§ 202-F — Construction or installation of certain improvements in state highways and county roads

§ 202-f. Construction or installation of certain improvements in state\nhighways and county roads. 1. In the event of the construction,\nreconstruction or relocation of a state highway or county road in any\ntown outside of an existing water, water storage and distribution,\nsewer, sewage disposal or drainage district, the town board of such\ntown, after a public hearing as hereinafter provided, may, at the time\nof such construction, reconstruction or relocation, install or construct\nsuch improvements in the right-of-way in such state highway or county\nroad as it may determine to be in the public interest for future use by\nany such district or extension thereof in such town. The town board\nshall cause a plan of the proposed improvement and an estimate of the\ncost thereof to be prepared by the town engineer or, if there be no town\nengineer, an engineer duly licensed by the state of New York. When the\nplan and estimate of the cost have been completed, the town board shall\ncall a public hearing thereon and cause a notice thereof to be published\nin the official newspaper of said town, if any, or if none, in any\nnewspaper which could be designated as the official newspaper of the\ntown, the first publication thereof to be not less than ten nor more\nthan twenty days before the day set therein for said public hearing, and\nshall also cause a copy of such notice to be posted on the sign-board of\nthe town maintained pursuant to subdivision six of section thirty of\nthis chapter not less than ten nor more than twenty days before the date\ndesignated for such public hearing as aforesaid. In the event that the\ntown maintains a website, such information may also be provided on the\nwebsite. Such notice shall describe in general terms the proposed\nimprovement, shall specify the estimated cost thereof and state the time\nwhen and the place where such town board will meet to hear all persons\ninterested in the subject matter thereof. If the town board shall decide\nafter such public hearing and upon the evidence given thereat that it is\nin the public interest to install or construct the proposed improvement,\nsuch town board shall direct the engineer to prepare definite plans and\nspecifications and make a careful estimate of the expense, and, with the\nassistance of the town attorney or an attorney employed for that\npurpose, to prepare a proposed contract for the execution of the work.\nThereupon, such town board shall examine such definite plans,\nspecifications, estimate and the proposed contract, and may reject the\nsame or make such modifications or changes therein as shall seem\nnecessary and desirable, and adopt the same and cause the improvement to\nbe installed or constructed in accordance therewith.\n 2. The expense of any improvement authorized pursuant to this section\nshall be a town charge and shall be assessed, levied and collected in\nthe same manner and at the same time as other town charges; provided,\nhowever, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the\nfinancing in whole or in part, pursuant to the local finance law, of any\nimprovement authorized pursuant to this section. Any such improvement\nshall be deemed to be a district or special improvement authorized by\narticle twelve of this chapter within the meaning of subdivision two of\nparagraph b of section 35.00 of the local finance law. The expense of\nany such improvement shall not exceed the amount stated as the estimated\ncost thereof in the notice of the public hearing thereon.\n 3. The town board may authorize the use of any improvement installed\nor constructed pursuant to this section by any water, water storage and\ndistribution, sewer, sewage disposal or drainage district, or extension\nthereof, thereafter established in such town, provided the entire\nexpense of such improvement, together with the expense of the\nconstruction of the original improvement for such district or extension,\nshall not exceed the maximum amount proposed to be expended as stated in\nthe petition, or, in the case of a water storage and distribution\ndistrict or sewage disposal district, the notice of hearing, for the\nestablishment or extension of such district. Whenever the town board\nshall authorize the use of any improvement installed or constructed\npursuant to this section by any district or extension thereof, the same\nshall become a part of such district or extension thereof and the entire\ncost of such improvement, including the expense of maintenance thereof,\nshall be a charge against such district or extension and shall be\nassessed, levied and collected in the same manner as other charges\nagainst such district or extension.\n 4. No improvement shall be installed or constructed within any state\nhighway or county road pursuant to this section until the state\ncommissioner of transportation or the county superintendent of highways,\nas the case may be, shall have granted his written consent thereto,\nwhich consent may be made subject to such conditions as may be\ndetermined necessary or desirable to prevent undue interference with the\nwork of constructing, reconstructing or relocating such highway or road.\n 5. In any town which is located wholly or partly within the Adirondack\npark which contains state lands subject to taxation assessed at more\nthan thirty per centum of the total taxable assessed valuation of such\ntown as determined from the latest completed assessment roll of such\ntown, no expenditure shall be made or contract let for the purposes\nauthorized in this section, unless the state comptroller, on behalf of\nthe state, shall consent to such expenditure. In all other cases, the\nconsent of the state comptroller shall not be required for any\nexpenditure pursuant to this section.\n