LOOKING AHEAD
ARPA funds could be generational game changer for Troy
TROY, N.Y. » Mayor Patrick Madden recently discussed some of his hopes for the Collar City in 2022. He also expressed disappointment that 2021 was not quite the return to normal as hoped for, with still too much of the country refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Madden offered some cautious optimism for 2022, depending on what happens with the advent of the new Omicron variant.
“I think we have to acknowledge that 2021 turned out to be a bit more of a disappointment than we had expected,” Madden remarked on the rest of the country being obstinate in getting vaccinated.
“I do know that last year at this time we were optimistic for 2021, the vaccine trials were showing a lot of promise, at this point last year we may have already begun some of the vaccines. Everybody was of opinion that we’d be back to normal by the summer and that sure didn’t happen and now we’re looking at another surge of another variant. So, it’s a little hard to look ahead, a little difficult, I do it with great caution,” Madden explained regarding the uncertainty presented by the virus.
“When you think about it we’re losing over 1,200 Americans a day right now, a year after the vaccine came out. For some context, that’s about the same number of people who died on 9/11 every two days and it’s just amazing to me,” Madden noted.
“That aside, I’m very optimistic about 2022. We will have paid off our old legacy MAC debt by mid-January of 2022,” the Democratic mayor added. “That’s a great accomplishment to be able to pay that down. At the same time, we’ve been trying to invest in infrastructure that has been neglected for decades. We’ve made some headway there but paying down that debt gives us the ability to now address investments that have been held in abeyance over the past 25 years.
“And you’ve already seen some of that, you see it in the South Troy pool, you see it in some of the equipment we’re able to purchase for the fire department, some of the repairs and renovations and repairs we’ve made to the firehouses, the repairs we are in the process of making to the State Street parking garage. So, those things will continue in 2022.”
Madden also detailed plans to use the approximately $44 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds in forging long-term sustainable projects throughout Troy’s neighborhoods.
“Additionally, we have funds from the federal government, we call them “APA funds,” to invest in our neighborhoods in a way that I don’t recall that the city has ever had before. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as far as I’m concerned. I think that we are poised to make some I think very substantial changes that should have a sustainable change in our neighborhoods,” Madden noted on the opportunity to make generational improvements to the city.
“Our goal is to put that out in the neighborhoods in a way as I indicated makes sustainable changes, so that people can
point to it years from now and people can say, “oh that made a difference, that’s still having an impact today.” So, we’re working very hard on that and that will be a large undertaking over the course of the next two years,” Madden noted on making long-lasting investments.
“We’re looking at various investments in the community that have to do with housing and job creation, job development, youth programming. We’ll be hopefully undertaking a study for a community center in North Central. Investing in daycare as we determine the need. Daycare is of course a lynchpin to getting people back to work, to getting people back to school, to getting the economy in the city running again, making sure people have opportunities to get educated, get work, to maintain their independence. So, daycare is an important component of that,” Madden explained regarding programs that a crucial to the day-to-day quality of life issues for residents.
“Our parks took a hit the past 20-plus years. As we were paying down debt, one of the things that got neglected was our park infrastructure. So we have developed a master plan for our parks and over the next decade, for my remaining time we’ll be investing pursuant to that plan and hopefully, the next administration will pick that up as well and continue those investments. That’s in all of our parks, particularly our pocket parks that are based in neighborhoods that people can access without a car, they can walk to it, the kids can walk to it, it just creates a higher quality of life for our residence,” Madden added.
Madden also commented on the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant recently passed by the New York State Legislature and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“In addition, we received the Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant from the State of New York, in the amount of $10 million. That will involve a good bit of planning with community input around how that can be utilized to leverage economic growth. That is limited to the downtown area. It is a very focused grant program from the State of New York. The ARPA funds on the other hand are available citywide and we will take advantage of putting that money in neighborhoods beyond the downtown,” Madden remarked.
The mayor additionally discussed the city’s recently passed 2022 budget of $78,746,500, and how those dollars will be allocated toward city services for residents.
“We did put forth and pass a budget for 2022 that remains under the New York state tax cap, that continues to enhance our ability to deliver the services that the residents are interested in, that the residents are requesting of us. We’re in a position to increase the level of that service. You can always do more depending upon resource availability and because of prudent budget practices, we’re in a position where we are investing more in service delivery, at the same time as paying down our debt,” Madden said.
“We have continued our budgeting practice of not relying on one-shot revenues. We rely on recurring revenues to meet recurring expenses. So there’s no tricks or gimmicks in the budget, there’s no smoke and mirrors. It’s a very, very modest tax increase, we’re very delighted to be able to do that. It will include some new emergency vehicle purchases, a new aerial ladder truck for the fire department is approved in the 2022 budget. That will take a little time to appear on the streets, these things need to be ordered and they’re essentially custom-made for us. So that will take some time to get in here. We’re going to be purchasing new garbage trucks, a new street sweeper,” Madden noted on how some of those dollars will be spent next year.
