Firms to be reviewed for Trail to the Train

AMENIA — The process of constructing little more than a half-mile of paved, pedestrian walkway has been a slow, lengthy process for the town of Amenia. A $480,000 state grant has become a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, the grant is providing funding that otherwise would make the project close to impossible. But the strict requirements for a project funded by state money require a much more detailed process than the town is used to.

The Trail to the Train, as the project is called, will extend the Harlem Valley Rail Trail six-tenths of a mile from the Wassaic Metro-North train station into the hamlet of Wassaic. As a requirement of the state’s Transportation Enhancement Program (TEP) grant, the town sent out Request for Qualifications to design consulting firms.

The RFQ is designed to eventually find the town qualified landscape/architectural, architectural or engineering firms that will prepare a design report, complete the project design and address right-of-way incidentals, seeing that the trail would be located on three separate properties including land owned by the state, a private landowner and the MTA (Mass Transit Authority).

As reported by town Supervisor Wayne Euvrard at the Sept. 16 Town Board meeting, at least 13 firms have indicated interest in the project.

During opening public comments at the Sept. 16 meeting, the Trail to the Train Committee Chair Tonia Shoumatoff requested that  the committee be given the responsibility of reviewing the qualifications of the firms and narrowing down the candidate pool to between three and five.

Euvrard said that the Town Board would be reviewing the RFQs, but that he felt comfortable letting the committee go through a similar process and report back to the board with its recommendation.

“Maybe we each pick three and two will be the same,� he said.

Once the candidate field has been narrowed, a more detailed review of qualifications, potentially including interviews, will be conducted.

Euvrard said one of the most frustrating aspects of the process is that selecting candidates is based on qualifications rather than a competitive bidding process.

“Legally we can’t ask for the price [to complete the extension],� he said, which makes the process different than most other municipal projects.

Because of the length of the qualification packets received by the town, the trail committee, which usually meets in Wassaic, will have to convene at Town Hall to review those documents.