Parks project held up by red tape
NORWICH – The downtown parks project has become a case of: “Who said, she said, he said what?” and the official paperwork that could untangle the communications mess is being held up somewhere in the Chenango County attorney’s office.
“Our issue is trying to get it done. All we need it to finalize an agreement with the county, and we feel like we’ve done what needs to be done,” said Eric Larsen, president of Friends of the Parks, an all-volunteer organization that has raised $425,000 from supporters to upgrade and enhance East and West Parks in Norwich.
The estimated $1 million project has been ongoing since 2002, and received Chenango County’s official backing a year ago. It includes a turn-of-the-century style performance stage in East Park, upgrading the electrical systems, providing water access, building new sidewalks, replacing overgrown shrubs, providing new benches and replacing two Civil War cannons.
The final hoop to jump through, so Larsen thought, was to obtain the stamp of approval from the New York State Department of Labor. He and Norwich Business Improvement District Executive Director Pegi LoPresti traveled to Albany in late May to discuss prevailing wage issues, and were successful, they said, in obtaining the go-ahead.
Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard B. Decker said in late June that he had a letter from the DOL stating that the parks project couldn’t be done without paying volunteer workers prevailing wages. While Decker said he had heard through the grapevine that Larsen and LoPresti had met with DOL representatives, and were told that the project was a non-issue, he said he had not received the documentation to prove it.
“All we said is that if that’s accurate, then the person they spoke to needs to put the approval in writing and copy it to us. We are OK with this, but if the labor department says that they have to pay prevailing wages and don’t do it, they could come down on us big time. We have to have it in writing, according to our mandates, we have to have another letter stating that it’s fine. Everything’s got to be in writing today,” said Decker.
According to Larsen and LoPresti, 3rd Assistant County Attorney Steven Natoli has had a letter for several weeks confirming that labor department had signed off on the project. They said their follow up calls over the past two weeks weren’t being returned. On Friday, a secretary for the assistant attorney said the matter was in Chenango County Attorney Richard Breslin’s hands.
“Maybe they felt the letter we got was insufficient. If it was, we would need to know what we need to do next,” said Larsen.
Another issue causing the delay, and it depends on who you talk to, is who started the wild goose chase in the first place. The sticking point appears to be that working on a public park carries inherent labor-related stipulations, even though most of the work will be done by volunteers. Decker said the Friends of the Parks organization asked the county’s attorney to look into the matter, but both LoPresti and Larsen say Breslin acted on his own.
Larsen said Friday that he didn’t know why the county’s top attorney brought up the question about prevailing wages in the first place, but he assumed that he was trying to help.
“He felt that it had to be done, and I’m not going to question it. ... I don’t blame him, but I would like to see things move along just a little bit quicker.”
“We understand that the county doesn’t want to be picketed by unioners. The deal is if there are people down there volunteering, they are actually going to be volunteering,” said LoPresti.
Renovations were initially slated to begin in early May. Then, the date was pushed forward to June 15, with completion hoped for in October, just before the Pumpkin Festival.
Meanwhile, the organizers of Colorscape Chenango are in limbo. The event’s program is due to go to press soon, and the layout design for artists, musicians and vendors tents still isn’t finalized. It is scheduled to go to press in two weeks.
“How many years has this been?” asked City of Norwich Supervisor Linda E. Natoli on Friday when called to comment on the hold up. “There’s been one road block after another. It’s the typical bureaucracy that ties so many things up in this county. I have to give the BID group credit. They just keep pushing along.”
“Our issue is trying to get it done. All we need it to finalize an agreement with the county, and we feel like we’ve done what needs to be done,” said Eric Larsen, president of Friends of the Parks, an all-volunteer organization that has raised $425,000 from supporters to upgrade and enhance East and West Parks in Norwich.
The estimated $1 million project has been ongoing since 2002, and received Chenango County’s official backing a year ago. It includes a turn-of-the-century style performance stage in East Park, upgrading the electrical systems, providing water access, building new sidewalks, replacing overgrown shrubs, providing new benches and replacing two Civil War cannons.
The final hoop to jump through, so Larsen thought, was to obtain the stamp of approval from the New York State Department of Labor. He and Norwich Business Improvement District Executive Director Pegi LoPresti traveled to Albany in late May to discuss prevailing wage issues, and were successful, they said, in obtaining the go-ahead.
Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard B. Decker said in late June that he had a letter from the DOL stating that the parks project couldn’t be done without paying volunteer workers prevailing wages. While Decker said he had heard through the grapevine that Larsen and LoPresti had met with DOL representatives, and were told that the project was a non-issue, he said he had not received the documentation to prove it.
“All we said is that if that’s accurate, then the person they spoke to needs to put the approval in writing and copy it to us. We are OK with this, but if the labor department says that they have to pay prevailing wages and don’t do it, they could come down on us big time. We have to have it in writing, according to our mandates, we have to have another letter stating that it’s fine. Everything’s got to be in writing today,” said Decker.
According to Larsen and LoPresti, 3rd Assistant County Attorney Steven Natoli has had a letter for several weeks confirming that labor department had signed off on the project. They said their follow up calls over the past two weeks weren’t being returned. On Friday, a secretary for the assistant attorney said the matter was in Chenango County Attorney Richard Breslin’s hands.
“Maybe they felt the letter we got was insufficient. If it was, we would need to know what we need to do next,” said Larsen.
Another issue causing the delay, and it depends on who you talk to, is who started the wild goose chase in the first place. The sticking point appears to be that working on a public park carries inherent labor-related stipulations, even though most of the work will be done by volunteers. Decker said the Friends of the Parks organization asked the county’s attorney to look into the matter, but both LoPresti and Larsen say Breslin acted on his own.
Larsen said Friday that he didn’t know why the county’s top attorney brought up the question about prevailing wages in the first place, but he assumed that he was trying to help.
“He felt that it had to be done, and I’m not going to question it. ... I don’t blame him, but I would like to see things move along just a little bit quicker.”
“We understand that the county doesn’t want to be picketed by unioners. The deal is if there are people down there volunteering, they are actually going to be volunteering,” said LoPresti.
Renovations were initially slated to begin in early May. Then, the date was pushed forward to June 15, with completion hoped for in October, just before the Pumpkin Festival.
Meanwhile, the organizers of Colorscape Chenango are in limbo. The event’s program is due to go to press soon, and the layout design for artists, musicians and vendors tents still isn’t finalized. It is scheduled to go to press in two weeks.
“How many years has this been?” asked City of Norwich Supervisor Linda E. Natoli on Friday when called to comment on the hold up. “There’s been one road block after another. It’s the typical bureaucracy that ties so many things up in this county. I have to give the BID group credit. They just keep pushing along.”
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