Clarksville water district Without aid town mulls how to go it alone
Clarksville water district:
Without aid, town mulls how to go it alone
NEW SCOTLAND The town board is now reviewing seven options for much-needed improvements and desired expansions of the Clarksville Water District.
This spring, the towns water committee applied once again for aid from the state through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, to not only repair the existing Clarksville Water District infrastructure but to also supply public water to additional houses on Lower and Upper Flat Rock Roads, Morningstar Lane, and along Route 32.
The town received word from New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation that no grant money or interest-free loan is available for this project and that other state-wide ventures received higher priority ratings. All that the EFC could offer New Scotland is a normal loan with the same interest rate the town could receive from a private bank.
R. Mark Dempf, the water committee chairman and the town’s engineer, reported to the board that the water committee is back to where it started. "We submitted for funding, but they won’t help us," he said. "To them sulfur is not a health issue."
One of the projects on the state revolving fund intended use plan with the highest priority rating had reports of E. Coli contamination; these are the types of problems and projects that New Scotland is competing against for state funding.
Seven options
Dempf analyzed the cost of seven projects, ranging in size from simply repairing the current systems to adding some new water-users along some pieces of road.
Its now up to the town board to decided how to proceed.
The town board is holding a special meeting on Wednesday, July 27, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall to discuss further with Dempf the water and engineering issues of the Clarksville Water District project options.
One of the most vocal groups following the progress of the potential project have been members of the water committee who are live on Morningstar Lane. An extension to Morningstar Lane is currently only included in 3 of the 7 options being investigated.
Dempf said the one thing that is for sure, is that the town has to make the improvements and repairs to the Clarksville/North Road Water District, and the cost analysis of this is laid out in option A.
Option A improves the infrastructure by replacing a tank; upgrading booster pumps, improving the well house; and bringing the North Road Water District into the Clarksville District, consolidating the two into one district as the original agreement stated would happen three years after the North Road District was formed, Dempf said.
Under option A, it is estimated that Clarksville users will have to pay $130 a year more, meaning an average annual user cost of $661, with North Road. residents paying the same.
That cost exceeds the maximum set by the states comptroller, Dempf said, so he had to look at ways to reduce the per-resident fee.
Last year the comptrollers limit was $621, Dempf said, and now its even lower down to $575.
One way, is to bring in a few more users, Dempf said, and the easiest way to do that, outlined in option G, is to allow the people who live along the existing water main that runs along Route 32 and Lower Flat Rock Road join up.
This helps to divide up the Clarksville Water District improvement costs across more users, and also allows more residents to benefit from a public water supply. This total project cost of option G is estimated at $567,000, which includes the required repairs, plus the inclusion of the 43 parcels along the Lower Flat Rock Road water main. The total annual user cost would be $608.
Dempf said that people are paying this kind of money annually for cable TV without batting an eye, but then dont want to pay $600 for water.
Dempf said if the board wanted to bring in some residents living on Upper Flat Rock road that would be option B, which then has the added cost of installing new water line bringing the project cost to $700,000, with only seven additional users.
Option E is the least expensive at $410,000, which is the same construction project as option G, but also includes a capital improvement cost reduction. A capital improvement cost reduction, such as a of $2,500 start up fee drops the average annual user cost below the comptrollers limit at $560. This is the only option of the seven with an annual user cost below the comptrollers limit.
Seed money"
This fee up front would really just be paying for the connection, Dempf said, which is something that the town has paid for in the past in water-extension projects.
Dempf estimated that, on average, it will cost $2,400 to $2,500 hundred dollar for the town to put in pipes from the water main up to residents property lines.
Then the homeowners, as usual with water extensions, would have to pay the expense of bringing water from the property line into their houses.
Water committee member Robert Cook said that residents should look at the $2,500 capital improvement cost reduction as a great investment.
"My whole logic falls apart once people don’t want to join," Dempf said, and as a result won’t be paying the hook up fee.
Dempf wondered if the town could make it a mandatory fee instead.
Town attorney Michael Mackey who told the board he would look into it and talk to the comptroller, told The Enterprise this week that the "town can not impose mandatory seed money." And, if there were to be a hook up fee, it must actually be related to the cost of the hook up, he said. The town can’t impose a fee and then extend the line down the Road, Mackey said.
The issue, Mackey went on, is that water is desperately needed down the side roads and Dempf is trying to think of ways to extend the line to as many people as possible, but, Mackey said, it cant be done by imposing a mandatory fee.
Many homeowners in this area have contaminated wells and have drinking water shipped to them.
Morningstar resident Ray Oaks questioned the engineering figures. He said that the cost for putting in piping in gravel on Morningstar Lane is a lot less than boring through rock on Upper Flat Rock Rd, making an argument for Morningstar Lane to be a more appealing extension.
Dempf said that no soil work had been done yet, and that he was working off general thoughts.
Councilman Scott Houghtaling favored option C, "A lot of people will walk away happy," he said.
Option C incluedes makeing the needed improvements to the existing districts, adding 43 parcels next to the water main running along Lower Flat Rock Road, servicing the the lower half of Upper Flat Rock Road, and the lower half of Morningstar Lane. This project C, will cost $990,000, meaning a total average annual user cost estimated to be $698, if a capital improvemnet cost reduction is inclueded.
Houghtaling who works as a corporate banker, stated that he will run some financing numbers and get back to the board. He wants to look at longer-term financing, and refinancing the debt.
