- By Dan Veaner
- Around Town
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Herrick had made changes to the project map based on input from a meeting the group attended in August. He presented two funding schemes. A traditional plan would count each residence as one Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) and vacant lots would count as a quarter of an EDU. The alternate plan suggested that each single family home be counted as 1 EDU and that every 4.5 acres of vacant land be counted as 1 EDU.
The difference in cost for the average homeowner is dramatic. Under the traditional plan homeowners would pay $1,125 annually over the 20 year term of a loan. But under the alternative plan that cost would be reduced to $667. However, the alternative plan is bad news for some owners of big vacant lots. One of the Besemer family lots would cost $281 under the traditional plan and $$6,003 under the alternative formula. A lot owned by Ivar and Janet Jonson would go from $281 to $2,209.
The grey area defines the proposed water district extension
Herrick said that the plans were extremes and suggested that the group agree on some kind of middle ground. "The Board needs to hear your reactions to those proposals," he said. Drake Road describes an L, starting on Route 34 near the post office, and coming out on 34 B not far from the Fire Station. 54 homes and undeveloped properties line the street. He noted that if the vacant lots are developed more homes would share the costs, and the price for each property owner would go down.
"About three months ago a water project was proposed from 34B in as far as my house," said Frank White. "Everybody involved in that signed a petition and everybody was agreeable to it." He said it was a good proposal for a small water district, before the whole street was added into the mix, and it encompassed a subdivision that Tom and Matt Besemer are considering building. "Why can't we just create that water district? It's gotten lost in this proposal."
Deputy Supervisor Bud Shattuck said, "It is a good proposal, and it certainly didn't die because of this." He explained that when people come to the board to ask the cost, the Town asks its engineer to research that. "Your project is still on," he said. "If the people of Drake Road say this is too expensive and can't agree on a way to do that, it would not stop the Besemer project. That would still go forward. They're only together because the Town Board has decided that if they can bring water to everyone on Drake Road they'd love to do that."
Town Engineer David Herrick explains the project.
Tom Besemer noted that if his family doesn't get subdivision approval the smaller project won't happen, but if the larger district passes lack of approval for the development wouldn't stop it. White was distressed that the smaller project was contingent on approval, and Shattuck said, "I think our planning board and code office works hard to get subdivisions done right, and water is a big component of that."
A straw poll showed about equal votes for each of the two methods and a third alternative of not forming the district. Shattuck noted that 75% of the property owners would have to agree on a plan for it to go forward. But he said that the group would have to make a decision. "We do have another project that's waiting," he said, acknowledging White's impatience with the large proposal holding up the smaller one that would bring water to his home.
Residents were given a description of the project along with a breakdown of their own individual costs under the two plans and a project map. Shattuck encouraged the neighbors to take the information home and study it with the hoped-for result that they can come to an agreement on how to bring water to Drake Road.
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