Ridge Road Bridge progress, funding detailed to residents

Jason Pitingaro of Pitingaro and Doetsch Consulting Engineers shared updates and answered questions on the progress of Ridge Road Bridge during the Woodbury Town Board meeting on Sept. 4.

Pitingaro said his team is waiting on the state to give final approval on their bridge design so they can go to bid for construction, adding that he expects it to happen soon and that his firm will be requesting the town board’s authorization to go to bid at the next meeting. Once a bidder is identified, the town will be able to go into contract with them and make use of grant money received.

Pitingaro explained that bridge is functional in nature with a simple design, however considerations had to be made to meet state Department of Transportation requirements. He addressed concerns about the capacity of the bridge to handle water flow, informing residents that an independent hydrology study was performed. He also said that the bridge would not be the cause of any backups.

Responding to a resident’s question regarding the project’s negative impact determination, Pitingaro explained that it was not based on his company at all and that for a project to move forward in New York State, it needs to complete a state environmental quality review (SEQR). Because federal funds are supporting the project, his company was required to do more extensive studies than they would have if the town wasn’t receiving those funds, he added.

According to Pitingaro, the bridge would have minimal impact on the local environment because it is in an area that is already disturbed and that other than small brush removal, no major clearing is planned for the project.

Another resident asked about the timing of the construction and whether the grant funds would be enough to cover the costs. Pitingaro said the time between the grant work and construction period was considered when estimating the cost for the replacement. He said he felt the $2.8 million awarded to the town is enough to complete the bridge, which was designed in the most economical way possible. He added that the town has put additional funding in place through bonding, while explaining that this was done at the beginning of the project planning phase as precautionary measure so that it could proceed regardless of whether funding was received.

During the meeting, Town Attorney Roy Brady answered questions about how social media is used to address town-related information. He said that despite what others may believe, Facebook is not the official information provider for the town, adding that while social media can be used for events and related items, but municipalities must have a .gov web address and are required to have a certain amount of information including elections, public meeting, agendas, minute, local laws and financial documents under new state regulations. Brady said after reviewing the town website, he found that all of the mandated state and federal requirements have been satisfied.

The town does have a policy for both employees and elected officials on how to engage with social media, he said, but noted that as social media evolves, policies also need to adapt.

Resident Jacqueline Hernandez commented that the employee manual and social media policy has existed for several years, claiming that she was one of the officials who went through it. She said that it is detailed and provides a lot of guidelines for the board.

Councilwoman Teresa Luongo shared her appreciation for engaged community members at the meeting, encouraging questions that require detailed research to be submitted over email as certain answers may not be given on the spot to ensure they are accurate and appropriate.

“Transparency remains a key priority and we will do our best to provide accurate information as quickly as possible,” Luongo said.

She added that many of the questions raised at the town board meetings are applicable to other local government boards and that sharing these inquiries with them provides the community with a better understanding of the issues. She said she noticed some questions are addressed to the town board alone although other boards should be asked the same things.