Pole Attachments Proving Difficult for County Broadband Project

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Getting fiberoptic cable strung on poles has become probably the most difficult part of Schoharie County's $33.6 million broadband project, county Economic Development Coordinator John Crescimanno said at the Friday, Feb. 20 county Board of Supervisors meeting.

He said reaching agreements with pole owners like National Grid, Verizon and others has been troublesome.

"They are increasing rates," said Crescimanno, who added he will look hard into laying more of the cable underground in order to "create a higher level of confidence to get the project done on time." The project completion deadline is the end of this year. It's aim is to give every county resident the ability to connect to the Internet.

It is being funded with a $30 million grant from the ConnectAll Program of Empire State Development and $3.6 million of county funds. The grant is a reimbursable one, with the county fronting money and then being reimbursed at four different milestone points of the project.

In a telephone conversation after the Feb. 20 meeting, Crescimanno said the county has received the first reimbursement of $1.2 million and is about to put in for its second milestone reimbursement of $6.5 million. He added the first milestone reimbursement came about 60 days after being requested.

Crescimanno estimated the project is about 10 to 15 percent complete but said multiple crews are ready to get going again as soon as the ground thaws. He expressed confidence the project will be completed on time.

He held open the possibility that the project will go above its $33.6 million pricetag. However, he added that if that looks like a real possibility that he will put in for added funds from ESD and that the county's $3.6 million share would not increase.

At the Feb. 20 meeting, county Supervisors commended Crescimanno for staying on top of things regarding the broadband project.

"We should acknowledge John's work," county BOS Vice-Chairman Donald Airey said.

"There have been challenges every step of the way and John has done a great job finding solutions to problems along the way," added Supervisor Werner Hampel of Cobleskill, Chairman of the Economic Development Committee.

In other business from the Feb. 20 county BOS meeting, Supervisor William Smith of Broome said he was concerned about the slowness of federal and state reimbursements to the county on certain projects and he had heard the reimbursements were not being filed for on a timely basis.

Smith continued that county Administrator Bryan Best should be directed to spend more time in the Highway Department (Department of Public Works). Best responded that he has gone over DPW finances "line by line" and stops in at the department once a week.

"We need a quicker turnaround on reimbursements," he said at the Feb. 20 meeting. Supervisor Ben Oevering of Schoharie said the matter should probably get a thorough discussion at a Finance Committee meeting, and BOS Chairman Bill Federice asked Best to keep updating the board on the situation.

Best also addressed the matter in a detailed email to this newspaper after the Feb. 20 meeting.

"It is my understanding that his (Smith) concerns relate to the county's bridge projects," Best wrote. ""Currently, the county is replacing seven bridges throughout the county. The state and federal governments reimburse Schoharie County between 80 and 100 percent of these costs, depending on the specific type and size of the project."

The email continues: "In 2025, the county spent roughly $5 million on work replacing those seven bridges. To date, we have received approximately $2 million in reimbursements and are currently awaiting another $1.5 million to $2 million. The county will be responsible for $1 million to $1.5 million due to the increased costs on the Caverns Road bridge, and because these projects are not fully state and federally funded.

"The delay in receiving payments from the state and feds is two-fold. First, it can take three to five months from when we begin submitting for reimbursement before we actually receive the funds. This is certainly an issue that needs to be monitored closely but is largely out of our control. Secondly, we currently do not have a Commissioner of Public Works, which places a heavier workload on our existing staff.

"Reimbursement submissions certainly could be faster, and we have worked at speeding up our reimbursement process and now staff will be submitting bridge claims quarterly on a schedule. I am glad Supervisor Smith brought this issue to the forefront to ensure everyone understands our bridge reimbursement processes. Managing how we fund these projects is critical to meeting the county's infrastructure needs."