Funds approved by county to demolish alert facility

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March 13, 2010

By JOE LoTEMPLIO The Press Republican Sat Mar 13, 2010, 10:28 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — The final piece of funding to demolish the alert facility on the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base has been approved.

Demolition of the facility will pave the way for more development at Plattsburgh International Airport.

"I'd love to see a hotel out there. That would be perfect," said Clinton County Legislator Robert Heins (R-Area 10, City of Plattsburgh), who chairs the county's Airport Committee.

The County Legislature recently approved about $420,000 of additional funding from the state and Federal Aviation Administration, which will cover the rest of the costs of the demolition and disposal.

Initially, the project was supposed to cost a little more than $1 million, but it was discovered that the tunnels in the facility were laden with toxic chemicals, which required special demolition and disposal techniques.

The facility was used during the Cold War by the Air Force to house pilots and crew members of bombers and tankers so they would be ready to take off at a moment's notice.

But since the closure of the base in 1995, the 1950s era facility has become dominated by mold. It is full of asbestos and other toxic chemicals.

The debris from the facility is so toxic that it must be taken to a special landfill out of state, Deputy County Administrator Rodney Brown said.

The county is in the midst of a feasibility study to expand the airport terminal, and the Alert Facility property is expected to be a big part of future plans.

Heins said he hopes the property generates tax revenue for the City of Plattsburgh where it lies.

"Whatever we do, it has to be taxable; we know that. But we will see what the studies come up with."

The airport was opened in 2007 and has experienced significant success, with the number of enplanements rising each year.

The county recently recorded its 14,000th enplanement of the year, an increase of about 2,000 from this time last year.

Brown said demolition of the Alert Facility should begin at the end of April and could be completed by late June.

E-mail Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com