ALBANY COUNTY — A $2.24 million joint highway facility in Knox could act as a bellwether for future shared projects between Albany County and its towns.

Knox and the county could save $160,000 on the structure, as opposed to building two separate ones, and the same amount could be saved on equipment and maintenance costs, according to a study of highway services released Monday. This was one of three projects.

The Laberge Group, the municipal consulting firm that led the two-and-a-half-year study, outlined the three recommended pilot projects for county officials to pursue at their will. A second would involve the county swapping snowplow routes with the town of Bethlehem, and a third proposes the county contract its workforce by paying the town of Colonie for snow and ice removal.

A presentation to municipal leaders on Monday by Benjamin H. Syden, vice president of Laberge, stressed that the county should assess needs for repairs and explore the benefits of joining locations of highway department and public works stations instead of replacing their currently separate and aging sheds and garages.

All 19 municipalities in Albany County collectively pursued the $67,500 Local Government Efficiency Grant from the Department of State that funded the study.

_{^{On practical matters, municipal leaders of Albany County listen to a Nov. 24 presentation about ways they could share, according to the findings of a Laberge Group highway shared-services study. The Enterprise — Michael Koff}}

The study collected data of highway services and personnel throughout the county and made an inventory of its facilities.

The county’s public works department has the highest number of full-time employees, with 92, followed by 66 in Colonie, 63 in the city of Albany, 52.1 in Bethlehem, and 48 in Guilderland. At the lower end, the city of Watervliet has 4 full-time highway employees, the village of Green Island has 5, the village of Voorheesville has 5.5, the towns of Berne and Knox have 7, Westerlo has 7.5, and Rensselaerville has 9.

Of the 24 highway facilities that were visited for the study, most were aging but in good condition, and they all shared resources “on some level,” according to the study. In many cases, the locations of town or village garages were within five miles of a station for the county’s Department of Public Works.

Trading snowplow routes between the county and Bethlehem would have the county plowing Long Lane and West Yard Road, both town roads. Bethlehem would then plow a section of Jericho Road from Route 9 West to the intersection with Route 55 East, reducing the time Bethlehem trucks are on the road and not plowing. The savings from the Bethlehem project would be about $6,900 per season, according to the report.

In the third pilot project, the county would contract with Colonie to plow 19.27 centerline miles in the town. That would allow the county to reduce positions without layoffs and close a substation, saving around $7,300 per year. If two to four retirees aren’t replaced, the county could save $118,000 to $236,000, the study says.

— Marcello Iaia