ALTAMONT — New development is sprouting and old pipes are groaning now that the village’s new wells are connected to the municipal system.

Since the water from Brandle Road became available, developer Jeff Thomas started work on Brandle Meadows, the senior-housing project that he is building just outside the village limits, and plans are underway for flushing out the village’s century-old pipes to accommodate the new flow.

Development sprouts

Thomas waited to build his complex until he could obtain village water. The two new Brandle Road wells went on line this summer, completing a $1.4 million project that just about doubled the village’s water supply.

In June, the village agreed to take ownership of the water and sewer lines on the privately-owned Brandle Meadows property as part of a larger contract to grant water service to the condominiums. Section 12 of that contract, which names Altamont as the owner of the water and sewer infrastructure, came with the stipulation that it could be rescinded pending a response from the state comptroller’s office.
The village submitted a request to that office for an opinion, and, in a letter dated July 12, Mitchell Morris, of Thomas DiNapoli’s office, wrote, "A village is not authorized" to acquire privately installed water supply or connection pipes outside the village limits."

Following the opinion, the village agreed with Thomas that it would not take ownership of the pipes. In a unanimous vote at its Sept. 4 meeting, the village board formally acknowledged that section 14 of the contract, which added an additional 3.5-percent charge to the water and sewer bills of Brandle Meadows residents to cover the cost of operations and maintenance, was no longer in effect, at Thomas’s request.

Thomas could not be reached for comment.

Pipes groan

Parts of the village’s water system are over 100 years old, and they have mineral deposits in places that have begun to break loose and discolor the water since pressure and water-flow direction changed after the new wells were hooked up.

The build-up of iron and other minerals in the pipes is called tuberculation, Rich Straut, an engineer with Barton and Loguidice who has been working with the village said on Tuesday. He and Tim McIntyre, the village’s public works commissioner, plan to add a polyphosphate and orthophosphate blend to the water to act as a corrosion inhibitor, which will help stop the discoloration, said Straut. The chemicals have been used for that purpose since the 1960s, he said, and that program combined with uni-directional flushing will clean out the pipes.

McIntyre expects that the village will get approval from the health department for use of the chemical by the end of the week; the village applied in March. He plans to put notices in The Enterprise and flyers around the village before the aggressive flushing program begins.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Voted unanimously to accept a $5,000 payment from the Altamont Fair for connection to the village sewer system. A year-and-a-half ago the fair asked for a waiver of the fees, but it was denied, Don Cropsey, the village’s building inspector, told the board. The fair has now paid in full;

—Voted unanimously to accept applications from Steve Reinemann and Patrick Thomas to be volunteer firefighters;

— Presented a book to Pat Sphor to be given to Stephen DuMoulin, 9, a participant in the Altamont Free Library’s summer reading program who was mayor for a day, but couldn’t be at the meeting;

— Heard from Mayor James Gaughan that there will be a quilt show in Orsini Park on Sept. 8;

— Voted unanimously to apply for a $11,750 grant from the Capital District Transportation Commission to work on a comprehensive plan for sidewalks and trails in the village;

— Voted unanimously to appoint Marc Shultes as the sewage treatment plant operator at a salary of $39,000;
— Voted unanimously to accept Andrea Dean’s resignation from the village’s planning board and appointed Steven Caruso to fill the term until 2012. "I have seen and watched your support for the village," Gaughan said to Caruso upon his appointment;

— Voted unanimously to donate an old office table to Community Caregivers and an abandoned 1969 Volkswagen Bug from the Crounse property to Northeast Parent and Child Society for a school project;

— Voted unanimously to sell a 1992 Sreco-Sewer rodding machine, with no minimum bid, and a 1993 Toro Grounds Master Mower, with a minimum bid of $500;

— Voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. for the fifth local law of 2007, the new village of Altamont zoning law 2007;

— Voted unanimously to get a scope-of-services survey done on the Crounse property. The village and the town of Guilderland bought the historic home at the corner of Route 146 and Gun Club Road. Trustee Dean Whalen guessed that the cost of the project, including a survey would be between $3,000 and $3,500, the cost would be split with the town;

— Voted unanimously to change the retirement plan for Altamont police officers. The village currently works on a 25-year retirement plan, compared to most departments, which have 20-year plans, Trustee Chris Marshall said.
"They’re not getting the most for their money and we’re not getting the most for our money with the 25-year plan," she said when presenting her plan to the board on Tuesday; and

— Heard from Trustee Kerry Dineen that she has put together welcome packages for people moving into the village, which includes information from local businesses.