You can now view Calendars of Events for today and upcoming weeks? A complete and up-to-date list of local events is now available on every section of PressRepublican.com.
PLATTSBURGH — A project seven years in the making has come to fruition with the dedication of the new Clinton County Public Transit garage.
The new garage at 226 Arizona Ave. was converted from what once was the Educational Center at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base.
It will mark the first time the county has owned the facility that houses the transportation operation in the 26 years it has existed.
"We've had four different facilities over the years, and each time we moved there was a disruption in services, and routes had to be changed," County Deputy Administrator Rodney Brown said at a ceremony Monday.
"With this new facility, we won't have any disruption."
The building was cleaned up and remodeled with the use of about $3 million in state and federal funds. The county contributed around $140,000 in in-kind services.
Brown said the county first talked about utilizing the Education Center as far back as 2002.
The environmental cleanup and asbestos removal took considerable time, but the property is ready to be transferred to the county from Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corp. this week at no cost.
The new building includes three large service bays, a big wash bay and office space for meetings.
The transportation system features 16 vehicles — including two para-transit buses able to carry people with handicap equipment — and serves about 150,000 riders each year.
In addition to city routes, buses travel rural routes to the Northern Tier, Riverview, AuSable, Standish and Peru.
"A lot of people rely on this service for transportation for work, to go to the hospital "¦," Brown said. "This facility will allow for better service for these people."
County Legislature Chairman Jimmy Langley (R-Area 7, Peru) said the federal and state funding and the use of the Education Center were a perfect fit for the county.
"This is not what you expect to see when you look at a transportation center," Langley said.
"Dollar for dollar, this is about as good a project as we have at the new airport."
E-mail Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
