News

July 8, 2009

Health facility project delays irk Kingston

B. GARRET ROGAN Times Leader Correspondent

KINGSTON – The construction of the Insignia Health Campus, now six months behind schedule, was a topic for discussion at Monday’s council meeting.

During public comment, Kingston Democratic mayoral candidate Stephen Radzinsky specifically drew attention to Anthony Trombetta and George Albert, listed as principals of the Terra Firma Land Development Group, which is developing the property at Pierce Street and 3rd Avenue in the former Kingston Plaza.

Trombetta has come under recent financial scrutiny and Radzinsky said he was highly skeptical that the project would be completed with Trombetta’s company’s involvement. Radzinsky said he was also worried that the municipality might have given funding to Terra Firma.

But Kingston Administrator Paul Keating was quick to point out the funding involved is state money. He said Kingston served only as a sponsor for a state Department of Community and Economic Development funding request. The state will not provide funding to Terra Firma if certain criteria are not met, Keating said.

Keating acknowledged that progress on the project might significantly be impacted, and he lamented that Kingston could take no official action because the land is privately owned.

“We’re very concerned because the property went vacant for so long. We want to see the project stimulate the local economy, bring jobs and improve conditions,” Keating said.

He also noted the property, formerly a Price Chopper supermarket, represented only $245,000 of an overall $1.4 million grant for improvements along 3rd Avenue.

Keating said he was confident that the other aspects of the project would be completed as scheduled.

In another matter, council approved a series of resolutions to allow for experimental traffic controls along Wyoming Avenue.

Council President Sandra Kase confirmed Kingston will monitor but not necessarily enforce experimental regulations that prohibit the execution of left turns when exiting Carle Street and from the Hoyt Library onto Wyoming Avenue as well as regulations that impose parking limitations on Hedge Place.

Kase said the experiments are in response to numerous residential safety complaints and that they will take place for 90 days before council decides whether to keep the changes.

Officials did not say when the traffic experiments to begin.

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