Village clerk and treasurer Roxanne Astry and the village trustees are entertaining ways to finish the Bathhouse at the Beach project with the limited funding available for the village. Photo by Carmen Braden
Cassadaga Village is looking to get creative with its Bathhouse at the Beach project, due for completion by summer.
After the project was put up for tender, only two bidders submitted a formal proposal. NCI suggested a cost of $166,900, while R&N offered customs of $110,052.90. Both figures are a long way from the budgeted American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding the village, which totals $60,823.
“I did a budget review to see if we could save money for the bathroom. At this point, I don’t think we can,” said Village Clerk/Treasurer Roxanne Astry.
In an effort to reduce the cost of the project, the Village Board offers alternative solutions to finish the project. One idea the village had was to contract construction, plumbing and electrical work through the Cassadaga Job Center.
“I like that outside-the-box thinking,” Village will Kathy Crover said.
Astry has reached out to Cassadaga Job Corps about the project. estry said, “It’s a possibility, that we can go down this road and just pay for the materials, and get the work done.”
Another option that the village will explore is to go through BOCES to help with the project. Mayor Bill Dorman has a BOCES connection he can talk with to gauge interest in the project.
“I’ve been thinking a little bit more about that. If they’re interested in something like that, we can get BOCES and (Job Corps) together and see if they can review the bid package and come up with something,” Dorman said. “I don’t know, it’s kind of a wild idea.”
Deputy Mayor/Guardian Bill Astry said, “This is something to be pursued, for sure.”
The Village is also re-evaluating options after an application for a downtown revitalization planning grant was rejected.
“I followed up and asked for clarification on the criteria they used to award those grants,” Crover said. “I appreciate the letter, but it really didn’t give much detail as to why exactly we weren’t successful. … I asked for an explanation, and I also asked for weaknesses in our application to be clarified so that we can find success at another time with another award.”
In regards to the Make Ready grant for electric vehicle charging stations, Cruver spoke with BECC Electric about the grant that National Grid supports across New York State. The Village is still interested in moving forward in pursuit of a “Make Ready Grant”.