JEFFERSONVILLE — In their January meeting, the Callicoon Town Board ordered the owner of the old Callicoon Center Fire building on 1678 Gulf Road, the Callicoon Center Fire Department, to demolish it by the next Town Board meeting on March 11. 

Since then, Callicoon Code Enforcement Officer Kristofer Scullion reported that he received calls from two different contractors over the last month interested in leading charge of the demolition. 

Since the Town of Callicoon does not yet have ownership of the building, they do not have a say in what contractor is hired to demolish it, according to Scullion. 

“I told any of the interested parties to call the Fire Department since the building is not yet in our hands,” Scullion said. “There was some interest on it and maybe people that would be willing to bid on it.”

As the Democrat previously reported, if the current owner of the building, the Callicoon Center Fire Department, does not get it demolished by the March meeting, it will then transfer over to the hands of the town. From there, the Town of Callicoon will be in charge of the demolition and it will go on the tax bill. 

Town approves 

grant applications

The Board also approved the submission of two grant applications in the Town of Callicoon, both concerning the overtaking of community projects. The first was introduced by Sullivan 180, a $20,000 grant at the town park to replace the blacktop on the basketball court. Town Supervisor Tom Bose said that he met with Shannon Cilento, Community Development and Communications Manager at Sullivan 180, to discuss the possibility of the project if the grant is awarded. Bose also said that the grant, which is not guaranteed to be awarded, has a $5,000 local match. 

“Last year, we got a few quotes on redoing the basketball court because it’s the original surface and it’s getting pretty bad,” Bose said. “I am a little fearful of someone tripping along the cracks, which I don’t want to see happen.”

Bose also said the town got two different vendors last year, and he is going to reach out to both of them to see if they are holding the same price for them. 

The second grant application is through U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro’s (NY-19) office, for a new pole building at the highway garage. Bose said that one of the staff members who works in Molinaro’s office told him that they are looking for projects between $800,000 to $5 million and that if it is less than $800,000, it probably wouldn’t be considered. 

Bose said that he spoke to the staff member, with whom he has been in contact for about two years, about constructing a new pole building at the highway facility. 

“We still have trucks and equipment, and we don’t have room to get them all in,” Bose said. “So I would like to see us be able to do that. For what the equipment and trucks cost today, we’re gonna try and get them all in.”

Bose said that the town should start looking into getting some estimates and proposals for the building including dimensions. He said they somewhat know where they want to put it, but he knows it is not going to be as much as the $800,000 mark, but will speak to Molinaro’s office again. 

He also said that if they can bundle in another project that hasn’t been able to move forward, the flood mitigation project behind the Youngsville School, together with the pole building project, they could fall within the window of what the Congressman’s office is looking for. 

Youngsville Water Tank 

Replacement

The board also approved the ability of Town Clerk Kim Klein to advertise the bids for the project to replace the water tank in the Youngsville Water District. Bose said that Delaware Engineering will be formally getting a bid packet together, which has not been completed yet. But once it is completed and the town has it, Klein can begin advertising it. 

“Where we currently stand, once we get it advertised,” Bose said, “we hope to get the bids received by the March meeting, then go to contract once they are approved. The state wants us to have a contract by, I believe, our May meeting.”