Building docks off site could save $80,000 on Alex Bay plans

ALEXANDRIA BAY — The village may save nearly $80,000 in labor for its Upper James Street dock reconstruction project by building the entire dock off-site, thus avoiding a state requirement to pay contract workers higher state wages.

Mayor Terry J. Robb said the village's contractor, W.D. Bach Excavation & Consulting LLC, Clayton, came up with an idea to avoid paying state wages and reduce the cost of construction by building 14-by-40-foot sections of the roughly 300-foot dock "down to the cleats" in its Clayton shop, transport them to Alexandria Bay by barge and install the dock on steel pilings.

Jean L. Genovese, spokesperson for the state Department of Labor, said although state law requires contractors to pay its workers state prevailing wages for government contracts — currently $26.15 per hour, not including benefits, in Jefferson County for dock builders — Alexandria Bay's dock reconstruction might not fall under that requirement.

"Sometimes it's not considered public work if docks are built off-site," she said.

The village hired Bach last month to rebuild the public dock for roughly $213,000, some $80,000 less than the next lowest bid, and to purchase the wood decking for $28,000 and optional batter piles for $25,000. The batter piles will be driven into the bottom of the river at an angle to provide more stability.

The work is expected to be completed by the end of April, Mayor Robb said.

To cover the cost of the project, the village board decided Tuesday to take out a total of $90,000 from its dock and municipal building reserves fund and "temporarily" take out an additional $50,000 from the building reserves to pay some bills.

The village was recently awarded a $50,000 Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency grant to cover part of the project's cost and is currently seeking financial assistance from several other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office. It will bond for the remaining costs.

The village hired engineers at Fourth Coast Inc., Clayton, to design and oversee the reconstruction project.