Local officials say infrastructure on the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base is failing, and they want the federal government to help fix it.
The 3,447-acre base was open from the 1950s to the mid-1990s. During that time, it basically operated as its own municipality. North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas says that means it didn’t have to abide by state regulations and standards.
“The Air Force in those days — we’re talking about the 50s, 60s, 70s — didn’t care what anything cost, they didn’t have to [because] the annual defense budgets would always take care of things,” he said.
So when the base closed in 1995, it left behind expensive, overbuilt infrastructure that the town and city of Plattsburgh took over. Those systems are now reaching end-of-life, making their issues more visible and problematic.
Storms lead to sinkholes
At a recent forum hosted by the Town of Plattsburgh, Town Supervisor Michael Cashman said heavy rains in June walloped the base property.
“So here we are: we have infrastructure that is coming to end of life, it’s failing and now you have the compounding factor of significant infiltration due to a storm.”
That resulted in multiple sinkholes on the former base, including along major roadways. The town expects one of them to cost $375,000 to fix.
The town’s already invested $6.3 million into the base’s water and wastewater infrastructure over the last several years, about 25% of its $24 million townwide water and wastewater capital plan.
Investigate the “unknowns”
But Cashman says town officials are convinced the recent issues are tied to larger problems, and they estimate it’ll take at least another $12 million to fix those. That’s more than two-thirds of the town’s typical budget.
“I, the town board, my team do not want to see that burden laid on the shoulders of the businesses, the agencies, the property owners, the taxpayers,” he said. “It’s unfair.”
The town wants the federal government to step up and fix what the Air Force left behind. It’s put forward three proposals.
The first priority is to find out exactly what’s going on with the base’s aging systems. Cashman says that would involve the federal government assigning an Air Force engineering team to the town, or working with the town’s engineers to map things out.
“There are still many, many, many, many unknowns, okay? We have a philosophy of, ‘Plan the work, work the plan,’ and we’re well-positioned to do that, but we need support,” he said.
Find or create funding
The town’s other two requests focus on funding and legislation. Cashman says they’re working with U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to figure out if there’s any money available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
He says if that doesn’t come through, officials plan to advocate for an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would provide perpetual care for former military bases.
Cashman says the town will have to work with federal politicians and former base communities outside New York State to make that happen.
“We’re in a position where we’re not waiting for the federal government to come to Plattsburgh, we’re gonna bring Plattsburgh to the federal government,” he said.
In the meantime, the town’s gathering input from businesses and residents on the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base about the issues they’re seeing. Cashman says they can submit their observations through a Google survey and the information will be compiled and presented to federal representatives.
“We could do great things”
North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas says when the base closed, the city and town had to take things over, even without knowing the extent of the infrastructure issues. He says that’s what led to the redevelopment that’s proven the property is more of an asset than a liability.
“We could do great things out here, we could transform the community, we could develop an airport, we could attract manufacturers, we could reuse and redevelop the housing on the base,” he said. “All of that has come to pass.”
Douglas says the region took advantage of those opportunities. Now, it has to sustain them.