By Doug La Rocque Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger announced at the Thursday September 22 Town Board workshop meeting that New York State has informed him the proposed carbon filtration system to deal with PFOA in the drinking water will be installed at the pump station. [private]The filter will serve all of the town water supply, not just the Berlin Elementary School, as was first proposed. Water District 2 Commissioner Jim Winn said the filters will be housed in a container placed next to the pump house, with the water routed from the pumps to the filters and back out for distribution.
All improvements necessary to install the system will be at state expense.
There have been contradicting statements from the Department of Environmental Conservation as to where the filtration system would be placed. An initial engineering survey was conducted at the school but the Berlin School District has had no further conversations with DEC, until they showed up with water coolers for placement in the building on opening day. The District had previously said they had no problem with the filters being placed on the town water system, since that is what supplies the elementary school. Berlin’s water has tested at levels well below the EPA standard of 70 parts per trillion, but public and political pressure on DEC resulted in the decision to install the filters.
There were many comments that when it comes to the school, the only safe level for PFOA is zero. Supervisor Jaeger said DEC has indicated it hopes to begin the installation soon, hopefully in October.
Public Input On Berlin Youth Programs Is Being Sought An open public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 29 at 6:30 pm at the Town Hall for parents and members of the community to comment about the Youth Commission’s activities, how they might be improved, or other programs that might be of interest. While the Learn to Swim program this past summer had a number of participants, some of the other summer programs were not as well attended. Commission Chairwoman Tammy Osterhout proposed the public meeting at the August Town Board meeting, and Board members agreed it was a good way to try to get more people involved in the youth programs.
Supervisor Jaeger said the Town has received a formal contract offer from the UPSEA, the union that represents the employees of the town’s highway department. The Board agreed to hire Brian Goldberger, an attorney who specializes in union negotiations, to help guide them through the contract talks.
The Board also formally accepted the Justice Audit completed earlier this year, and began talks about what was needed to update the town’s Master Plan. The updates are due by the end of the year. The next regular Town Board meeting is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Thursday, October 13.[/private]