CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Cortland County Chamber of Commerce has joined the CenterState Chamber Alliance.

The Cortland County Chamber joins CenterState CEO and the Cayuga County and Greater Utica Chambers of Commerce in the Chamber Alliance, “furthering the reach of the already broad regional-business community,” according to a news release the alliance issued on Thursday.

Syracuse–based CenterState CEO — a regional business-leadership, chamber of commerce, and economic-development organization — formally launched the alliance in June 2012.

The four organizations say they will actively market each other’s programs and events and promote cross-member participation.

Under the partnership, the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce will maintain its local identity, management team, board control, member-relations efforts, and services, the Chamber Alliance noted.

The Chamber Alliance offers members access to “even more” benefits and member-to-member connections, according to the news release.

The CenterState Chamber Alliance lists member benefits that include cost savings and access to training programs, regional networking opportunities, inclusion in a printed regional chamber directory, and a “unified voice for advocacy.”

“We are excited to welcome the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce as our newest partner in the CenterState Chamber Alliance,” Jane Amico, vice president of chamber services at CenterState CEO, said in the news release. “This further strengthens the reach of our alliance, and broadens the benefits all of our members receive.”

As a member of the CenterState Chamber Alliance, the Cortland County Chamber will be able to deliver more services and leadership opportunities to its members, and advance opportunities for regional growth,” the alliance contends.

 “As we look to expand the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce’s regional economic-development focus, it makes sense to be part of an organization that can strengthen our members’ connections across the region,” Bob Haight, president and CEO of the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce, said in the news release. “Through this partnership, we have an amplified and more unified business advocacy voice, and can better position our members for future growth.”

The opportunity for “enhanced member-to-member connections are instrumental” as the CenterState Chamber Alliance advances the region’s economic-development strategy, the alliance said in the release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

WATERTOWN — The Watertown City Council finalized more than $9 million in construction contracts after voting, 4 to 1, in favor of a $10.3 million project on April 6 for the reconstruction and expansion of the Watertown Municipal Arena. The city council awarded the contracts on March 30 in a special meeting, but the contracts were conditional upon the approval of the project itself.

The city-owned arena, located at 600 William T. Field Drive at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds, is an enclosed structure used as an ice rink in the winter months. It’s used for concerts and other events, including the Jefferson County Fair, in warmer months.

The general contractor for the project is Bette & Cring, which is based near Albany. It also has an office at 18438 U.S. Route 11 in the town of Watertown. The contract is for $6.27 million.

Sackets Harbor–based Lawman Heating & Cooling, Inc. was awarded nearly $2.9 million total in contracts — $1,229,000 for mechanical work, 

$976,000 for electrical, and $668,000 for plumbing and fire protection.

The City of Watertown received 19 bids in each of the four areas where contracts were granted, according to the minutes of the city council’s March 30 meeting. All contracts were awarded to the lowest bidder that met the city’s specifications.

The arena has been in need of structural work for some time, says Erin Gardner, superintendent of the Watertown Parks & Recreation Department, which manages the facility. “The arena was originally built to be an outdoor recreations arena,” she says. In 1978, three years after the arena was completed, walls were added to enclose it, according to a study paid for by the city and completed in 2009 by Watertown–based BCA Architects & Engineers.

It was never meant to accommodate the level of use it sees now, she says, with student hockey and figure-skating teams, and one minor-league professional hockey team — the Watertown Wolves of the Federal Hockey League — making it their home. Currently, hockey players have to go through the lobby and the concession area to travel between the locker rooms (which are too small) and the ice rink, Gardner says, which has led to interactions between players and fans.

Apart from the design flaws, the structure itself is deteriorating, Gardner says. Tiles are crumbling, restroom and locker room fixtures are in poor shape, and the roof needs work. “The roof leaks on every event when it rains,” Gardner says.

The reconstruction and expansion project will fix the leaky roof, and add locker rooms and restrooms, she says. New bleachers will be back-fed by a new second-story aisle way to prevent player–audience interactions. Another addition will be built to the front of the building for a new lobby, offices, and concessions area, she says.

Thomas Maurer, civil engineer 1 in Watertown’s engineering department, told CNYBJ that additional improvements include a two-story addition on a back corner of the building containing new locker, team, and laundry rooms, as well as office space. A new fire sprinkler system will be installed, as well as a new ice-rink floor and press box.

Because the arena uses bleachers, the exact seating capacity isn’t known, but Gardner estimates it can hold between 1,150 and 1,200 people for hockey games. That number should go up after the renovations, she says.

The project has been in development for several years. In fiscal year 2013-14, the city budgeted $3.6 million for the arena project, reflecting what the city then expected it would cost. In July 2013, the city council approved the hiring of the Albany office of Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., to design the reconstruction and expansion. A year later, the city budgeted $6.3 million for the project after receiving cost estimates from Stantec Consulting, nearly double what was previously expected. That number leapt again this past January to $8.2 million, revealed during a city council meeting.

The city accepted bids for the project from Jan. 29 to Feb. 20. Once the bids were opened, the final cost of the project clocked in at its current $10.3 million amount, which includes the nearly $700,000 that was paid to Stantec Consulting for its design work. How the city will fund the remainder of the cost of the project has not yet been decided.