PORT EWEN WATER & SEWER BOARD
February 12, 2007

 

The regular monthly meeting of the Port Ewen Water and Sewer Board was held on Monday, February 12, 2007, with the following members in attendance:

          Donald Kiernan, Port Ewen Water & Sewer Superintendent
          Michael Celuch, Chairman
          Douglas DeKoskie
          John Meehan
          Ronald Phillips
          Michael Lange, Liaison from the Esopus Town Board

Absent was Roger Mabie.

The meeting was called to order at 7:32 PM by Chairman Michael Celuch.

  1. MOTION TO ACCEPT MINUTES OF JANUARY 8, 2007 MEETING

 

A MOTION WAS MADE BY DOUGLAS DEKOSKIE AND SECONDED BY JOHN MEEHAN TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 8, 2007 MEETING.  ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION.  MOTION CARRIED.

  1. SEWER JET TRUCK – MEDIUM DUTY – BIDS RELEASED

 

Superintendent Kiernan spoke with Ralph C. Herman in Marlboro; the sewer jet truck will be purchased, not leased, from the state bid.  To Michael Celuch’s question regarding how long the current truck has been in use, Superintendent Kiernan replied that since 1979 the department has had the original truck.

  1. SOMERSET –  HUDSON POINT
    1. WATER DISTRICT EXTENSION
    2. HUDSON POINT – PORT EWEN SEWER DISTRICT

 

Lengthy discussion surrounded these subjects.  Superintendent Kiernan advised the board that town attorney Paul Kellar has stressed that this board and the Town Board not adopt the proposals as submitted by Somerset’s developers.  Mr. Kellar recommends that further negotiations are needed with Somerset’s developers, to address considerations by the governing boards of the towns.  One consideration is what the developer is going to give the town to buy into the sewer district.  Another is that it not be named Hudson Point Port Ewen Sewer District.  This name would reflect boundaries and would limit other properties from buying into the extension.

Superintendent Kiernan agrees with Mr. Kellar, and is of the opinion that the town attorney come in to speak to the Town Board.  The Superintendent has not been involved with a district extension to date, and urged caution.

Douglas DeKoskie recounted to the board that it is his experience that the approach by Somerset developers is typical.  He advised researching the cost of a complete infiltration/inflow study for the town and suggested that it is time to retain an engineer to do this, with the developer to pay fees involved.  Mr. DeKoskie suggested a call to the Town of North East in Dutchess County about their expansion.  A consideration is the capital cost of a water district extension; developers normally share in these costs.  As part of negotiating with the developer, these points should be considered:  Will the town take ownership of the extension?  Where will the boundaries be?  Who will pay for tap fees?  Who else could be included in a water district extension?  What about adjoining property owners—who could tie in to the new line?

Michael Celuch suggested that Somerset’s developers are looking for figures from the town and could contribute toward the capital cost needed.  He asked Superintendent Kiernan to contact the superintendent in Warwick to inquire about a monetary starting point in negotiations with the developer.

Ronald Phillips expressed the view that, instead of an extension, a customer be created.  This could be based upon the number of gallons per day (currently 117,000) and based on total buildout (ten to fifteen years).  Mr. Phillips clarified that this evening’s discussion centered around the water district, and not the sewer district.

Liaison Michael Lange suggested that Superintendent Kiernan call the superintendent in Warwick to obtain information about how that town handled a water district extension.

A MOTION WAS MADE BY MICHAEL CELUCH AND SECONDED BY RONALD PHILLIPS THAT THE WATER AND SEWER BOARD RECOMMENDS TO THE ESOPUS TOWN BOARD TO TABLE THE APPLICATION TO EXPAND THE PORT EWEN WATER DISTRICT (ONLY) FOR A ONE-MONTH EXTENSION, UNTIL FURTHER INFORMATION IS FORTHCOMING FROM ATTORNEY PAUL KELLAR, THE WARWICK WATER SUPERINTENDENT AND OTHER SOURCES.  ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION.  MOTION CARRIED.

 

  1. HYDRANT MOVED – OLD 9W AND NEW 9W

The information regarding this item is the same as last month. 

  1. WATER BREAKS

 

183 SALEM STREET             01/22/2007
205 MINTURN STREET        01/27/2007
354 BROADWAY                            02/06/2007
105 CANAL STREET            02/07/2007
202 TILDEN STREET            02/11/2007

  1. LETTER TO D.O.T. — RELEASE FUNDS

 

This letter is in regard to the water line on Route 9W from River Road to East Stout Avenue.  Superintendent Kiernan has not received a reply as yet; he spoke to the inspector, who speculated that some of the money, but not all, may be released to the town before the project is completed.

  1. BIRCHES LETTER — PUMP STATION — WATER LINES

 

In a letter to the Town Planning Board dated February 12, 2007, Superintendent Kiernan recalled past practice on maintaining water and sewer lines on private property (such as Rondout Harbor).  This letter was in regard to the pump station for Birches at Esopus, its ownership and location.

Michael Celuch inquired if more man power would be needed to oversee this new pump station; Superintendent Kiernan replied that this would not be necessary.

Douglas DeKoskie mentioned that if the pump station or utilities are within the district they could not be charged more for the rate, but they could be asked for some type of capital improvement money to offset the cost of increased employees needed to staff the new area.  This may be a very small percentage, but a fund could be set up in the planning stages.

  1. MISCELLANEOUS

 

    1. Michael Celuch commented again that he feels as developers come in, they must pay their fair share of costs.
    1. Douglas DeKoskie suggested evaluating the hook-up fee per house and perhaps create new categories.  Rates could be established accordingly—for example:  Residential, Commercial, Apartments, etc.  Developers might “buy in.”

 

    1. Superintendent Kiernan advised the board that Southworth’s fee for servicing the generators has increased from $56.40 to $71.20.  This company has provided this service for the past eighteen years.  Douglas DeKoskie asked if the service should go out for bid, to which Superintendent Kiernan replied that the agreement can wait to be signed; he will also call H.O. Penn.
    1. Michael Lange, Liaison from the Town Board, inquired about a problem in the system behind the Williams property.  Superintendent Kiernan stated that this area is always wet, but particularly in the spring, due to beaver dams, and significantly wetter in the last ten years.  Douglas DeKoskie wondered if this is an obvious “hot spot” in the system; Superintendent Kiernan agreed that it is.  Mr. DeKoskie suggested that this is the time of year to check, since much of the area is frozen.   John Meehan suggested that a TV camera be snaked through, with a developer covering some of the funding for this.

 

  1. PAYMENT OF VOUCHERS

A MOTION WAS MADE BY MICHAEL CELUCH AND SECONDED BY JOHN MEEHAN TO APPROVE THE MONTHLY VOUCHERS FOR PAYMENT.  ALL MEMBERS PRESENT VOTED IN FAVOR.  MOTION CARRIED.

  1. NEXT MEETING MARCH 13, 2007

 

  1. ADJOURNMENT

A MOTION WAS MADE BY MICHAEL CELUCH AND SECONDED BY RONALD PHILLIPS TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.  ALL MEMBERS PRESENT VOTED IN FAVOR.  THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:50 PM.

                                                          Respectfully submitted,

 

                                                          Gloria Meschi

                                                          Secretary