During Thursday evening’s Common Council meeting, officials in Plattsburgh received an update on a water problem plaguing parts of the city and also voted on a measure that would assess the cost and feasibility of demolishing the city’s civic center.
In late August, Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest gave public tours of the now closed Crete Memorial Civic Center just days after issuing a nine-page memo detailing health and safety issues that he says justify closing and demolishing the building.
On Thursday evening, a resolution was put before the council to authorize a cost estimate for asbestos abatement and demolition of the building. Ward 6 Democrat Jeff Moore believes the building is salvageable.
“If I had my druthers I would have had a nonbinding public referendum to see where everybody’s stood because it is a controversial issue. The idea that we may replace this facility or have a better facility is pretty much fantasy in my estimation. If we can’t maintain a building that was given to us free I see no path to spending $18 - 20 million on a new facility. So this would be the end of having a civic center here in the city.”
Ward 4 Democrat Jennifer Tallon said approving the resolution effectively signals the end of the Crete Center.
“This is basically judgement day for the Crete Center. And it’s so unfortunate because it’s a place where kids are looking to do winter sports and if this building goes away then there’s no plan as to what to do next.”
Ward 5 Democrat Caitlin Bopp noted that the vote allows them to study the possibility of demolition. She believes there are better options than keeping the facility.
“We’ve talked a lot about the different costs that go into this. The building itself, the roof is in bad condition. There’s black mold. It was poorly built as a multiuse space to begin with. It didn’t serve its original purpose well. There’s a facility down in Albany called Afrim’s. It is not a $20 million facility. It can be built for much less than that. I talked to the people involved in it as well as other contractors down there and it serves many, many purposes. It’s used by adults, children, all different members of the community every night of the week. That place is busy every season of the year. That is the kind of thing that we as a city should have.”
Councilors voted 3 yes, 2 nos and 1 absent. The city attorney explained that a resolution requires four votes to pass and an absent vote is considered a no vote. A tie vote requires the mayor to break the tie. Mayor Rosenquest, a Democrat, voted to approve the measure.
For five weeks city officials have been working with the state and county health departments to try to figure out what is causing discoloration in the water system, particularly in the south end of the city.
City Environmental Manager Jonathan Ruff reported that samples tested for bacteria and chlorine have been fine and results for inorganics and metals are pending.
“Everybody’s frustrated. The public’s frustrated. The public’s got high levels of anxiety about whether the water’s safe or not. The guys working on the system are frustrated. But we can say the water’s disinfected and it’s fit for consumption. However we’ve got to couch that with if your water’s clearly dirty use some common sense and wait for it to clear up before you drink it or cook with it or do some laundry. At the same time we’re also going back and trying to figure out how did this happen? And all the people we’ve had in that are real experts in this to help us have told us you’re on the right path and you’re doing the right things. And we really have no clue right now how this happened.”
Ruff says they think the problem started as an accumulation of fine sediment in water tanks that then worked its way into the main distribution system. The tanks are being flushed, cleaned and again flushed as testing in problem areas continues.
Councilors also unanimously approved street closures for the Adirondack Pride Parade on October 1st. Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance Executive Director Kelly Metzgar said it’s a new event.
“It’s nice we’re able to grow around the region. It’s nice we’re able to grow here in Plattsburgh as a place that celebrates diversity, that welcomes the LGBTQ community. One concern, nothing that you can really do anything about, but we’ve heard rumors that Proud Boys and some other hate groups may be in the area. But I want to focus on the positives.”
