Just stand outside Jim and Barbara Gilbert’s home, at 518 Willow Ave., in Herkimer, for five minutes and the Hydraulic Canal’s impact becomes clear.
In between swats at insects swarming around her head, Barbara describes what it’s like to live next to the canal, which has been a blight in the village for decades.
“The kids can’t even be out in the yard,” she said, referring to visits by family. “They came out here the other night, but they couldn’t stay out. The mosquitos are wicked.”
Numerous residents living along the canal have for years informed village officials of similar difficulties, dealing with bugs, rodents and occasional dumping that contribute to the canal’s presence as a health hazard and eyesore.
But after over 30 years of serving no industrial or water supply purpose, as well as numerous mayors and village boards failing in their pursuit of government funds, sections of the stagnant waterway are finally scheduled to be filled.
The village’s application for state Community Development Block Grant funds was approved in the 2009 competitive round. Part of nearly $35 million in grants announced by Governor David Paterson last week, Herkimer will receive $599,000 to fill in village-owned portions of the canal.
With grant applications rejected in 2007 and 2008, village Trustee Katie Nichols attributed 2009’s success to a build up of data that outlined the blight.
“There are letters we found in the old files that went back to previous mayors and boards,” Nichols said, commenting on the process beginning before her becoming a trustee 12 years ago.
A communication from the county Highway Department in 1998 to village Department of Public Works officials detailed what could be done to address the problem back then, she added.
The approved proposal calls for installing culvert piping, filling in the canal with dirt and landscaping a green bed. Previous cost estimates put the village contribution at upwards of $100,000 to fully fund the project.
Details on actual cost and scope are yet to be determined.
The work will likely begin in 2010, according to Nichols. And the state typically allows two years for completion of a project, she added.
“It’s been a long time already,” Barbara said, “but it’ll be great when something’s finally done.”
What sections get done?
The original project proposal only called for German to Suiter streets and Folts to Green streets.
The section of Willow Avenue, which includes the Gilberts’ property and several other parcels, wasn’t added to the project until earlier this year, however.
For 35 years the Gilberts have lived on the canal’s bank, and Jim says he has struggled to get action for pretty much the duration.
Jim said he even ran a failed campaign for a village trustee seat in the 1980s in an attempt to address the problem.
So upon learning of the most recent proposal, which excluded his street, Jim approached the Telegram with his argument.
He believed the section of canal that extended past German Street along Willow Avenue was village owned.
County tax officials in interviews confirmed past documentation that showed village ownership. And following a survey that clearly defined the relationship between the property’s deed and tax maps, the village decided to add the roughly 300 feet.
After hearing the canal project gained funding, and it included his street, Jim looked at his home and yard and then glared at the canal, a mere five feet past his driveway. “This all will be so much better when they get this filled in,” he said.
Nichols said funding for the additional section was made possible in part as a result of removing a Steuben Road Bridge repair — whose completion had been sped up by state mandate.
Village officials also said portions of canal that pass through the south side of East State Street aren’t eligible for government funds, as most are privately owned.
Some sections of canal do belong to the county, which already installed a parking lot over the canal off of North Washington Street. The county office’s parking lot project — previously reported at a cost of $200,000 — was similar to the village proposal, including a culvert to allow water to flow through and filling the land.
http://www.herkimertelegram.com/news/x1566722619/After-30-years-hydraulic-canan-getting-a-makeover
