Something old and something new were discussed at length at the Milton town board meeting Wednesday, June 27.
The old was an aged, decaying water tower on Middle Line Road, purchased by the town years ago in hopes of restoring it. Built primarily of stone similar to granite, the tower has a unique structure that includes steel enforcements and an inside tank made of bricks.
The board voted 4-to-1 to accept the sole restoration bid for the tower.
Board member Hollis Blodgett said he has been searching for a company to reconstruct the tower for years.
This tower has enormous historic significance; we bought it specifically for restoration, and if we don’t do it now, it will never be done, said Blodgett. `There are very few companies out there willing and able to help us, and in two, three or five years (the tower) will be gone, and we can put up a sign ‘former site of ‘`
But at Wednesday night’s bid opening for the restoration project, the single bid of $79,985 by Western Building Restoration in Albany raised some questions from audience members and one councilman.
Blodgett said some of the project monies would come from a grant of about $13,000, and funds were included in the past two town budgets.
According to the 2006-2007 town budget, $50,000 was included for restoring the water tower, if approved by the board.
Blodgett pressed the board to accept the sole bid.
`I haven’t received written, official estimates, but a lot of people have looked at the tower and said it could cost up to $125,000 to fix,` said Blodgett. `It’s more than rock; there is architectural significance here.`
Board member Joseph Miranda voted to turn down the contract.
`When we first went to acquire this property years ago, I was the sole voter against this,` said Miranda. `I respect my colleague’s opinion, but deep down, I can’t vote to support this high a cost for this project. I was hoping it would come for $25,000 to $30,000. I’d like to be able to support it, but my vote is no.`
Supervisor Frank Thompson, who voted to accept the bid along with council members Allison Saul, Blodgett and Frank Blaisdell, said he would like to see examples of the company’s projects and have town engineers review the bid before they sign the official contract to begin the work.
In other business Wednesday night, the board heard a pitch by leaders of the New York Horse Park, a nonprofit organization, supporting the notion of opening a horse park in Saratoga County.
A horse park, which proponents say will bring tourism, jobs and a boost for local farmers and merchants, has been under discussion for months, and Milton officials have said the town could be an ideal location. The park could also prove to be very lucrative.
`In Kentucky, there is a $250 million economic impact, and they will be hosting the World Equestrian Games in 2010 with about 500,000 spectators,` said Marsha Himler, president of the New York Horse Park and the Capital Region Horse Council. `There is currently no horse park north of New Jersey; this would be the only one in the Northeast.`
Himler said a local horse park could be the site for rodeos, polo, breed shows, steeplechase and other animal events including dog shows and cattle auctions.
`The preservation of green space is invaluable, and a horse park isn’t strip malls, condos or gas stations,` said Himler. `It would attract environmentally friendly revenues.`
Himler recommended a feasibility study to search out 300-500 acres, and estimated the cost for land purchase and setting up basic horse rings for competitions between $15 million and $25 million.
`The park could be built in stages, or the land could be leased,` said Himler. `The state should be involved in the land purchase. At the New York Horse Park, we’re the ideas people, but we’re not qualified to run the park.`
Himler is giving a similar presentation to the Saratoga County towns of Saratoga, Malta, North Umberland and Stillwater.
`There are other sites and other counties around the state doing feasibility studies, but there aren’t any shovels in the ground yet,` said Himler.“