Councilmen mull offer that could be refused
Town board might turn down $9.1M for wastewater treatment
By Michael Ryan
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
LEXINGTON — There is a tempting $9.1 million offer on the table to build a wastewater treatment system in Lexington and also a good chance government leaders will turn it down.
Town board members got an update on the proposed project from the Catskill Watershed Corporation and Lamont Engineers, nearly two years after first hearing of the deal.
Funding for the infrastructure improvement is coming from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection as part of a federal mandate to preserve its upstate network of reservoirs and tributaries.
Local taxpayers are off the hook for any of the upfront costs, with residents having to pay only a relatively small ($100) annual usage fee and businesses contributing $300 per year for the privilege.
It is expected merchants will be charged for every gallon of water they use, as well, which is not necessarily a cause for celebration unless the alternatives are weighed.
In point of fact, there aren't many alternatives. Standards for constructing private septic systems within the watershed have stiffened to such a degree that permits are often more precious than gold.
Solid gold bars might be easier to get and less valuable, if truth be told, generally leading watershed communites to jump at what DEP is offering, whether they love the idea or not.
Lexington is one of 22 towns and villages on a list of municipalities identified more than a decade ago as needing some type of wastewater treatment, and local officials were informed, in January 2009, their turn had come.
Neighboring communities such as Windham and Prattsville have already taken advantage of the one-shot opportunity and have fully operational sewer plants, with few, if any, complaints.
The tiny town of Ashland is in the process of joining the fold, constructing a $7.5 million small diameter, gravity collection system that will essentially service the hamlet district, a concept that is being similarly presented in Lexington.
Several options have been researched by engineers since January, 2009, when town board members gave Lamont the okay to start the Study Phase of the project, with CWC administering the DEP funding.
Studies revealed that "a Septic Maintenance District was not adequate...because 85% of the properties in the hamlet are not able to support a properly functioning, up-to-standards, standard design septic system," the engineering report stated.
It was concluded that a community-wide septic system facility with subsurface disposal was the best choice for Lexington and two sites to handle the disposal were found, the engineering report states.
"However, both landowners were unwilling to consider selling their property," the engineering report states, sending planners back to the drawing board, arriving at a different conclusion.
It was subsequently determined that a full-scale sewer treatment plant was the next best option, at a capital cost of $9.1 million with annual operation and maintenances charges totaling $412,000, the engineering report states.
However, "all agreed a wastewater treatment plant was too expensive to operate and that resulting commercial fees would be totally unaffordable," the engineering report states, moving everyone back to square one.
Numerous discussions between Lamont and DEP ensued until finally, in the summer of 2010, DEP said it would finance a community septic system with sand filtration, including an on-site septic system for the Lexington Hotel.
DEP said it would provide the $9.1 million block grant with O & M costs reduced to $93,000 per year, a figure that would not overly-burden the few businesses in town, the engineering report states.
Under the plan, spanking new septic tanks would be installed in all homes and businesses inside the sewer district, which encompasses all of Route 13A and County Route 42 from Main Street to the Kenneth A. Becker Municipal Hall.
Solids would be settled out and pumped out on a regular basis, probably every three years (a cost borne by the project). The remaining effluent is purified through a series of sand filters before getting released to sub-surface, absorption beds.
On paper it all sounds good but there is a snag. Engineers said a 13-15 acre plot of land is needed to handle the absorption beds and while two adequate sites have been identified, the property owners are still not willing to sell.
Sites have been selected at what is colloquially known as the Stanley Soule Flats, near the current post office along County Route 42, and the Mendenhall Flats, along State Route 23A, east of the hamlet district.
If the property owners cannot be persuaded to part with their land, the Eminent Domain Law could be used to secure one of the desired sites, a possibility local officials don't want to even ponder just yet.
There might be little choice, however. Plans for the community wastewater treatment program would have to be abandoned if one of the two sites is not obtained, the engineering report states.
DEP has plenty of other places to spend the money, officials noted, and residents would be left to their own devices to replace or repair failing septic systems, according to CWC attorney Tim Cox.
Cox was asked by councilman Keith Mellott if hamlet residents could still apply for existing CWC dollars to assist in the upgrade of private systems, a program also funded by DEP.
"If the community says 'No thank-you' [to the $9.1 million], the hamlet will go to the end of the line," Cox said, in terms of applying for septic upgrade assistance. "And even then, chances are you wouldn't be eligible," Cox added.
No precise deadline has been established for accepting of refusing DEP's generosity. Public information meetings will be scheduled sometime in mid-January, town supervisor Greg Cross said.
Citizens will have an opportunity to have their say and a decision must be made in a reasonable timeframe, with the project taking three years to complete, once the Design Phase kicks in, which would be the next step.
"This is a voluntary project," Lamont Engineering principal Henry Lamont noted, advising board members that momentum can be stopped at any point leading up to acceptance of construction bids, a moment at least a year down the road.
The system would have the capacity to handle 19,000 gallons of effluent per day. Laterals, connecting residents and merchants to the collection line, would be paid for by DEP, up to five feet from the residence or business.
No sewer plant would be needed, although a smaller building would be seen over the sand filters, engineers said. Any crossing of the Schoharie Creek would be accomplished by directional drilling, leaving the stream undisturbed.
