FLEISCHMANNS - At a monthly Fleischmanns trustees’ meeting held Tuesday, Sept. 9, Mayor Sam Gil announced he has hired an attorney to help resolve a stalemate about who is responsible for bridge repairs on the Fleischmanns Heights Bridge. Saying he knows the difference between a culvert and a bridge, Gil asserted that the village should not be responsible for the costly repairs required to the structure that connects the two sides of the village intersected by state Route 28.
Addressing the on-going issue of a collapsing roadway that has reduced the Fleischmanns Heights bridge to one lane, Gil announced that the village has hired an attorney to determine who is ultimately responsible for the repair. Having been told repeatedly that the passage is not a bridge but a culvert, Gil took the moment to disagree with that assessment. “I’m not an engineer,” said Gil, gesturing with his hands. “A culvert is like this, (indicating round and small) and this is not a culvert. It is a bridge.”
The distinction is critical because it determines who is ultimately responsible for the repair.
“We have been proactive in trying to address this,” said Gil. “We did drawings, got permits, went for grant money, but now we need to get it done.”
Saying they would pass on all the work they did to the party ultimately responsible, Gil said it would take a lawyer’s research and perhaps legal action to prove the bridge ownership and financial responsibility.
After public comments, most of which lauded trustees and the mayor for the significant accomplishments of the summer, trustees moved into an executive session to discuss the legal issues related to the Fleischmanns Heights Bridge.
The next trustees meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. at the Skene Library.
