MASSENA, New York (WWNY) – Out of sight, out of mind. It’s a saying one Massena official hopes to avoid when it comes to allocating money toward village projects.
Department of Public Works Superintendent Marty Miller says the wear and tear on village infrastructure are adding up.
While many buildings show those signs of aging, Miller isn’t worried about what’s on the street, but what’s below.
“Water mains, sewer mains, they’ve been together for a hundred years. You have a storm system that with climate change or whatever’s happening, we need to start looking at a different direction for our storm system,” he said.
During a meeting for the waterfront revitalization plan, Miller brought his concerns before village officials.
He says, while the village has done a great job to get funding, projects such as updating the sidewalk may not work if a water main leaks and the public works department has to destroy the sidewalk to fix it.
Miller suggests using some of the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan funding to help update the aging below-street infrastructure.
Mayor Greg Paquin understands the concerns for the aging infrastructure as well.
“I think that would be a good idea for that. I don’t think we’re in a situation that we’re in dire straights by any stretch. We’ve been pretty fortunate but we definitely do need some upgrades,” he said.
Miller says that while money from the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan and Downtown Revitalization Initiative comes from the state, he feels that sooner or later, those funds will dry up and will affect communities similar to Massena in the north country.
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