NEW SCOTLAND — The town’s $3 million water project in the hamlet of New Salem will soon be complete: Supervisor Thomas Dolin said this week that most connection issues have been resolved, but some local residents remain unsure.

The project was decades in the making, and required a contract between Bethlehem, which supplied many New Salem residences for years, and New Scotland, which is taking over billing for the water still supplied by Bethlehem for each connection to New Scotland’s newly-installed water pipes, Dolin said.

Construction began last fall, and is expected to be complete within six weeks, according to Wayne LaChappelle, the town’s public works commissioner.

The New Scotland Town Board met in executive session at its Aug. 27 meeting to discuss contractual issues, Dolin said; New Salem residents Christopher Kirk and his wife joined the board in the executive session.

“We met with them last Friday [also],” Dolin told The Enterprise. He said that the dispute between a small number of residents — including Kirk and his wife — and the town centered on who would pay for connections for three properties that had Bethlehem connections in the back of their properties while the New Salem connections — like most others — lie in front in the road right-of-way.

“The municipalities are taking on the responsibility of connecting a short amount of pipe,” Dolin said.

LaChappelle said that one length of disputed connection pipe was 55 feet, and another was 90 feet.

“We’re strictly hooking up a curb service from a new line back to the existing line,” he said. “The lineal feet is not very far. We’re just making that short connection.”

Project history

The project was possible through a 30-year interest-free loan from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation, he said.

“We have an inter-municipal agreement with [Bethlehem] that preceded this,” Dolin said. “The town is not losing money. The town of New Scotland agreed to take on town of Bethlehem customers [in New Salem]. The town of Bethlehem agreed to reduce the charges for water below what it was formerly charging.

“The price per gallon has been cut almost in half,” Dolin said.

Elsewhere in New Scotland, residents of the Heldervale water district near Slingerlands have complained about high water fees; Bethlehem also supplies that district with its water, at double the rate of in-town users.

“We weren’t able to negotiate any relief for them,” Dolin said.

The neighboring towns are pleased with the New Salem agreement, he said, and by working together, the towns were able to receive a loan from the Environmental Facilities Corporation.

“It’s a project that’s been embarked upon 15 years ago,” Dolin said. “Many, many repeated applications to the Environmental Facilities Corporation were made. We were rejected many times. StanTec pursued it repeatedly for us.”

StanTec Consulting Services, formerly the town’s engineer, contracted with New Scotland to oversee the project work by Casale Construction.

Of the potential 173 customers, which include undeveloped properties and residents who chose to remain on wells, 53 existing Bethlehem water customers are being switched to New Scotland. The switch should be complete in six weeks, Dolin said.

“As far as we know, we’ve resolved any disputes,” he said.

Kirk, the resident who met with the board in August, would not speak on the record about whether or not the dispute over connection difficulties and costs had been settled. Kirk referred to his neighbors, who may also have unresolved differences with the town.

LaChappelle said that some of the connections were more expensive for residents than others, depending on the age and condition of the pipes used previously for the Bethlehem connections. Residents also needed to pay for the cost of excavation to get new pipe from their houses to the curbside water connection, he said.

Casale worked through a long, cold winter to complete the project, Dolin said. The contractor will continue to restore properties and roads to the condition they were in before the work, he said.

“Some restoration may have to wait until next spring, but it will be done,” Dolin said.

“This district is getting a brand new system, and it’s going to work well,” LaChappelle said.