When the project is complete, the town would own the facility, administering billing while most likely hiring a company to handle operations. Water flows for commercial users are typically metered, engineers said.
Town board members got an update on the proposed project from the Catskill Watershed Corporation and Lamont Engineers, nearly two years after first hearing of the deal.
Funding for the infrastructure improvement is coming from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection as part of a federal mandate to preserve its upstate network of reservoirs and tributaries.
Local taxpayers are off the hook for any of the upfront costs, with residents having to pay only a relatively small ($100) annual usage fee and businesses contributing $300 per year for the privilege.
It is expected merchants will be charged for every gallon of water they use, as well, which is not necessarily a cause for celebration unless the alternatives are weighed.
In point of fact, there aren't many alternatives. Standards for constructing private septic systems within the watershed have stiffened to such a degree that permits are often more precious than gold.
Solid gold bars might be easier to get and less valuable, if truth be told, generally leading watershed communites to jump at what DEP is offering, whether they love the idea or not.
Lexington is one of 22 towns and villages on a list of municipalities identified more than a decade ago as needing some type of wastewater treatment, and local officials were informed, in January 2009, their turn had come.
Neighboring communities such as Windham and Prattsville have already taken advantage of the one-shot opportunity and have fully operational sewer plants, with few, if any, complaints.
The tiny town of Ashland is in the process of joining the fold, constructing a $7.5 million small diameter, gravity collection system that will essentially service the hamlet district, a concept that is being similarly presented in Lexington.
Several options have been researched by engineers since January, 2009, when town board members gave Lamont the okay to start the Study Phase of the project, with CWC administering the DEP funding.
Studies revealed that "a Septic Maintenance District was not adequate...because 85% of the properties in the hamlet are not able to support a properly functioning, up-to-standards, standard design septic system," the engineering report stated.
It was concluded that a community-wide septic system facility with subsurface disposal was the best choice for Lexington and two sites to handle the disposal were found, the engineering report states.
"However, both landowners were unwilling to consider selling their property," the engineering report states, sending planners back to the drawing board, arriving at a different conclusion.
It was subsequently determined that a full-scale sewer treatment plant was the next best option, at a capital cost of $9.1 million with annual operation and maintenances charges totaling $412,000, the engineering report states.
However, "all agreed a wastewater treatment plant was too expensive to operate and that resulting commercial fees would be totally unaffordable," the engineering report states, moving everyone back to square one.
Numerous discussions between Lamont and DEP ensued until finally, in the summer of 2010, DEP said it would finance a community septic system with sand filtration, including an on-site septic system for the Lexington Hotel.
DEP said it would provide the $9.1 million block grant with O & M costs reduced to $93,000 per year, a figure that would not overly-burden the few businesses in town, the engineering report states.
Under the plan, spanking new septic tanks would be installed in all homes and businesses inside the sewer district, which encompasses all of Route 13A and County Route 42 from Main Street to the Kenneth A. Becker Municipal Hall.
Solids would be settled out and pumped out on a regular basis, probably every three years (a cost borne by the project). The remaining effluent is purified through a series of sand filters before getting released to sub-surface, absorption beds.
On paper it all sounds good but there is a snag. Engineers said a 13-15 acre plot of land is needed to handle the absorption beds and while two adequate sites have been identified, the property owners are still not willing to sell.
Sites have been selected at what is colloquially known as the Stanley Soule Flats, near the current post office along County Route 42, and the Mendenhall Flats, along State Route 23A, east of the hamlet district.
If the property owners cannot be persuaded to part with their land, the Eminent Domain Law could be used to secure one of the desired sites, a possibility local officials don't want to even ponder just yet.
There might be little choice, however. Plans for the community wastewater treatment program would have to be abandoned if one of the two sites is not obtained, the engineering report states.
DEP has plenty of other places to spend the money, officials noted, and residents would be left to their own devices to replace or repair failing septic systems, according to CWC attorney Tim Cox.
Cox was asked by councilman Keith Mellott if hamlet residents could still apply for existing CWC dollars to assist in the upgrade of private systems, a program also funded by DEP.
"If the community says 'No thank-you' [to the $9.1 million], the hamlet will go to the end of the line," Cox said, in terms of applying for septic upgrade assistance. "And even then, chances are you wouldn't be eligible," Cox added.
No precise deadline has been established for accepting of refusing DEP's generosity. Public information meetings will be scheduled sometime in mid-January, town supervisor Greg Cross said.
Citizens will have an opportunity to have their say and a decision must be made in a reasonable timeframe, with the project taking three years to complete, once the Design Phase kicks in, which would be the next step.
"This is a voluntary project," Lamont Engineering principal Henry Lamont noted, advising board members that momentum can be stopped at any point leading up to acceptance of construction bids, a moment at least a year down the road.
The system would have the capacity to handle 19,000 gallons of effluent per day. Laterals, connecting residents and merchants to the collection line, would be paid for by DEP, up to five feet from the residence or business.
No sewer plant would be needed, although a smaller building would be seen over the sand filters, engineers said. Any crossing of the Schoharie Creek would be accomplished by directional drilling, leaving the stream undisturbed.
When the project is complete, the town would own the facility, administering billing while most likely hiring a company to handle operations. Water flows for commercial users are typically metered, engineers said.
