Village, Town to discuss paving Silver Beach

The Belgium Village and Town boards will hold a joint meeting on Monday to discuss what to do with Silver Beach Road.

Paving the road’s gravel surface between highways KW and LL, which leads into the village’s industrial park, could help recruit businesses and encourage current companies in Belgium’s industrial park to expand, but the cost has kept the village from taking on the project.

Preliminary work started in 2015 but stopped when officials realized that the tax incremental finance funds would not pay for half of the $3.2 million project as originally projected, and one property owner wasn’t interested in having a retention pond put on his land.

The Village Board also prioritized the reconstruction of Main Street ahead of Silver Beach Road. The Main Street work was completed last year, and in December the Belgium Area Chamber of Commerce lobbied a Belgium ad hoc committee to form a committee to research paving the road, citing the expected increase in business development.

Chamber Executive Director Tara Williams said that the unpaved road is a “stumbling block” in trying to expand the village.

Timing was key at the time since the deadline to apply for a Multimodel Local Supplement Grant that would pay 90% of a project’s cost was a few days away.

But the portion of road to be paved is in the Town of Belgium. Village President Pete Anzia approached the Town Board, holding its meeting on the same night, right after the ad hoc committee meeting.

The town, which had applied for a grant for work on Jay Road, balked at supporting the Silver Beach project for fear it could affect its chances at receiving the grant.

The Village Board later decided not to form a committee since the road is in the town and suggested the two elected boards get together to discuss the issue.

Those boards will meet at 8 p.m. Monday at Village Hall, 104 Peter Thein Ave.