Where is the Money Going?

Ed Norton, the character from the old TV show, "The Honeymooners" used to work in a sewer. He'd have told you it was good work if you could get it. And there's about to be a lot more of it. A full $1.8 million is about to wash it's way into the Capital Region for a trio of water and sewer improvement projects.

We'll start in Rensselaer County in the city of Rensselaer. $627,000 will be used to replace sewer lines along Broadway which is expected to have a positive impact on services provided to all 7600 city residents. Total temporary jobs the project will create? 23.

The other two water and sewer jobs are in Albany County.

Cohoes is taking the lion's share of the cash, getting more than $715,000 to replace aging waterlines along Vliet Street with a projected benefit to 153 area residents and the creation of 27 temp jobs.

But a project in the town of Bethlehem, sitting on more than $467,000 to replace sand filters in the South Albany Sewer District, merits a somewhat closer look. The work will benefit about 59 residents and create 18 temporary jobs. That's nearly $500,000 and it will impact less the 5 dozen people.

I asked Bethlehem town supervisor Jack Cunningham about that and he said if the stimulus funding didn't come through the project might have never happened. Since the sewer district is so small, he says they couldn't have taxed the whole town for it and were only able to secure $25,000 in funding. Why is it necessary though? Cunningham says it's deteriorated so much that last year the Department of Environmental Conservation told them they had to replace it.

The only non- water and sewer project funded with the same award announced July 1st goes to Renssealaer County. The county office building and Troy area senior service center will receive handicapped accessibility improvements. The $467,000 in stimulus funds will create 18 jobs that will last for the duration of the project.

The 4 projects total more than $2.2 million and will create 86 temporary jobs. Those jobs will all last for the duration of the individual projects.