VOORHEESVILLE — Renovations on the firehouse are coming along, slowly but surely.
Two years ago, the village made plans to upgrade the 38-year-old firehouse on Route 156 in a project then-mayor John Stevens called "functional not fancy." More space was needed for training, equipment, and community events and the building was to be renovated to comply with current codes.

The million-dollar project was supposed to be completed by Aug. 1, but contractors are still working. The heating and cooling system and the epoxy floor are yet to be finished, say village officials, and the brickwork that was done earlier in the project needs to be redone.
"The craftsmanship is not up to par," said Stevens, now a trustee, on Wednesday.

Dutch Valley General Contracting, the general contractor for the project, did not want to comment and referred questions to James Blendell, the engineer in charge on the site. Blendell works for Barton and Loguidice, which contracts with the village for inspection and design services; he helped design the firehouse project.
"The general contractor, Dutch Valley, had trouble with subcontractors responding," Blendell said of the missed deadline. He expects that the project will be finished in a week.
"We’ve rejected the brickwork," he said. That part was done by a subcontractor and it will have to be taken down and redone.
"Fines can and will be levied," said Stevens. The village can charge the contractor $500 for everyday that the project is overdue, he said.

Other business

In other business at recent meetings, the board:

— Heard from Deputy Mayor Bill Hotaling that work on village sidewalks is underway. Work started about two weeks ago, Stevens said when asked on Wednesday, and he expects it will be finished in a week;
— Heard a request for a vendor permit from Jason Gerstenberger of Edward Jones Investments. He wanted permission for door-to-door solicitation, but was denied. "We believe people’s homes are their castles," Mayor Robert Conway said;
— Discussed allowing a bonfire in the village park on Sept. 28 for the high school’s homecoming weekend, a community tradition that was stopped after officials thought explosives were put in the fire. "I’d like to see it back down here again," Hotaling said; for the last few years it has been held at the high school. On Wednesday, Stevens said that the village had agreed to allow the bonfire, "with a lot of supervision";

— Heard from Linda Pasquali, the village clerk, that Voorheesville spent about $1,200 on concerts this summer and got poor turnout;

— Went into executive session to discuss a lawsuit against the village;

— Voted to apply for a justice court grant. All voted in favor except for Trustee David Cardona who abstained because he is an employee of the justice courts; and

— Voted unanimously to accept a $10,554 grant from the New York State Archives to scan the minutes, laws, and other official documents of the village into a computerized system.