Above photo: Lexington town supervisor Bob Riccardella (left) met recently with congressman Josh Riley, working toward resolving issues surrounding the delivery of mail to the community.
LEXINGTON - The drum roll has begun for accepting an offer to construct a new highway department garage in Lexington.
Town supervisor Bob Riccardella, at a recent meeting, reported bids have been opened but not yet narrowed down to one, pending further review.
Board members went into executive session to discuss details surrounding a contractor’s submitted offer that was subsequently withdrawn.
It is expected the issue will be resolved in the next week or so, leading to a special meeting for okaying the cost and an April groundbreaking.
The various job estimates received were, “not as great as we hoped but it won’t prevent us from moving forward,” Riccardella said.
Town officials have known this day was inevitably coming, applying for and being awarded a $1.31 million grant from the State Department of Environmental Conversation to help ease the financial ouch.
While the bid bottom lines haven’t been revealed, the initial ballpark figures, eighteen months ago, were in the $2,25 million range, a figure that local taxpayers should apparently be prepared to see move upwards.
Town officials expect to reap more greenbacks from selling two pieces of property that will no longer be used for highway operations; one along Route 42 and another on Route 23A now serving as headquarters.
A new structure will be built along Greene County Route 13, adjacent to the current sand/salt storage facility, a very busy spot this winter.
The need for upgrades in the highway department dates back two decades and more to the period when the late Kenneth Becker was supervisor, searching diligently for external funding support.
Historically, the old highway garage along Route 42 has been repeatedly hit by floods, most dramatically in 2011 and Tropical Storm Irene.
Over the years, groundwork was set for selling that land to the Department of Environmental Protection as part of their flood mitigation program.
Lexington’s new home base will be a single story 58-by-152-foot wood-framed structure constructed southwest of the existing salt shed, documents from project manager Lamont Engineers state.
“The building will have six 16-foot-wide by 14-foot-tall truck bays, as well as administrative/office areas, storage, a break room, and unisex restroom with shower,” the documents state.
Engineers say the site will include a below-ground rainwater holding tank, noting similar tanks, “have been really successful in other facilities,” reducing strain on wells for washing trucks, interior cleaning, etc.
Solar roof panels and radiant floor pipes will be installed, making the most of precious winter heat, especially when bay doors are opened and the warmth-stealing southwest winds invade.
“Our engineer was very pleased with how many bids we got, all from well known contractors who know we are looking to do this now,” Riccardella said, noting Lamont Engineers will also serve as work overseers.
In another matter, Riccardella reported that productive talks are happening with Congressman Josh Riley’s office related to the West Kill post office.
That letter center suffered a fire in January, 2025, that was quickly handled by local volunteer firefighters although it has, since then, stayed shuttered, resulting in significant inconvenience for many postal customers.
West Kill in-house box holders have been forced to traverse the sometimes perilous Notch to pick up their mail in Shandaken rather than enjoying a much simpler drive to the nearby hamlet of Lexington.
It is hoped the conversations with Riley will culminate in a fresh delivery plan for the USPS which currently uses two different maps for the respective hamlets of West Kill and Lexington.
Letters and packages for West Kill are routed thru Phoenicia to Shandaken. Similar items for Lexington first go to the town of Hunter.
There is a shared origination in Kingston so the vision is to have the USPS unite forces, dropping off everything in the hamlet of Lexington.
The shift could potentially kill two proverbial birds with one stone. The local post offices are in service only part-time, one for morning hours and the other for afternoon.hours.
Dispatching the mail to one location would potentially allow the Lexington office to be open fulltime, employing two parttime postal workers.
A representative from Riley’s office visited the town. “We took them on a ride so they could see how long it is for folks who rely on the mail,” Riccardella said.
“We took him through the Notch on a good day so he could imagine what it’s like on a bad day. It hasn’t been a good situation,” he said.
“We will stay on top of this. We feel the Congressman needs to step in,” Riccardella said. Deliveries to roadside mailboxes have continued uninterrupted.