ALTAMONT — Village residents can expect a new fee on their water bills in coming years — an additional $15 twice a year, which will go towards paying off a new municipal water source.

Following a public hearing at Tuesday night’s village board meeting, the board voted unanimously to adopt the first local law of the year, to include the fee, which amounts to $30 a year, on all units connected to the village’s water system. The fee will help pay for the well project on Brandle Road.
At last month’s meeting, the board awarded a $1.4 million bond sale to Roosevelt & Cross, Inc. at an interest rate of 4.3 percent to pay for the project over a 20-year period. Bonds are essentially equivalent to personal loans for municipalities. "It’s basically a loan," said Catherine Hasbrouck, the village’s treasurer.

The village will be paying approximately $107,000 per year for 20 years to pay off the well project, Hasbrouck said. With about 940 units drawing on the municipal system, the village is counting on bringing in over $28,000 a year from the new fee. That money will be dedicated to paying for the water project specifically, Mayor James Gaughan assured the public during Tuesday’s meeting.
The village will likely rethink the fee after Jeff Thomas’s senior housing complex, Brandle Meadows, hooks into the system. "When we realize more revenue, we might be able to reduce it," Gaughan said of the fee. "As we get more people on line — like senior housing — we might bring in more revenue."
Buildings that are not within the village proper pay double for municipal water, which brings in money for the village. During the public hearing, Kate Provencher asked the board if the extra $15 fee would also be charged double to those outside of the village. "No," answered Gaughan. "Because the system upgrade benefits everyone equally."

Other business

In other business, the board:
— Voted unanimously to grant Michael and Angie Santabarbara, of 6404 Gun Club Road, access to village water once the Brandle Road well is in service. Much like Bill and Andrea Gizzi, the Santabarbaras got a building permit from the town of Guilderland and, when they drilled their well, found that the water was contaminated. "It’s very much like last month," said Gaughan referring to the Gizzis. "I wish we had discussed it in tandem, but we didn’t." The deal given to each couple by the village for use of municipal water is very similar;

— Heard a report from Trustee Kerry Dineen on a proposed water policy for the village. The group working on the plan includes Dineen, Superintendent of Public Works Tim McIntyre, Richard Straut, and Barton and Loguidice Engineers. She said that the village should consider forming a water district for buildings outside of the village that draw on the municipal system. Forming a district would give the village the ability to pursue unpaid bills more effectively, Gaughan said;
— Voted unanimously to approve a task order for village-designated engineering services regarding Brandle Meadows by Barton & Loguidice to be paid for by the developer. Five-thousand dollars will be placed in an escrow account to pay Barton and Loguidice all of the "necessary and reasonable fees in connection with the project," which involves the connection from the senior housing complex to the village’s water and sewer lines;

— Voted to adopt the terms and conditions contract for the provision of public water and sewer service to Brandle Meadows. Trustee Harvey Vlahos abstained from voting because, he said, the board got the document at 5:45 on Monday evening and, since he attended the planning committee meeting Monday night, he didn’t have adequate time to look it over in depth. The other four board members voted in favor of adopting the terms and conditions;

— Voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on March 6 at 8 p.m. to extend the moratorium on subdivision regulations for three months, until July 3, 2007.
Earlier, during the public comment section of the meeting, the board heard Troy Miller, a developer who owns a local real estate business, speak on the issue. "This affects our livelihoods," he said to the board. Gaughan said that the village would have to have a public hearing before it could extend the moratorium;

— Voted unanimously to accept a letter of resignation from Gary Courtright from the Department of Public Works, effective Feb. 13, 2007;

— Voted unanimously to enter into a one-year contract with Metro Media for video taping, editing, and making two DVDs — one of which will be given to Guilderland Public Access for broadcast — of village board meetings at a cost of $150 per meeting;

— Voted unanimously to urge the purchase of precinct-counted paper ballot optical scan voting machines for the county;

— Voted unanimously to approve Norma Dean, Rosemary McGowan, Veronica Graves, and Chris Weir as election inspectors for the village’s election registration day on March 10, 2007 and the village’s election on March 20, 2007. They will each be paid $10 per hour;

— Voted unanimously to hold a village election registration day on March 10 at the village hall from noon to 5 p.m. and village elections at village hall on March 20 from noon to 9 p.m.;

— Voted unanimously to file a negative declaration related to adoption of the village of Altamont comprehensive plan according to the State Environmental Quality Review. This means the plan requires no extensive environmental evaluation; and

— Voted unanimously to adopt the comprehensive plan officially as the comprehensive plan for the village of Altamont.