Mburgh Village, County May Team up to Redo Clauverwie

MIDDLEBURGH - The Village of Middleburgh and Schoharie County may team up in a $500,000 project to reconstruct Clauverwie Road.

Village board members Monday night agreed to support a joint project with the county to redo the sidewalk, street, and water lines on Clauverwie, which is  county road. The project is going to a committee on the county level before going to the full county board.

Mayor Tim Knight said that the project, which may require grant funding to complete, would have a much stronger grant application  if the county and village combine on the effort.

The village will be responsible for replacing the sidewalk, a job that will cost about $75,000, the county will be responsible for redoing the street, and the water line replacement will cost between $350,000 and $400,000 will require grant funding. The village and county would apply together. The street reconstruction, about 1,000 feet, will cost between $50,000 to $75,000, Mayor Knight said. A new water line is very important to the project, Mayor Knight added. There have been at least 10 water line breaks on the street and there is no drainage, village officials noted.

No timeline was announced.

The resolution approved by the village read in part, "The Village of  Middleburgh is interested in pursuing a joint project with the County of Schoharie to make improvements to Clauverwie Road, including but not limited to replacing the existing municipal water infrastructure, sidewalks, and street, and whereas, funding sources in Albany and Washington, D.C., are more receptive to grant applications where inter-municipal cooperation  exists not only in terms of administrative support but monetary match..."

The reconstruction is definitely needed, Trustee Bob Tinker said.

"It's a mess down there and needs to be done right the first time."

He also strongly suggested having a sewer line buried the same time as the water line noting that, eventually, 75 to 80 sewer customers could be added in the future. The line could be "dry" for now until it is used in the future.

Mayor Knight noted that it would probably take more than five years for a sewer expansion in that part of the village.

Other board members said a sewer line is a good idea but not feasible at this time because of the cost.

DPW superintendent Cole Keyser also noted that the sewer plant and system would need "serious work" to add 80 customers.