Ogdensburg Reviewing Legality Of Funding I-98 Work

By MAX R. MITCHELL

It may be a little while before the city gives the money it promised to a group supporting the creation of a four-lane highway.

After the Ogdensburg City Council approved a resolution to give $5,000 to the Northern Corridor Transportation group Monday, city staff is looking into whether the resolution can be executed because it does not specify what fund the money will come from, or how it will be used.

"It doesn't say any of that in the resolution, so we're trying to clarify that," City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra said.

An opinion of the city attorney Andrew W. Silver, which was read at the meeting, also throws the legality of the resolution into question. Mr. Silver said that under state law, the city is not allowed to give aid to any private organization and the issue should be looked at by the state Comptroller's Office.

Mr. Silver did not return phone calls Thursday.

The Northern Corridor Transportation Group is trying to raise $150,000 for a highway from Watertown to Plattsburg and has gotten support from 205 municipalities across the state, Jason A. Clark chairman for the group said.

So far the group has raised $43,000 from the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Authority, the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority, the Development Authority of the North Country and the towns of Potsdam and Brasher, among others, he said. He said he had not heard about any legal concerns regarding the resolution for the groups.

"This is for a marketing endeavor," he said. "There is so much misinformation or confusion about what we're talking about, we want to make sure everyone knows what we're doing as we move forward and that's what the program is for."

Mr. Clark said the group is seeking at least $1 billion in federal funds to engineer and build the project.

City Councilor Douglas G. Sholette, who submitted the initial resolution, did not comment on whether he would submit a second resolution to council, but said the vote Monday was important to show that Ogdensburg was interested in being a leader in the project.

"I'm pretty passionate about this highway," he said. "I wouldn't be involved in this if I didn't think it was going to affect us tremendously."