Taylor Biomass Project Receives Final Local Approval

After years of support and public meetings, the multi-million dollar facility can finally move ahead. The Taylor Biomass Energy Project is slated to start construction on its waste-to-energy facility in the Town of Montgomery in June with electricity production by December 2013.

IBEW Local 363 had journeyman and apprentices at the meeting with extremely short notice to support the passing of the project. Thank you to all of those who came out with almost no notice to help once again. Great job Brothers and Sisters!

The town board gave its final approval to the project’s site plan Thursday night.

The gasification system, located in Montgomery in Orange County will generate 21 megawatts of electricity when completed, enough to power 23,000 homes. Sixty-five percent of the things that people throw away can be used to power the system, company officials said. Many of our local municipalities will be bringing their waste to this location.

The project is also expected to generate $384.4 million in economic impact, as well as 82 permanent jobs and 318 construction jobs over the next 18 months. Perreca Electric has the electrical portion of the project.

Taylor was selected to receive a $100 million federal loan guarantee by the US Department of Energy in September 2010. Finally now, in 2012, we will see the project become a reality for our local workforce.

First Contract Awarded For $100 million In Upgrades Planned For The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

The New York State Bridge Authority has awarded a contract to repaint the west span of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge for $19 million. Kiska Construction of Long Island City was the low bidder. 

That will be a multi-year project that will be done under a project labor agreement and employ local people.

According to Joe Ruggerio of the NYSBA, it will take about three years. They will be painting a portion of the north span of the Newburgh-Beacon and folks will see construction work begin over the summer to build the environmental containment area under the bridge so they are in compliance with all of the environmental rules and laws. Ruggerio says between the two jobs, some 300 people will be put to work.

A second project, on the east span, will see a complete re-decking at a cost of $81 million. Those bids will be going out next.

"Union Leader Criticizes Hiring On Dutchess Dorm Project"

Official: Dutchess Community College should have used more local workers

April 16, 2012

For the first time in its 54-year history, Dutchess Community College will have students living on the Town of Poughkeepsie campus when classes begin in the fall.

But the $30 million dormitory project, which triggered some opposition from town residents when it was first proposed, has now drawn fire from a union official who contends more local workers should have been hired.

The sprawling, four-story structure on the north end of the campus will be ready to house up to 465 students when the fall semester begins in late August, the construction manager for the project said.
“We’re on schedule and fully expect to open in the fall,” said Mark Zych, construction executive for Kirchhoff-Consigli Construction Management, the Pleasant Valley firm hired by the college as the general contractor.

While no one is claiming any wrongdoing in how the project was planned and executed, the college and general contractor have drawn criticism from an electricians union for failing to hire local electrical workers.

Sam Fratto, business manager for Local 363 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW, said a Kingston firm, J&J Sass, had submitted a bid that was about $2,500 less than the $1.204-million bid offered by a Connecticut firm, NY-Conn Electric. NY-Conn was awarded the job.

“This is a community college and the jobs should have been given to workers from the community, especially since (J&J Sass) had the lowest bid,” Fratto said.

Zych said his firm had decided to hire NY-Conn because it had worked with the company on several recent projects, including one at Marist College in the Town of Poughkeepsie. He said Kirchhoff-Consigli executives had been impressed by the quality of NY-Conn’s work.

Many projects built with public funds require separate bids for subcontractors such as electricians, but because the college dormitory is being financed by Local Development Corporation bonds handled by the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency, it is exempt from provisions of the so-called Wicks Law, state Labor Department spokesman Leo Rosales said.

Fratto said he was not contending the college or Kirchhoff-Consigli was doing anything illegal.

“Is it legal? Sure. But it’s 100 percent wrong,” he said.

Perry Cuttino, executive director of the Dutchess Community College Foundation, which is overseeing the project, said Kirchhoff-Consigli was given final say on which subcontractors to choose.

“Kirchhoff-Consigli bids out and pays subcontract work, selecting vendors it deems most appropriate, based on price, experience and ability to perform the necessary job,” Cuttino said.

Moving in
Controversy over the project began during its early planning stages in 2010, when town residents told college officials they feared the dorm would cause traffic problems and increase demand on police and fire services.

Some also questioned whether a sufficient number of students would choose to live on campus. That fear appears to have been unfounded, college spokeswoman Judi Stokes said last week. More than 225 applicants have already put down deposits for the dorm, which features suites for up to six students as well as single rooms. The cost ranges from $6,300 to $6,900 per student per year, Stokes said.

Two students who will live in the dorm in the fall said staying on campus would enhance their college experience.
“It’s definitely more convenient when you have a full load of classes to be on campus all the time, and I’ll be saving on gas, too,” said Gabriel Diaz, who now commutes to the college from his home in Wappingers Falls.

Diaz, a pre-nursing/pre-med major, has been selected as a resident adviser at the dorm. In exchange for providing counseling and support to incoming freshmen, he’ll live there without cost.
Terrance Sheehan, an aviation major from Highland, said he, too, was looking forward to saving money on commuting when he moves into the dorm.

“It gives you more flexibility in scheduling being on campus all the time, and you have more access to your professors and the computer lab,” Sheehan said.

Living on campus will also enable him to become more involved in college life, Sheehan said.

“A lot of students pay $40,000 to $50,000 a year for the college experience,” he said. “Coming here, I’m getting that and still saving a lot on tuition.”