- By Dan Veaner
- News
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Herrick and engineer Jim Blum presented the committee with a map showing the areas that may be added as well as sections to be removed including quarry land that is not likely to need sewer anyway and the Sullivan property. Blum said the would be developing the idea over the next three weeks to consider the changes and the impact they would have on the project.
Committee Chairman Bud Shattuck said, "Over the last few weeks most of the questions I've been getting are reiteration of questions that we've had all along. 'Why can't I hook up?' 'Why can't we have more density?' and 'Why is the cost more (to hook up these neighborhoods)? Is there a way to do it another way to engineer it to leave the cost the same, but to bring more people in? Why can't we have more homes hooked up?'"
Shattuck said most of the other questions he has received are about the cost of the project and the environmental justification for it. Addressing the cost, Attorney Mary Chappell reported on her efforts to get the most beneficial loan, and possible ways the project can be presented to do that. She said that USDA Rural Development Funding would make a determination about the Town's eligibility on Monday. Additionally Andy Sciarabba and Noel Desch continue to solicit grants to the project from private donors to help bring the cost down. Shattuck suggested getting firm figure on septic system replacement that are representative of real neighborhoods in Lansing to compare against the cost of building the sewer.
Map shows neighborhoods in green that may be added to the
service area, and areas to be removed in yellow
Shattuck said that it is obvious that if you dump enough effluent onto bedrock that cannot absorb it that effluent is going to end up in the lake. At the end of last year the Health Department's John Anderson offered to collect data on Lansing septic systems including 'compromised systems' that could support this notion. "We keep talking about Health Department data or data that we might have, but I'm not sure we're getting as much information as we need to enough people," Shattuck said. "Is there really a problem? Is there a health related problem, and how is it taken care of elsewhere in the country or elsewhere in the state? And what are we doing on the county level?"
The issue of ownership of the portion of the trunk sewer line that will run through the Village of Lansing was also discussed. That and the question of what the Village's share of the project will be have held up the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two municipalities. Shattuck met with Town Supervisor Steve Farkas and Village Mayor Don Hartill to begin negotiations last month, and the group, along with Village Trustee Frank Moore, who represents the Village on the committee, will meet again to sort out these issues. As Chappell begins to deal with State agencies about the loans the MOU becomes more important as a supporting document.
Lansing apartment owners have said that tenants use less water than stand-alone residential households, and the committee discussed using the same formula for sewer as is used for water for apartments including Woodsedge. The change would effect 19 properties within the overall sewer district, but only five within the initial service area. Changing the formula would reduce the number of Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDU), raising the cost per EDU from one to six dollars per year for the trunk sewer and between $3.70 and $7.60 within the initial service area.
Officials estimate that the project will come to a vote in July if the Town Board decides to go forward with it. While the original plan was to hold a permissive referendum if residents petition for one, the committee discussed simply scheduling a vote. They also discussed further public outreach, including Desch's recent guest editorial and a white paper he is developing. The Committee will meet again on February 14th and plans to meet twice monthly to prepare for the summer vote.
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