MORAVIA - The Smith Street bridge project is about to come alive. After nearly 20 years of dormancy, the area around the site of the blocked bridge is being groomed for construction.

Gary Hatfield, Moravia town supervisor, provided the board with an update on the project Wednesday night at the regular town board meeting. He said board members met with town highway superintendent David E. Purdy and went through the preliminary stages of preparing the area for construction. Barton & Loguidice prepared the bridge design.

“The permits have been filed and accepted,” he said. “Now the project has to be put to bid.”

“The trees that had to be removed were done so without animosity,” said Terrance L. Baxter, town councilor.

Property on the northwest corner had a maple tree that had to be removed. The town had to call the state Department of Environmental Conservation to get a permit for the superstructure's removal.

When construction begins will depend on the spring water flow, how high the water in Mill Creek is, and if the abutments can be put in. The creek is also a trout stream protected from May to June by the DEC, so the earliest actual date construction can begin is June 1.

“We're doing everything as fast as we can,” Hatfield said. “Things are moving along.”

The $300,000 project will be financed by the town, which had been saving between $10,000 and $20,000 a year. With a little more than $200,000 now and $60,000 in grant money obtained by state Sen. Michael Nozzolio that will be reimbursed on completion, the project is set to go forward.

Moravia first brought the bridge to Nozzolio's attention in 2004.

The bridge, which spans the creek, has been closed since 1989. Smith Street will remain divided into two dead ends on either side of Mill Creek until the bridge is rebuilt.

In other news:

• The board also considered a complaint by Cindy Cole, who has been pursuing a solution to a mix-up in her STAR exemption. Cole bought a mobile home in the Bellview Park, but the STAR credit was given to the the mobile home park in the name of the previous owner because of misplaced paperwork. Bellview charged her for the difference in her bill instead of deducting the real estate exemption that she applied for.

She had a friend bring in her application and it wasn't processed in time, so credit was given in her predecessor's name. The town assessor was replaced, further complicating the matter.

Cole spoke with the new assessor at the previous board meeting, but Cole still hasn't had her STAR rebate addressed.

“I still haven't heard anything,” she said, “ever since the last meeting.”

Cole issued an ultimatum to the board, insisting on action by March 1.

“I don't really know what you think your further resources or action are,” Hatfield said.

He suggested that the problem was more with the trailer park than with the board.

“There is some application or some form that is needed to be made out to make this correction,” Cole said.

Hatfield suggested Cole speak directly with the assessor to resolve the issue.

• The town also considered a request from William Church to look into whether a town law exists with regard to sex offenders living in the town.

Church wrote a letter stating there are two sex offenders living in the town off main street, one in a trailer park, and one in the village on Main Street, about 1,000 feet from the junior-senior high school.

Hatfield said he didn't believe the town had laws regarding the location of sex offenders and he didn't believe the village did either. They primarily go by county guidelines.

• The town supervisor will attend a special meeting at BOCES Thursday to find out about self-funding insurance through Benetech.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net