OXFORD – Citizens of the Village of Oxford met at a hearing Tuesday night to address a number of issues and to better understand some increases in regards to water and sewer rates that will be imposed throughout the 2015 fiscal year.

Mayor Terry Stark led the evening's dialogue and presented residents with a 56-item summary of ongoing and pending projects within the village.

By far, the greatest cause for discussion was the deteriorated conditions of Albany St., particularly a stretch of road that starts near Washington Square and extends northeast to Midland Hill Road. The street was tentatively slated for repair the year following the Main Street bridge replacement project; but upon further review, the scope and price of the work to be performed continued to elevate.

In addition to the rough pavement that has plagued the quarter-mile section of Albany street, Stark indicated that the sub-pavement, curbing, sidewalks, water and sewage mains and connection as well as storm drainage and water runoff would all have to be addressed to alleviate recurring problems with the passibility of the street.

Stark explained that it would be in the best interest of the village to adhere to a plan that would keep the street's condition up to minimum Department of Transportation standards and save the village costly annual repair bills by “doing it right and fixing all of the underlying problems that contribute to the annual degradation.”

“We went out in 2012 and solicited estimates that would combine the three major factors of the curbing and storm drains, water mains and finally the reconstruction of Albany Street from the village limits continuing all the way down to the Episcopal Church,” Stark said. “Those preliminary results came back with a price tag well over $750,000 – and go to nearly $1 million. We were very surprised by that, and we are not in the position to tackle a project of that expense in one year with the budget that we have in the village.”

Stark noted that the village typically spends roughly $50,000 and $80,000 annually on street repairs, the majority of which is routine maintenance such as patching and striping and signage.