Pottersville resident urges county to advance delayed H427 culvert replacement

David Lapel, a Pottersville resident, told the Warren County Public Works Committee that repeated washouts on Umsteadville Road require expedited work on project H427 and that residents had been given inconsistent explanations for its delay. "This has been one screw up after another," Lapel said, asserting that the county had told residents work would begin this summer and finish in the fall but that the project was later pushed to at least 2027.

Lapel told the committee the road has seen multiple washouts since 2006 and that a prior incident led to a lawsuit that cost Warren County taxpayers $300,000. He also told the committee he had been told by a contact at the Adirondack Park Agency that some county paperwork on the project application was not filled out properly, which he said stretched the permitting timeline from February until June.

County staff responding to the comment, including Kevin Hajos, acknowledged residents' frustration and said H427 is a grant-funded project. "This is a funded project through grant funding, and I'm held to the assurances of the grant," Hajos said, adding that permitting steps through the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Army Corps of Engineers take time. Hajos said the county is committed to the project and that, barring quicker movement through permitting and design changes to limit detours, the county is looking at spring 2027 as a realistic start window but would not promise a fixed date.

Presenters and the resident also discussed county finances: Lapel cited a statement that Warren County Department of Public Works ended 2025 with $14,000,000 unexpended — including $12,000,000 in culvert-bond proceeds received in late 2024 — and asked why H427 had been delayed if funds remained. Hajos reiterated that grant terms and permitting, including engineering revisions to reduce detour time, affect scheduling and reimbursement, and said the county would provide updates to the committee if the schedule deviates from the anticipated 2027 timing.

The committee did not take formal action on H427 during the meeting; Lapel said he would continue attending meetings to press for progress.