Town And Village Hold Joint Informational Meeting About Water And Sewer Extension

by Deb Alter and Alex Brooks
On Tuesday, June 7, the Village of Hoosick Falls and the Town of Hoosick held a joint informational meeting concerning the potential water and sewer expansion south along Route 22 to the school and in the Wilson Hill and Bovie Hill areas, and the expenditure of $46,000 for a comprehensive feasibility engineering study that is necessary in order to apply to New York State for grants and low- or no-interest loans to complete the project. If the two Boards decide to go ahead with the project, they will split the cost. The $46,000 would be refunded if the project gets approved.[private]Greg Laurin, President of the Hoosick Falls Central School Board, said that although the school’s water currently has no PFOA in it, there is no way to know where the plume will move. He said he believes the best permanent solution would be to have the school hooked into the Village water supply.
Hoosick Town Supervisor Mark Surdam said there are many things at play at this time. It is possible that some or all of the cost of the engineering study and/or the water part of the extension could become part of negotiations with Saint-Gobain and Honeywell, and become part of the Superfund consent order, but the next deadline to apply for funds is in mid-August, and those who know how the funding process works say Hoosick’s best chance to get funding is now, while the PFOA crisis is in the spotlight.
The grants and loans are awarded on a point system by the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC). The EFC funnels State and Federal dollars through this point system, and funds are awarded according to who has the most points. Because of the PFOA situation, the Town and Village are on the EFC’s radar now, which improves the chance of funding. Mayor Borge and Supervisor Surdam agreed that this is the time to go for the funds. They said if we wait for negotiations with Saint-Gobain to pay for the engineering study, this opportune time will be passed.
The MRB Engineering Group representative at the meeting said that the study would look at everything related to improving the water system as well as the extension.The study will also explore matters which people in the audience had concerns about, which included water capacity, water pressure on Snow Street and at other locations, hydrants that need to be fixed, the possibility of extending to North Hoosick, how payment would work for Town users of Village water, if everyone along the route would be required to hook in, and more. Many questions that could not be answered yet will be addressed in the feasibility study.
School Superintendent Ken Facin said, “The feasibility study is what you must do in order to know what must be done.”
“The study is an investment in the future,” Laurin said.
Deputy Mayor Ric DiDonato suggested that projects that are “shovel ready” often have a better chance of getting funded, and Hoosick Falls is definitely there. He also said, “we are juggling a lot of balls at one time: the engineering study, the search for a new water source, and the village water infrastructure, among other things. We have to keep them all going.”
The PFOA situation is the driving force behind the urgency of doing the feasibility study and applying for the funds now. The MRB representative said there are points during the application process when things in the report can be adjusted in order to get the project more points. “When we see the score, we can reprioritize and re-work whatever we need to and resubmit the application,” he said. But in order to get in on this round of funding, we have to have the report done by mid-August. “There has never been, and probably never will be a better time for the Town and Village to go ahead with this,” said Town Board Member Dave Sutton.
Each Board will discuss the matter and vote on whether or not to go ahead. Although there were many questions, the response of those at this meeting was generally positive. [/private]