- By Dan Veaner
- News
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From the beginning the municipalities have been stuck on two issues. The first is how much the Village will pay toward the project, because it is anticipated that the trunk line will service some Village residents. The Village currently owns and maintains its own sewer system, but some areas are not yet served by it. The second issue is that Mayor Donald Hartill maintains that if a portion of the trunk line is in the Village, then the Village must own it. Town Engineer David Herrick read excerpts of a letter from Town Attorney Guy Krogh Wednesday addressing that issue.
Town and Village officials agree that the first issue is close to being resolved. While they have disagreed on the formula used to calculate the Village's share, they now seem close to agreeing on 8% with periodic reviews to adjust the figure if there is more or less growth than anticipated within the Village.
But the second issue has been a sticking point for the two municipalities. While they agree that the Town will build the project with the Village signing off on it once Village officials are satisfied that it will be built to satisfactory specifications, Hartill maintains that ownership should go to the Village once it is built. He argues that Village residents who want problems with the system in their neighborhood solved will call Village officials for resolution, not Town. And while he says that repairs and maintenance would likely be contracted to the Town, it should be under Village supervision.
"We were instructed to ask Guy about the legality of whether the Town can give up ownership of improvements that they fund," Herrick said. "And the answer is no. He researched the local finance law, the Town law, the general municipal law, the unconsolidated laws of New York, and even the New York State constitution. 'Unless the Town is the part owner, with ownership being reflective of use called proportionality by law, or unless the project is a joint project, there appears to be no way to finance non-owned trunk lines or sewer infrastructure,'" Herrick read.
The Town intends to procure loans at favorable rates to build the project, so is concerned about whether they will qualify for the funding if they do not own that part of the sewer. Additionally committee member Noel Desch raised a concern that the Town could be prevented from billing not-for-profits such as the Lansing School District and others at the intended rate if a portion of the system is owned by someone else. Desch said that Krogh is still researching that issue.
Town officials agreed that they should direct Krogh to contact Village Attorney David Dubow with his findings, and allow the two to arrive at legal options the two municipalities can agree on. Once that is done they agreed that Mayor Hartill and Town Supervisor Steve Farkas should meet with the lawyers to try to come to an agreement.
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