jgiordano@rsmercury.comWith Gulf Hill Road bridge repairs now completed, town of Richfield officials are confident state officials will approve the release of $175,000 in reimbursements as promised. “The town of Richfield contacted our office this morning and said they completed the work. Now we’re going to schedule a final inspection with the town to make sure all of the work is completed,” said Dennis Michalski, assistant director of the New York State Emergency Management Office (SEMO). The final inspection starts the payment process, he explained. “There is no known issue with this (project). Once the paperwork is done it will take 30 to 60 days for the final payment,” Michalski added. “We are not at the point where it will affect (the budget) this year. The town is in decent shape. It’s not a problem and we don’t expect it to be a problem,” town Supervisor Wayne King said. “I’ve been assured we are going to get it,” he added. Because the bridge repair was such a large project, “it was subject to a greater review process,” said Michael Kress, superintendent of highways for the town. “All of the other repairs totalled under $50,000 (each) and could be approved independently. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and SEMO could approve them a lot quicker,” he said. The town has received more than $245,000 from the state in emergency funding, according to Kress, as a result of the June 2006 flooding. “It’s a very detailed process and they have to take one project at a time, go over the engineering, do inspections. We can’t get reimbursed until we pay our bills,” Kress said. He also noted that he talked to Spectra Engineering, the firm hired by the town for the Gulf Hill Road Bridge project, and was told that other towns are also awaiting reimbursement of funding regarding repairs made following the 2006 floods.
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