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Plattsburgh City School District students can now catch a free ride to school on Clinton County Public Transit.
PLATTSBURGH | Students displaced by the closure of the Webb Island footbridge last month can now catch a ride to school on Clinton County Public Transit (CCPT).
The Clinton County Board of Legislators last week approved a transportation agreement between CCPT and the Plattsburgh City School District (PCSD).
The district will reimburse the county $1 per student, per one-way trip to and from school, until the agreement ends in April 2018.
The anticipated cost to the district is around $3,000.
Plattsburgh City School District Superintendent Jay Lebrun said that ridership so far has been low — just up to three students per day — but with the cold weather, that number could increase.
“We’re open to as many students using the provided transportation as are interested,” he wrote in an email to The Sun.
For students who decline to use the option, their walk to school will be nearly a mile further without the bridge.
Roughly 40 students use the bridge daily.
COMPLETION DATE UNKNOWN
The footbridge over the Saranac River connects the south end of the city to Plattsburgh High.
Though the county has agreed to provide transport to students through April, the school district doesn’t expect the footbridge will be repaired by then.
“Sadly, I don’t expect that the footbridge will be re-open by April 15,” Lebrun said.
After the agreement expires, the district Board of Education will revisit the program and assess whether the warm weather mitigates the need.
PAYING FOR REPAIRS
The Webb Island footbridge, which is owned by the PCSD, was closed last month after an engineering report revealed the bridge’s condition had deteriorated and it was unsafe to use.
Repairs are estimated at over $400,000.
But it’s unclear who will foot the bill.
While owned by the district, the bridge is maintained by the city and the New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG) uses the structure to transport natural gas.
Mayor Colin Read said the repairs are not the city’s responsibility, citing a 1996 agreement between the district and NYSEG.
Read said an agreement between PCSD and NYSEG didn’t include a deal to allocate a portion of the revenues to the city.
“We continued to gift routine snow removal, etc., and trusted that the school district was putting their revenue and gas savings aside for the inevitable times when the footbridge may need capital improvements, as their engineer determines it needs now,” Read said in an email.
OWNERSHIP
PCSD said they aim to divest the district from the bridge once repairs have been completed.
The city initially signed an agreement with the school district in 1982, wherein the city gifted $200,000 to the district to build the footbridge, and agreed to maintain it until 1992, according to Read.
The district intended to transfer the bridge title to the city after the agreement expired, but never did.
Lebrun expressed concerns over future routine maintenance following repairs. Read said the city would likely continue to perform those tasks, but said the city does not want to take over the structure.
“We will also do whatever we can to assist them in grant writing to raise funds for capital improvements, and we’ve engaged (state) Senator (Betty) Little in those conversations,” he said.
The city would be interested in a discussion about building a “vehicular and pedestrian” bridge to replace the footbridge, Read said — if the state agreed to pay 90 percent of the costs.
“In such a circumstance, the city would still not wish to own the footbridge, but perhaps replace it with something that has longer life, is more useful, and is not paid primarily by city taxpayers for a regional amenity,” he said.
“These discussions have nothing to do with the city’s financial plight, and has everything to do with tying capital improvements with ownership and royalty payments.
Read said the city values its relationship with PCSD, and will also aid in seeking external funding.
Lebrun said he was heartened that various entities have pledged unofficial financial support.
“I foresee certain scenarios through which the bridge could be fully repaired without the City of Plattsburgh incurring any costs,” Lebrun said.
