By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM – In the seven months since he became village administrator, David Fenton has learned that spiraling health care costs and pension payments are the most challenging budget issues, but village storm sewers and roads are in better condition than he expected.

Fenton says chances for more housing rehabilitation grants are dwindling, but there is still hope for more airport improvements.

At the same time, he’s investing lots of time working with the village Dissolution Study Committee, negotiating with employee unions, and wrestling with the problem-plagued hydroelectric project.

Many sources of external funding are drying up, Fenton says, but projects such as the bike path and sidewalk improvement program and work at the airport have “continually surprised me that we have been able to keep a reasonable amount of money flowing” into work in the village.

Meanwhile planning and development work “is having a heck of a time, with fewer grants available, especially for bricks-and-mortar applications and for feasibility studies before work can be planned. There are fewer and fewer dollars.

“It’s a constant struggle to get housing rehabilitation dollars, and money for community development programs.”

The delays at getting the work done on the hydropower project on the village’s western dam over the Raquette River are a concern.

The main problem has been a manufacturer who, despite being paid, has not delivered promised parts. It has already cost the village revenue for the electricity it could have produced if the project had been done on time, plus the cost of pursuing the contractor while making other arrangements for the needed parts.

“It always seems to be two steps forward and one step back with that, and there’s still a good chunk of work to do” Fenton said.

The village government has been criticized for not demanding that the manufacturer put up a performance bond, but Fenton explained that that “this was more of a manufacturing contract as opposed to a regular construction contract. Insurance companies treat those quite a bit differently.”

A brighter spot for Fenton is the recently completed study of the village’s storm sewers.

“The canal, as is, is in amazing shape, considering its age. The construction is pretty rudimentary, but there’s lots of Potsdam sandstone down there, and it’s holding up amazingly well.”

The village has been able to put a lot of money – mostly from the federal government – into improvements at the airport.

While not long ago there were a few aging hangars and no fuel at Damon Field, “we have a new set of hangars, self-service fuel, and we have expanded the taxiways and the ramps. And we do have a hangar that a fixed-base operator could use” as a place instructors can set up shop and sales of things pilots need, like aeronautical charts, can be made.

“We have expected that funding for the airport would be cut out, but so far it hasn’t been.”

Local Ties a Benefit

Fenton figures his long-standing ties to Potsdam are an asset in his job.

“You can’t get much more invested in the community than I am. I grew up here, and have lived here most of my life.”

Fenton graduated from Potsdam High in 1975, then went into the Army for a three-year hitch. After that, he went to SUNY Potsdam and earned an economics degree.

“Then I worked in the private sector, with periodicals in Utah,” he said.

He came back to Potsdam in 1985 and joined the Potsdam Police Department. He served there for more than five years before he was appointed to head the Potsdam Housing Authority, which he did from 1992 to 2000.

In 2000, he was appointed village treasurer, and last October, he was appointed village administrator, to replace Michael Weil, who resigned.

“People here know me, and know that we can talk about specific problems. I’m likely to know the background of a problem.”

The transition from treasurer to administrator “wasn’t too bad. I moved 50 feet down the hall. I’ve done a lot of learning on the fly.”

In addition to the time that the hydro project, the dissolution study, and union talks are taking, the day to day work is considerable.

Dissolution Issue

The village administrator says the village is “at the stage where we will wrap up loose ends on some projects before we dive into too much more.

“And of course, with the dissolution study, we don’t want to look too far beyond that, at least for now.”

The investigation of the pros and cons of dissolving village government, which will probably be the prelude to a referendum on the question with village voters in November, has some long-term planning in the village waiting.

But the sewer plant is one of those projects that might not be able to wait very long.

“It’s aging, and we’re going to have to put some money into that. We’re looking into energy consumption, to improve efficiency, and to upgrade capacity as well.”

As the investigation and reporting by the Dissolution Study Committee continues, the discussion will broaden this summer into fall.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time this summer and fall on education, making sure people understand what they have and what dissolution would do. We want people not to come back later and say they didn’t understand what dissolution means.”

Property Tax Cap

Among other issues affecting the village “is the potential that we’ll be dealing with a two percent property tax cap enacted in a year or two,” Fenton said.

If the village remains a governing entity it is likely it would face a cap on property tax increases in a given year, which will get approval in Albany this year, though it would probably not go into effect right away.

“The state legislature is certainly leaning that way. What it means is we could have to cap property tax at a two percent increase each year. Does that mean two percent of the levy? or two percent of the tax rate? There are still a lot of questions.”

Fenton said that since the village approved a budget in April that cut the tax rate by 2.85 percent, a cap is not an immediate concern, but the tax reduction did not come easy, and the expense of things like health insurance and pension payments for current and retired employees “are growing at 10 percent or more a year.

“Sooner or later it will force villages to cut services, so we’ll all have to keep an eye on that. That’s the biggest thing we’re dealing with right now. And everyone realizes change is in the air for governments everywhere. We’re all certainly looking for ways to cut costs.”