Dutchess County legislators approved a $4.5 million bond to continue the expansion of the Dutchess County Rail Trail at their July 14 meeting. The funds were part of a $10 million bond that County Executive William Steinhaus asked the Legislature to consider earlier this month.
“Just last week the budget director reminded the Legislature of a projected $2 million shortfall due to the state budget, and a potential multi-million shortfall due to a declining trend in sales tax and mortgage revenues. It would be irresponsible of the Legislature to move forward with millions of dollars of bonding when the county’s fiscal condition is so tenuous,” said Tom Mansfield (D-Red Hook), vice chair of the Legislature’s Public Works and Capital Projects Committee, in a July 11 release explaining the Legislature’s reluctance to approve the entire package.
The amended resolution was accepted at the Legislature’s July 14 meeting and was sent to Steinhaus for his consideration.
The approved funds will pay for the last leg of the rail trail, from Morgan Lake in the City of Poughkeepsie to the former Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, the Walkway Over the Hudson project.
And county Democrats aren’t the only ones concerned about finances – the Walkway Over the Hudson project was recently scaled back, when its projected $27 million price tag rose to more than $40 million due to increasing material costs. Now the width of the Walkway will slim from 35 feet to 24 feet, lamp posts have been removed from the design, and concrete installations that would have removed visible holes from the deck have been revised. The project is now expected to cost $35.5 million.
“It’s extremely important that the rail trail be completed before the Walkway Over the Hudson opens … We need to move the project forward and we encourage the county executive to make it a priority,” said Assistant Majority Leader Margaret Fettes (D-Amenia/Pleasant Valley/Stanford/Washington).
The rail trail project was expected to be completed by the end of next year, but it’s currently behind schedule. County Democrats are urging Steinhaus to put the project on a “fast track” to completion.
Open space
Also approved on July 14 was a $1.6 million open space bond which will help preserve properties from Red Hook to Beacon. The measure was passed unanimously.
“The Legislature as a whole is to be congratulated for their commitment to future generations of county residents,” said Chairman Roger Higgins (D-New Hamburg), in a July 16 statement. “The unanimous support of the bond builds on several years of success in protecting our precious open space.”
Funding from the bond will go toward Locust Grove in the Town of Poughkeepsie and Hiddenbrooke in the City of Beacon, as well as other open space projects throughout Dutchess County.
“Over the years open space protection and funding has been a priority of the Legislature, and even in hard economic time it will continue to be a priority,” Higgins added.