Marcy Birch of Greenough Road said the towns of Otsego and Hartwick will not take ownership of the derelict bridge from the county unless the citizens group trying to preserve it shows they can raise enough money to finance its rehabilitation.

However, Birch said the group can’t raise any money without the county’s cooperation. County officials made it clear Tuesday that they are unwilling to sign anymore grant applications without a promise from the towns that Otsego County taxpayers won’t eventually get stuck owning a bridge to nowhere.

"Everybody’s waiting for the other person to do something," Birch said.

Public works committee chairman Keith McCarty said the county committed to the project a little when they resolved to support an application for a $1,500 engineering study grant obtained by the citizens group. Now the town boards need to show some commitment to the project, McCarty said.

"It’s �if the county does this, if the county does that’. But they haven’t done anything," he said. "We have nothing in writing from either town."

Birch indicated that in meeting with the Otsego and Hartwick town boards, officials seemed receptive to taking back ownership of the bridge if it wouldn’t cost them anything to rehabilitate it.

According to the engineering study, conducted Dec. 22 by Dr. Francis E. Griggs, Jr. of Rexford N.Y., it would cost much less to rehabilitate the bridge for pedestrian and bicycle usage than the "hundreds of thousands" estimated when the discussion began back in November.

"The bridge is in very good condition and can be readily rehabilitated for pedestrian and bicycle usage for less than $150,000 if outside specialty contractors are utilized or less than $50,000 if a combination of outside contractors and volunteer labor is utilized," he wrote.

County chairman and committee member Donald Lindberg asked Birch and the two other Toddsville Bridge supporters present _ John and Jean Finch _ to ask the town boards to pass resolutions saying they’ll take the bridge back if the county signs the grants.

Birch said they would ask the boards to pass such resolutions and return next month to the public works committee meeting to report on their progress.

The county planned to tear the bridge down in December, but supporters petitioned the board to give them time to investigate options for rehabilitating the bridge for pedestrian and recreational use.

The county then gave the group six months to investigate the issue.

The county wanted the bridge torn down because it was no longer usable for vehicular traffic and had sufficiently deteriorated to the point where it was an insurance liability.

"The main thing the county doesn’t want is to get locked up into owning the bridge," said committee member Hugh Henderson.