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The Syracuse Common Council appropriated over half a million dollars during Monday’s meeting to provide planning and design services for the removal of the Interstate 81 viaduct. The agreement also relates to the subsequent construction of the community grid.

The agreement will provide $550,000 in funding from the American Rescue Plan to Dover, Kohl & Partners. Dover, Kohl & Partners, a town planning corporation, will provide services in three different phases, wrote City Engineer Mary Robison in a letter to Patricia McBride, the city clerk.

The first phase, Robison wrote, will be a review of the current condition of I-81 as well as reports and proposals. The company will also engage in discussion with “community leaders” related to the project.

The focus of the second phase is the creation of a “Vision Master Plan,” Robison wrote. The plan will detail the community’s goals for the area being altered by the I-81 removal project. The plan, the letter writes, will be developed with the greater Syracuse community.

The third phase of the plan will be the development of a “Strategic Action Plan,” which seeks to implement the goals discussed in phase two of the plan.

“The goal of this project is to ensure that the (New York State Department of Transportation’s) overall Community Grid Alternative project will facilitate the redevelopment of strong neighborhoods that are sustainable and walkable and allow for equitable development,” Robison wrote in the letter.

The Common Council also approved the appropriation of $800,000 in ARPA funds to continue the city’s Community Ambassador Program. The ambassadors, according to a 2020 syracuse.com report, act as connections between the city and its residents regarding empty and dilapidated properties.

Other Business

The council also authorized the 2021/2022 Building and Facilities Assessment of City-owned Buildings. The cost of the assessment, which encompasses approximately 50% of buildings owned by the city, will not exceed $350,000.

The Common Council also entered an agreement to provide the Syracuse Police Department with training on night vision operation. The course will take place over three days for members of SPD and funding for the program is to not exceed $7,500.

Published on March 29, 2022 at 1:01 am

Contact Kyle: kschouin@syr.edu | @Kyle_Chouinard