Madden further detailed the progress being made with regards to ongoing and future infrastructure development projects.
“We will be completing Phase 2 of the South Troy Industrial Roadway. We completed Phase 1 last year. That had been on the drawing boards for about 30 years and we’re finally able to get that done,” he said. “We will be extending the riverwalk trail north up to the Hoosick Street Bridge. The riverwalk along the new seawall behind the Headley building behind the buildings on River Street, Brown’s and Ryan’s Wake and those buildings there, next year we will be extending that up to underneath the Hoosick Street Bridge, which is important because it will make a linkage between Downtown and North Central that will be an appealing pathway.
“You won’t be darting through traffic or needing to cross busy streets taking risks. You’ll be able to just walk along the river, enjoy the riverview. Hopefully, it’ll engender more walking between these two neighborhoods, giving people of North Central greater access to the river and amenities to the downtown,” Madden explained on making Troy a much more pedestrianfriendly city.
“You’ll see that the Uniting Line Mural Project was completed this year. That’s the bridge abutments that were all painted this fall. The riverwalk will lead up to that area. We’re looking at programming that space under the bridge and converting it from a place that you just sort of drivethrough as quickly as you can, to a place with amenities, might be picnic tables, might be basketball courts, things that the community is interested in,” Madden noted on one of the many projects aimed at beautifying the city.
Madden also provided an update on the status of the Knickerbacker Pool.
“We will be working on designs for the replacement pool at Knickerbocker Park. That will be funded with the ARPA funds. That will hopefully break ground next summer. What we’re aiming to do there is not just replace the pool but reconfigure the way people use that park, make it a more family destination. So, move the park off of the alley into a more prominent location closer to the parking lot, incorporate some picnic areas and other recreational activities around the pool so it draws families and it becomes a destination, a little bit more welcoming than the old pool had been. We’d love to see that open for the summer of ‘23. It’s been a long time in coming but I think in the end the result will be worth it,” Madden remarked on the design plans.
Madden also spoke to improvements being made to the city’s vital water infrastructure, which also serves nine additional municipalities throughout the Capital District.
“We are continuing our work with replacing the waterlines between the Tomhannock Reservoir and the city. Not something that most people see, not something that most people are worried about but it’s absolutely essential if you want water to come out your faucet when you turn it on in the morning,” Madden said.
“We have to maintain our infrastructure. Maintaining infrastructure is bigger in that it sends a message to the business community that this is a good area to invest in. If you want to open your business or expand your business, Troy takes its infrastructure seriously. You can be assured that you will have services available to you without interruption. That just makes it a more accomodating community for business growth and development. And business growth and development is what generates jobs, which generates opportunities for our residents. So it’s all linked together,” Madden continued on providing that assurance.
“That work is well underway now and we’ll continue that into and through most of 2022. Some of those pipes that run between the water treatment plant and the reservoir are well in excess of 100 years old, so you can imagine if we lost one of those lines what would happen to the continuity of our water services and that’s just not for Troy, that’s for nine communities that draw water from the Troy reservoir and the Troy treatment plant system, so it’s important that we make that investment,” Madden emphasized on the vitality of the water system.
Madden also commented on the new makeup of the Troy City Council headed into 2022.
“I have worked with both Republican and Democrat majorities on the city council and I have gotten work done with both parties in charge, so I don’t anticipate that will change,” Madden said.
“I’m not a very partisan person. I tend to work well with anybody who desires to improve the city. So I’m not anticipating a problem with party, I just need to get a sense of what people on the council, what their priorities are,” Madden continued.
“I think, like I say, more people share the priorities of putting the ARPA funds into the neighborhoods, I think most people share the prioritiy of fixing up the parks and renovating the pool, I think people share the priorities of enhancing services for the residents wherever we can. I don’t think any of these things are partisan or controversial,” Madden added regarding being able to find common ground on shared priorities for the city.
Madden also reiterated his call for people to continue to get vaccinated and wear masks in hopes of a return to much more normalcy in 2022.
“I would hope that those who have not been vaccinated yet would do what needs to be done here, get the vaccination. Those who are eligible for the booster, get the booster. Science is behind this,” Madden said.
“Like I say, I’m disappointed with not having made greater progress in 2021 on returning to normal, to returning to what life looked like in 2019. I think if more people took the time to get the vaccine and everybody got the booster we’d be a lot better off and we’d be in a much better position to return to normal and I hope that people will come around to that thinking and do what needs to be done,” Madden continued.
“In the meantime, wear your masks when you’re around other people. Let’s try to stem the spread of this disease. I’ve known people who have perished from it who were not otherwise in bad health. You never know how it’s going to affect you. It’s a great gamble to not take precaution,” Madden noted on the need to stay healthy.
“So, let’s wear a mask, let’s get vaccinated, let’s get this behind us, and let’s really have a 2022 that we thought were going to have in 2021,” Madden added.