Capital plan includes infrastructure projects

By JEFF MORRIS 

The Bedford Town Board is in the midst of prioritizing some major projects that will come with big price tags.

At its Feb. 3 meeting, the board was presented with a revised capital plan by Comptroller Brian Kenneally. The plan includes projects from 2026 through 2034, and Kenneally made clear they were not actually authorizing any bonds at this time, but anticipating what the town’s needs are and how much borrowing they should plan for during the next decade.

Kenneally said they will end this year with approximately $47 million in outstanding debt. The 10-year plan will include about $30 million in potential bonding, with some of the outstanding debt coming off during that time.

In discussion with Supervisor Ellen Calves, Kenneally explained that there are some projects that have to be done, involving aging infrastructure, and there’s a cost to not replacing equipment. But he said if there are debt service spikes in particular years, they can dip into reserves, which he said are “very healthy right now” with an unrestricted fund balance of $27 million. That would help offset the cost without going to the taxpayers and potentially breaking the tax cap. “If we didn’t have to worry about taxes, we’d probably have a capital plan three times this size,” Kenneally said. 

“There are so many things we have on the list, and a lot of them we’ve been pushing off,” said Calves. “I don’t think we’re going to risk not doing something that we desperately need, but there are things in here like water main replacement that will need to happen at some point, and we want to do it before we have a water main disaster.” An additional $2.9 million is allocated in the plan for water infrastructure improvements essential to maintaining system operations.

Calves said when they initially got the department heads’ capital project requests for 2026-27, they totaled something like $17 to $18 million, “so we’ve worked hard with them to try to get this realistic and prioritized” and make sure they are “not overburdening the future.”

The proposal submitted by Kenneally includes $4 million each for major improvements at the town’s three pools. He said planning studies are underway to determine project scope and facility needs, but according to recreation and parks commissioner Chris Soi, there has been no major reconstruction done at the pools in 40 years, the infrastructure is aging, and some of the pumps aren’t able to be used. The priority, he said, is Bedford Hills, which has the most immediate need, and is estimated to begin in 2028, with Katonah to follow in 2031 and Bedford Village in 2033. An engineering study that was bonded for in 2024 will begin this year.

The plan also allocates $3 million for upgrades to the Crusher Road Highway Yard, including replacement of the existing building to increase indoor equipment storage and improve salt and material storage capacity. Phase I of that project is slated to cost $1.9 million and begin in 2027; Phase II is another $1 million and scheduled for 2028. 

“The intent would be to replace the main building, which is about 70 years old and in poor condition, and also upgrade our storage to be regulatory compliant to have adequate amounts,” Public Works Commissioner Kevin Winn said.

The first step, already underway, is to have a  review of the entire facility by an architect; the project is intended to phase over two different years, though the exact phasing has not yet been determined.

Water infrastructure is also very expensive, Kenneally said, which is why about $3 million is allocated for it, with the Lily Pond tank painting receiving $900,000, membrane replacement at the treatment plant receiving $1.1 million, and water main replacements and connections totaling $1.5 million.

There is bonding for $3,150,000 for roadway paving over the next 10 years.

Kenneally said they’ve been budgeting annually for paving in the operating fund, but this will supplement that so they can be “a little more aggressive in our paving.”

Also included are various other equipment purchases and infrastructure improvements. Kenneally said vehicles and equipment, especially for the highway department, are very costly, with the prices going up dramatically in the last couple of years.

One of the largest items in the capital plan is shown as $6,600,000 for the TAP, or Transportation Alternatives Project, Trail Connection, but as Kenneally and Planning Director Jesica Youngblood explained, that is part of a grant application for which the town’s share would actually be $1.3 million. 

Youngblood said the New York State Department of Transportation’s TAP grants are “really great grants” because they are “super helpful to municipalities” and defray 80% of the costs.

“In the world of grants, this is extraordinary,” she said. 

There is a deadline coming up on March 12, with two grants they’d be applying for: Phase 1 and Phase 2. 

“Phase 1 is to construct the design elements that we’ve already done, for Haines Road to Harris Road for the Route 117 pathway,” Youngblood said. “Those are really to provide safety improvements, better crossing for pedestrians across the on and off ramps to the Saw Mill River Parkway and improved signage.” Phase 2 is to look at design and construction to take that path northward from Harris Road to the existing sidewalk network just before getting into downtown Katonah.

Calves noted that it is not overly ambitious to apply for both grants at once, since other communities have successfully done so, especially when both grants are for phases of a single project. Youngblood added that DOT is looking to break from auto-oriented projects and look at projects benefiting bicycles and pedestrians.

The board voted to approve applying for the TAP grants. It did not vote on the capital plan, pending receiving more specific figures on some of the planned projects, but Calves said they would vote at their next meeting to move forward on the 2026 items once those numbers were in place.