Town officials say repairs on old infrastructure on the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base could cost millions of dollars and are calling on the Air Force to step in to solve legacy issues.
In June 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted to shut down the Plattsburgh Air Force Base and it was officially decommissioned on Sept. 30, 1995. Most of the property was eventually transferred to the Town of Plattsburgh.
Recent storms caused damage on the former base including multiple sinkholes, one of which measures approximately 15 by 15 feet and 22 feet deep. The city-owned portion of the base has had problems with water line breaks.
Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman, a Democrat, hosted a forum Thursday to provide an overview of problems with aging infrastructure he says are straining local resources.
“This is a legacy issue that really dates back to the Cold War era. We’re talking about infrastructure that is between 50 to 70 years old and much of that infrastructure is coming to end of life," explained Cashman. "And much of the infrastructure we don’t know about. Some of the maps that we have don’t even fully tell the story of what’s underneath the ground.”
North Country Chamber President Garry Douglas served as vice-chair of the Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation, or PARC, which was charged with the initial redevelopment from base to civilian operations.
“I think everybody expected that there were timebombs out there and expenses out there. But you had this aging, let’s just say it, poorly constructed, infrastructure that the Air Force had put in because they could do that. Didn’t have to meet code. Even the Air Force didn’t really know the condition of the infrastructure and when it might fail and what kinds of failures might take place," recalled Douglas. "As you heard, you dig anywhere out here and you might run into things that aren’t even mapped. And now a lot of work is needed. It actually held up I think due to a lot of good maintenance by the town and city, to the extent that they could. It’s held up longer than maybe might have been expected in some cases.”
Cashman hopes there can be some federal intervention and is seeking help from New York’s Congressional delegation.
“We would like the Air Force to assign an engineering group to work with us, but we need the money to do it," Cashman said. "The other thing that we’re asking for is to identify monies within the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and if monies are not within that framework then to identify future opportunities in the defense bill for perpetual care.”
Douglas says the needed fixes can’t be financed by local taxpayers and agrees that Congress must help.
“The bigger picture would be something that actually starts to create a pool of funding in the defense bill for not just here but probably other bases," suggested Douglas. "Maybe all of the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) Air Force Bases that were closed in the 1990s. A pool of money that could be sought to assist with infrastructure problems that are revealing themselves now. So think about others that are in the same boat and seeing if we can get some support from other members of Congress.”
The town has so far spent $6 million upgrading and repairing infrastructure on the former base and estimates it will cost another $12 million.
