COBLESKILL - On Monday evening, the Cobleskill Town Board regretfully accepted the news that the culvert replacement project on Mickle Hollow Road will not be happening in 2026.
Beginning as a project to repair critical infrastructure, the Board was able to secure a grant from GPI to aid with funding and carried high hopes when they went out to bid for potential contractors.
However, as relayed by Highway Superintendent Timothy Gallagher, they received no offers in return for this year.
He explained that the Town had tried bidding out too late into the work cycle, and by the time their proposal reached any companies, they were already booked by the state and larger cities.
“Unfortunately, we are done for this year,” confirmed Supervisor Werner Hampel.
However, the Board isn’t keen on washing their hands of the idea. While delays will mean inflated construction costs, Supervisor Hampel noted that he’s been talking with GPI and they could extend the grant’s deadline without any issues.
Member RJ Mallery suggested getting the culvert ahead of time, saying “If we order it, we’re getting ahead of the game, and someone just has to come and install it.”
However, Superintendent Gallagher was hesitant about picking up the liability, especially when winter damage is a concern. “If this thing sits in our yard and it cracks, it’s our problem.”
“If we go out to bid, I can tell the manufacturer a date and they’ll have it made by then,” he continued. “If I say April, then they can have the casting by August.”
Another idea was grouping their project with two other municipalities in the county to try and attract a better rate from a contractor that wanted to do all three, but that was also met with skepticism.
“There’s nothing saying we’re going to get one contractor to do all the projects,” said Supervisor Hampel.
By the end of their discussion, the Board had decided on going out to bid much earlier than they had previously, and Supervisor Hampel plans on reaching out to the other town supervisors to gauge the feasibility of building a package deal.
“Unfortunately, delays are going to cost us some money,” concluded Supervisor Hampel. “But at the end of the day, we’re much further ahead than had we not gotten the grant.”
