In rural west end
Mixed reviews on water expansion



GUILDERLAND — Plans for extending water to the rural west end of town frustrated some residents who don’t want to pay for it but pleased others who are tired of shortages and sulfur.

Dozens of residents came out to Town Hall Tuesday night for a public hearing on a west-end water extension.
Town board members listened closely as Guilderland residents said "yes" to the water extension but asked to take a closer look at traffic and density issues that could stem from the Glass Works Village.

The main concern about a new water line in town, was the bottom line: taxes.
"I’m a little disappointed in your proposal," said Jack Fitzgibbon of 7412 Church Rd. "If you want to extend, extend. But don’t charge the people who don’t want the water."

According to the current proposal, even those who do not connect to the municipal water in the new proposed water district will be required to pay a flat $475 fee as part of their taxes.

Ed Hernandez of Delaware Engineering presented the water extension plan at the meeting.

The new water district will loop through Hurst Road, Weaver Road, Chandler Road, Miller Road, and then back to Route 20, he said. Residents on some surrounding roads will be connected to this loop as well, he added.

Hernandez said the proposed six-and-a-half mile water line will improve water flow and quality for new and existing users.

New users will be charged a one-time connection fee of $1,500, a $475 tax increase, and will have to pay the metered cost for their water, according to Supervisor Kenneth Runion. Existing users will see a $9.91 increase in their annual water bill, Runion said.
New users will also be responsible for the cost to connect the water lines to their houses, because the water extension will only bring the pipes "curb side," Hernandez said at the meeting.

Most of the residents in western Guilderland currently rely on wells for their water and say that water quality and quantity can vary from well to well.

The residents in favor of the project say their water supply is tainted with sulfur and other minerals and that water shortages are frequent.
"The amount of money my family spends on bottled water, softeners, and filters, is more than what I would pay for town water," one woman told the board. Another resident said that his water looks like "cement" and that "there’s not a lot of it."
"Thank-you; we’ve been waiting for this for 26 years," said Lauren Beckman of Weaver Road. "We don’t even give our water to our pets right now"It sounds like we are very fortunate we are spreading the cost around to existing customers instead of just the affected metered customers bearing all of the cost."

Strong applause filled the meeting room after Beckman’s comments, which were echoed by many other speakers.

Fitzgibbon, however, was among those who did not clap.
"This sounds like gymnastics with dollars and cents to me," he told the board. "It looks like this whole thing is cut and dry and the decision is already made it is going to go through and we will not be heard."
Runion responded by saying, "That’s the purpose of this hearing"to hear everyone’s comments."
"Anything you do in Guilderland, your taxes go up," Fitzgibbon said. "You can run your lines, just don’t charge me."
Sue Green, a frequent attendee to town board meetings, told the board that she "would not be a person who would stop others from water." But, she went on, "We also have to understand that water means growth."

Hernandez used an analogy of a road being built. Just because one neighbor refuses to use it, they would still have to help pay for it, he said.
Another resident at the meeting was concerned about cutting down trees in order to install the new water lines and said he preferred the "unique character" of the community to the "technological advantages" of bringing water to the area.
Hernandez said there was "flexibility" in the physical locations of the water pipes and that the amount of trees disturbed would be kept to a minimum.

Residents have until April 27 to submit comments in writing to the board on the proposed water extension. Runion said that board members will receive all of the public comments, both oral and written, before making a decision on the proposal.

The town board will vote on the Guilderland water district extension number 73 on May 15.