O’Mara and Palmesano join local officials, business reps to celebrate new storage facility: State funding, local participation instrumental in design and construction of Town of Catlin’s new salt storage barn

Beaver Dams, N.Y., January 17—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) today joined Town of Catlin (Chemung County) Supervisor LaVerne Phelps, Catlin Highway Superintendent Joseph Doan, other town and county officials, and area business representatives for a ribbon cutting ceremony officially designating the town’s new Salt Storage Facility.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Thursday morning at the new facility at 1448 Chambers Road.

O’Mara, a member of the Senate Transportation Committee who, together with Palmesano, has worked closely with local highway officials regionally and statewide to strengthen New York State’s commitment to local transportation infrastructure, said, “These storage facilities are critical to the operation of county and town highway departments across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions.  I have done my best to champion the incredible work these departments do to maintain and upgrade our local roads and bridges.  Keeping these roadways clear and safe for motorists in the winter is a major responsibility. I welcomed this chance to help Supervisor Phelps and his team complete this fantastic new barn.  Supervisor Phelps, and all of the county and town officials and area businesses who undertook the facility’s design and construction did outstanding work and deserve our appreciation.  It has been a job well done and I appreciated the chance to help.”

Palmesano, Co-chair of the Assembly Republican Minority Task Force on Infrastructure and Transportation, said, "Senator O'Mara and I have joined forces since 2013 to build a bipartisan effort within the State Legislature to encourage New York government to make a more substantial investment to rebuild, repair, and revitalize our system of local transportation infrastructure. We recognize and understand the fundamentally important work of our county and town highway departments, and we appreciate these opportunities to support and strengthen their ability to get the job done for the sake of the local economy, local property taxpayers, and all motorists."

Supervisor Phelps said, "It has been a great pleasure to work with Senator O'Mara on this project.  We have been very grateful for the state aid he provided that allowed us to design and construct this high quality, new storage facility.  This year's weather made it a challenge to keep the project underway and to get it completed on time.  Thank you to the highway crew for their hard work, as always, and we appreciate all of the companies involved for their patience and steady support.  This new facility will make a great difference for the maintenance of our town's infrastructure for years to come." 

Phelps singled out the following for their work in the design and construction of the town’s new storage barn: Catlin Highway Superintendent Joseph Doan, Eagle Associates, Chemung Supply, Spencer Paving Company, Zeiser Wilbert Vault, the Chemung County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Chemung County Department of Building and Grounds.

In 2016, Phelps contacted O’Mara for assistance in replacing the town of Catlin’s aging, wood-frame, and structurally unsound salt storage barn, which was built by town employees in 1987 to store salt and salt/sand mix for the town highway department’s winter maintenance of municipal roadways.

O’Mara secured $350,000 in the 2017-2018 New York State budget to assist the town with the design and construction of the new, larger, steel-framed and fabric-covered building that will be able to store 600 tons of salt and 3,000 tons of sand.