took three days from start to finish along with a return by crews to gather up nails that slid off the rounded slope to the grounds below.

Officials are whistling Dixie over the job, handled by Rossignol Builders, the lone bidder, and they might dance a jig if their efforts to recoup the expended legal tender are successful.

Even before the final shingle was gunned in, and the last translucent panel was put in place (allowing light to enter from the building’s peak), officials were busy reaching out to a potential source of reimbursement funding.

There is no certainty the moolah will be forthcoming, but town supervisor Greg Kroyer, in a followup phone interview, said a pursuit is underway.

“We are lobbying the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC) to restart their salt barn program,” Kroyer said, referencing a major project in the 1980’s conducted through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

DEP, back then, mandated that watershed counties and communities build the sand/salt facilities as part of DEP’S own federal mandate to preserve the quality of water in their upstate reservoir network.

The New York City agency financed that end of things, administered by the  CWC and others, but all these years later, many watershed entities are in the same boat as Jewett.

“There are thirty-nine of these salt barns within the watershed, and we are hearing from others who now have to pay for maintenance,” Kroyer said.

“We’re hoping the DEP will agree to, or be obliged to, set up a maintenance reimbursement program. Nobody has said yes yet, DEP would have to do that, but I’ve sent in our receipt,” Kroyer said.

The discussions also include the Coalition of Watershed Towns and are part of negotiations connected to DEP’s water withdrawal permit.

While that wait begins, there will be no waiting or possible disappointment surrounding grant dollars Jewett is receiving through the Schoharie Watershed Advisory Committee (SWAC).

SWAC has awarded the town 90,000 big ones to replace an undersized, aged culvert beneath Beeches Corners Road.

The larger, 23 foot pipe will better absorb waters that first flow through a culvert underneath Route 23C into Townhouse Brook, adjacent to the municipal hall, all ultimately entering the East Kill.

It is the second such undertaking over the past three years including some significant drainage improvements above and leading into the Route 23C culvert performed by Greene County.

A surveyor has been onsite and test borings were expected to begin as soon as this week on the latest culvert, culminating in a design and groundbreaking in the spring or summer of 2026.

“We are shooting for next season,” Kroyer said, noting the job is a shared venture between the local Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District and, again, the DEP through its Stream Management Implementation Program (SMIP).

SMIP provides financial assistance for watershed preservation projects, available to private parties and municipalities for stream restorations, highway infrastructure, etc.

In other business:

—Councilwoman Jeanie Scotti gave an update on discussions about creating a countywide ambulance service, replacing municipal units.

Those talks have been ongoing since the late fall of 2023, resulting, earlier this month, in a decision to establish a new administrative position within the county, charged with setting the groundwork for the fresh agency.

That person is expected to be in place by the end of this year or early in 2026, leading to full startup of operations in 2027.

Creation of the county service has been overseen by the county legislature, taking their cue from municipal leaders, particularly on the mountaintop, who collectively say the current system is not financially sustainable.

Jewett does not have its own ambulance squad, receiving service through a yearly contract with the neighboring town of Windham.

It is anticipated Jewett will pay more under the countywide plan. However, the tradeoff is greater sustainability and efficiency over the long term, as well as vastly improved conditions, wages and benefits for personnel.