Deputy Lansing Town Supervisor Sharon Bowman reported Wednesday that the Town is having difficulty in getting easements for water mains that will be connected to a new water tank on Bone Plain Road.  Bowman said that of 18 property owners seven have failed to respond.  Supervisor Kathy Miller said that the Town will pursue eminent domain if the land owners do not respond.

"It has been a painful process of getting executed easements," she said.  "I have reached out to a number of people and offered to come to them with my notary stamps, but no one is responding.  We have been dealing with this since September."

Town Attorney Guy Krogh said that executing eminent domain would take a few months at most.  Bowman said that with the exception of one land owner who may be in a nursing home, the others are available, but simply not responding.  He said that people tend to respond more readily when contacted about a legal issue by an attorney.

"Efficiency is something that's achieved by using the right tool," he said.

The $2,006,500 water tank and pump station project is intended improve water pressure in the central part of the Town including the Whispering Pines and Warren Road neighborhoods.  The tank itself is located just over the town line in Dryden.  Miller said that the most disturbance will be on a Dryden resident's property, but said that property-owner has requested an out-of-district user agreement that will allow them to hook up to Lansing municipal water coming from the tank.

"I think they'll be very happy with it," she said.

Miller said that none of the land owners have said they do not want to grant the easements, but that they are simply not responding, failing to answer phone messages and emails.  She said she thinks they just need some more prodding to agree to the easements.

Krogh said the town doesn't have to wait for easements to begin the bidding.  But he cautioned that it doesn't make sense to break ground until you know what route you can legally install water pipes in.

"That's what eminent domain is going to do for you," he said.  "It's going to let you use the route that you wish to use, in theory.  It's up to the judge."

Town Engineer David Herrick is reportedly ready to put the project out for bid.  Krogh noted that a bond resolution also must be passed.

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