President's Message
The Builders Exchange and our partners have spent a lot of time advocating for Rochester this year. Building a Better Rochester was formed to help our community get a reasonable share of state dollars. Associations, contractors, and building trades unions share the common conviction that Rochester must be funded as well as our upstate sister cities. Ironically, we lead upstate in job creation and trail it in funding. How many more jobs would we have in Rochester if we had equal funding at our disposal? We recently looked at NYSDOT spending and found what you might expect: Rochester is losing out in yet another area. Our region fares badly in dollars spent per lane mile and in dollars by population. Syracuse's funding is just as bad (or worse, depending on the metric you choose). Not surprisingly, Albany and Buffalo receive the greatest allocations. There is no reasonable justification that either the DOT or legislators have been able to articulate. The message from Albany seems to be that certain regions deserve better roads and safer bridges--and by the way, more funding for cities and schools. I'm not sure where that's written in the state constitution, but it must be there somewhere. Our delegation knows this is wrong and they are incredibly supportive of Building a Better Rochester. Aside from our local legislative representatives, no one in Albany wants to talk about funding disparity and broken systems. Fixing this will require work. It will require the state to examine decades of public funding, economic and workforce development, because frankly, the system has been broken for a long time. Maintaining the status quo is so much easier and many in the state will support it. We don't doubt that other regions need funding, but Rochester residents shouldn't continue to pay for it. We don't expect to solve the problem quickly, but Upstate will never thrive unless New York State adjusts its policies. We urge you to become part of this effort. For more information, feel free to contact me, or visit www.BuildingABetterRochester.com. On behalf of the board and staff of Builders Exchange, we wish you the very best of this holiday season.
Aaron Hilger, President
The Builders Exchange of Rochester
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Albany Update
Two topics are dominating the Albany political and social landscapes right now: Super Storm Sandy and control of the state Senate. Both have the same effect: Havoc.
In real dollars and loss to our state, Sandy is a greater disaster than Katrina. More people will have lost their homes and businesses than anything we saw with that storm. Get used to hearing those words, because Governor Cuomo will say them often as he lobbies Washington for what is now estimated at more than $40 billion in much needed relief. Before the storm, there was already a revenue shortfall of approximately $1 billion. Now, it is hard to guess where we go from here.
The governor has stated there will be no Special Session of the state legislature this December. That session was to produce pay raises for the senators and members of assembly. The legislators have not had a raise in almost 25 years.
Counting also continues in a key state Senate race. In a seat that was expected to be an easy Republican pick-up, the race is still undetermined. This seat may determine the balance of power in the Senate. If the Democrats take over again, there will be a shift of power back to New York City.
These are uncertain times in Albany. Much of the focus is on the New York metropolitan area. This means our efforts to get attention and resources for Rochester will have to be more coordinated and forceful than ever before. We will be in regular contact with all our local elected officials - and our new senator, Ted O'Brien - to ensure that our community is not forgotten.
Contact Denise Murphy McGraw:
DMurphyMcGraw@HGMLobby.com
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PLANROOM NEWS
Prebid Projects
Replacement of Water Main and Various Installations - McGraw, NY - This is primarily a main replacement project with approximately 18,500 LF of new main, mostly 8" with about 4,000 being 12". Other items include about 35 new hydrants, installation of new water re-circulators in each of the water storage tanks (2), a new gas powered generator for standby power at the well house and other minor items.
New Construction Tim Hortons Lewiston Road - Batavia, NY - New 1,953 SF restaurant with 26 indoor & outdoor seats, parking for 25 vehicles, and a drive through window.
Renovation of Former Kemble Street School Site into Multi Use Park - Utica, NY - This proposed project will potentially include transformation of the former Kemble Street School site into a multi-use park which with a mixed-use athletic field, garden walk, playground, community garden and pavilion.
Not a subscriber to pre-bid?
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Contact Karissa Grant:
(585) 586-5460
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IN THIS ISSUE
BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
ROBERT UNGER,
O'CONNELL ELECTRIC
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