Lloyd to replace Town Hall steps

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 4/20/22

The Lloyd Town Board approved a complete replacement of the front steps at town hall after further investigation revealed that the concrete and support rebar had deteriorated to a point beyond …

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Lloyd to replace Town Hall steps

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The Lloyd Town Board approved a complete replacement of the front steps at town hall after further investigation revealed that the concrete and support rebar had deteriorated to a point beyond repair.

Supervisor Dave Plavchak said, “The right way to fix this is to replace them. We didn’t want to do that because we knew it was going to be an expense. The way the water was running in and freezing caused the cracks.”

Plavchak noted that the town previously purchased metal treads to put over the steps, hoping this would be a long term solution. He said they will still be installed on top of the new steps, “because they are skid-proof.”

The town board obtained three quotes for the demolition and removal of the old stairs and three quotes for the replacement of the steps. To save money, the town’s highway department will do the demolition work. According to the town board’s approval resolution, “the landing will be saw cut closer to the building than presently, all concrete will be hammered apart and removed and plywood will be installed over the doors and two windows to either side of the door to protect from damage. The original handrails will be removed and saved for re-installation by the concrete installer and the site cleaned and prepared for concrete work.”

The concrete work to replace the old stairs was awarded to Atlantic Concrete at a cost of $9,800. The work will retain, “the flared shape they have now, using epoxy coated rebar to enhance resistance to rusting, which is now damaging the current stairs, and then reinstalling the handrails.”

Tillson -Toc Realignment Update
The Tillson Toc Realignment project, in some form or another, has been under discussion for about 12 years.

Plavchak said the town has $4.2 million promised in Federal TIPS [Transportation Incentive Program System] money for the project but this still falls $2 million short of the $6.2 million price tag.

“I have been calling everybody in the world to try to get additional funding for it and most don’t call you back,” he said. “I’ve been working with the Department of Transportation and with Ulster County Transportation, called all the congressman and all the senators from our area.”

Plavchak said as little as 18 months ago $4.2 million would have paid for the project but recent increases have pushed the project to the $6.2 million mark because of rising construction and delivery costs across the board.

“We’ve got to think about the right way to approach this,” he told the town board. “I want to go through the pros and cons of where we’re at and anybody who has a contact in one of the federal or state offices, we’ll take all the help we can get; I’ll leave it at that.”

Plavchak said he is hesitant to start the project and end up not having enough to finish it. This would force the town to bond for the remaining amount, something he is trying to avoid.