MALONE — St. Lawrence Gas has suspended work on its natural-gas pipeline through Franklin County because construction costs have doubled from earlier estimates.

Technical experts and the specialized labor force, along with sophisticated equipment needed to build the pipeline safely, are flocking to a natural-gas boom in Pennsylvania, where the Marcellus shale formations are being worked to free newly discovered pockets of natural gas.

That and higher steel prices are some of the issues pushing back the aggressive timeline St. Lawrence Gas set to get its first high-volume customers online by the end of 2012.

LONGER TIMELINE

The original overall project cost $20 million, but the construction increases bumped it to $30 million, said Jim Ward, the company’s assistant general manager.

He said he hoped to have word by March on what additional funding sources can be tapped.

Company officials told the County Legislature on Thursday that they remain committed to finishing the 48-mile project to its agreed-upon end and feel this is a small hurdle to overcome.

But with the time delay, St. Lawrence Gas may have to spread construction out across two years, bringing the western portion at Moira online one year then taking the line to Chateaugay in the second year, Ward said.

Contractors qualified to do this kind of specialized pipeline-construction work, such as welders and drillers, are in immediate demand in Pennsylvania and can command higher wages than they could on the Franklin County project.

The company estimated its costs specifically for construction at $9.2 million, but realized those numbers were off after its first round of bids came back in July, he said.

A second bid round in September confirmed that, leaving a nearly $9 million gap in funding.

SEEKS MORE FUNDS

Ward says he has approached or is about to speak with the largest benefactors of the pipeline project to see if they can kick in to close the funding gap, including Agri-Mark/McCadam Cheese in Chateaugay, school districts, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and Alice Hyde Medical Center.

St. Lawrence County will also be asked for support, as will state representatives and state agencies that have helped with the project in the past.

Ward has also spoken with North Country Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Garry Douglas, co-chair of the North Country Regional Economic Development Council, to see if any of the millions the region has been promised for projects can be earmarked for the natural-gas pipeline.

Ward said whatever the company cannot raise from outside sources, it will kick in itself.

Ward didn’t ask Franklin County for any more money Thursday, “and I won’t,” he said.

The county committed $1.425 million to the project, along with $2 million through Sen. Betty Little, $2.5 million through former Gov. David Paterson, and St. Lawrence Gas was adding $14 million.

SPECIALIZED WORK

St. Lawrence County was asked for $600,000 but has so far not promised anything to the project even though a portion of it would benefit North Country Dairy, the former Breyer’s Yogurt plant in North Lawrence.

Legislators there will again be asked to contribute toward the pipeline, which would be appreciated by Franklin County even if its support is given through in-kind services instead of cash, said Legislator Timothy Burpoe (D-Saranac Lake).

Legislator Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay) wanted two points clarified: The pipeline will go all the way to Chateaugay before it’s finished, and workers building the pipeline must have special skills.

The work is not routine and must be done by natural-gas contractors even though there may be plenty of local contractors out of work at this time of year, he said.

Email Denise a. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com

MALONE — A voter who successfully challenged Franklin County’s original redistricting plan in 2002 wants a seat on the committee looking at the issue again in 2012.

Daniel Jenkins of Harrietstown said that at least one representative from the general public should be included in the decision-making meetings.

“There should be an independent person on the committee,” he said. “Here we are with county legislators — politicians — and election commissioners and the county attorney.

“There should at least be one member of the public-at-large. We’ve got to get into a process and out of this lockstep.”

Following each federal census, counties are required to ensure legislative boundaries are as equal in population as they can be to comply with the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal representation — “one man, one vote.”

The deviation between the largest and smallest districts is supposed to be no more than 10 percent, but the Supreme Court has allowed deviations as high as 16 percent, in some cases.

In Franklin County’s original 2002 reapportionment plan, the deviation was 21 percent.

Jenkins and three other voters, John Quenell of Brighton, Mollie Sheren of Santa Clara and former County Legislator Mark Flack Wells of Fort Covington, challenged that number and saw the plan overturned.

It was ruled unconstitutional because the county did not fully justify why it had to go beyond the 10-percent deviation. A special election was ordered held in 2004.

A revised plan adopted after the lawsuit had a deviation of 9.3 percent.

Last month, when legislators briefly discussed forming a committee to look at redistricting in 2012 following the 2010 U.S. Census, they said Republican Election Commissioner Veronica King, Democratic Election Commissioner Kathy Fleury, at least one legislator from each political party and County Attorney Jonathan Miller would serve.

But there are no firm rules as to who can sit or how many people can be in on the discussion, Miller said.

“Mr. Jenkins is free to give me a call. I have no problem talking with him,” the attorney said. “Anyone who wants to be part of it can call me, but I’m not the one who will decide.”

Legislators will determine how many people will look at the issue.

He said the entire process will be open to the public as the committee begins reviewing the existing districts and studying population changes and whether district lines must be redrawn.

Miller said that gathering the informal committee is just a way to bring representatives from each political party together to look at the numbers and decide if changes are needed.

In the end, the committee won’t make a specific recommendation to the County Legislature.

It will be up to the legislators to discuss the options and adopt a plan, he said.

Email Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com

“Good afternoon, community.”

A voice rings strong from the front of the room. Behind the man speaking are five other men sitting in freshly pressed forest-green shirts and pants. In front of them, sit around 30 other men in the same ironed attire and with the same perfect posture.

Six posters of the community’s six groups line the back wall: Keeping Eternity in View, Chosen Few, Transformers, Genesis, The Future, and Visionaries.

Surrounding them are motivational signs.

“Proper preparation prevents poor performance,” one reads.

“If you leave prison the same way you came in, then you’ve failed prison, and you have to repeat the class,” another says. More on page 800

MALONE — Malone Democrat Gordon Crossman was named chairman of the Franklin County Legislature Thursday and vowed to be keep expenses down to spare taxpayers.

He replaces Guy “Tim” Smith (D-Fort Covington), who had been chairman for the past six years.

Legislator Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay) was named vice chair during a brief ceremony in the legislature chambers. More on page 779

MALONE — Faulty fire-hydrant bolts will cost users of the west-side water district at least $40,000 to fix.

The Town Council recently agreed to issue a serial bond and borrow $40,000 at 4.29 percent interest for 10 years to pay for the project that will replace dozens of rusty, crumbling bolts.

The bolts were installed 10 years ago when the water district was formed, but the town has no grounds to seek reimbursement from Syracuse Constructors Inc., the contractor that installed them, said Town Supervisor Howard Maneely. More on page 761