CANOPIES QUESTION
Kingston to issue separate surveys on Uptown canopies
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> The city plans to release two different surveys to solicit feedback about the fate of the Uptown sidewalk canopies known as the Pike Plan.
Mayor Steve Noble told the Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee on Wednesday that his office, at the request of council members, initially was going to send a survey only to the owners of the 44 properties where the canopies are located. But after meeting with members of the Kingston Uptown Business Association, the decision was made to also release a public survey, he said. Noble said both surveys are being created now and should be ready in the next week and a half.
One survey will be mailed to the property owners where the city has easements allowing it to attach the canopies to the private buildings, while the other will be for the public, Noble said.
“They’ll be able to identify, if they like, are they a resident, are they a business owner, are they a visitor, are they a tenant,” Noble said of the public survey. He said the survey will provide some background about the Pike Plan and cost estimates for keeping the canopies or removing them. Noble said city staff is working to firm up those costs now.
Noble said he expects to have some early survey results back by the time the Finance and Audit Committee meets again in March.
The canopies, designed by Woodstock artist John Pike, were built in the early 1970s and overhauled during a two-year period starting in 2011. Since then, some business and property owners have reported damage as a result of drainage problems related to the renovation.
The Common Council agreed in September to accept a $315,000 payment to settle a $1 million claim the city had filed against the engineering firm involved in the canopy reconstruction. A claim against the architectural firm involved in the work was dismissed as being filed too late, while a claim against the construction company could not be resolved. Lawmakers currently are discussing whether to repair the canopies and maintain them or to remove them entirely.
City Engineer John Schultheis has estimated it would cost Kingston about $868,000 to demolish the canopies. He said that estimate includes repairing any holes or damage caused by the canopies to building exteriors. It does not, however, include any repayment the city might have to make for grant funds it was awarded for the initial project, Schultheis said.
The city received $1.6 million in grant funding for the canopy overhaul.
Repairing the canopies could cost $460,000 to $600,000, Schultheis has said. He said the city has spent about $100,000 on studies of the canopy problems and in support of its litigation over them.