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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-03-23 - TB TOWN OF ULYSSES SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING MARCH 23 , 2007 Present : Supervisor Douglas Austic ; Town Council Roxanne Marino , Rod Ferrentino and Lucia Tyler; Don Ellis absent ; Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia; Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan; Others present : Eric Pond, Barton & Loguidice Discussion of Barton & Loguidice Feb 26, 2007 draft report to the Town Board on Infrastructure Needs /Trumansburg Primary Water Supply Assessment Mr. Pond asked the Board where they would like him to start in the review of the proposed document he had presented . (On file in Supervisor Austic ' s office) Mr. Ferrentino asked Mr. Pond if it was true or false that the basis infrastructure that is being laid out know (Water District #3 ) is that system the start of the tree of where it could be and was that chosen based on engineering facts that there is where that should be . Mr. Pond said that it was chosen primarily on the need in Jacksonville and a large component of that is the funding and so that is why the tree made some interesting jaunts, but if you look at the Rt. 96 corridor it is a central location of the municipality and what Mr. Pond calls a middle pressure zone . That system was sized and at numerous public meetings he always described it as the backbone on which future extensions would be made. Mr. Ferrentino said that it was a step A where there was an immediate need but Mr. Pond took it into consideration the bigger picture and as a result you looked at that as the artery for lack of a better word. Mr. Ferrentino said then from that artery it would be considered medium pressure and that this leg on the journey (#5 ) fits in with that current pressure and if you looked at it any other way there would have to be increased infrastructure in order to accommodate pumping off or pumping down or restricting pumping done . Mr. Pond agreed with Mr. Ferrentino ' s scenario and continued to say that along the Rt. 96 corridor is generally one elevation and extents to Cold Springs Road and the Village . The end of Jacksonville Road and Iradell Road are upper pressure zones and Mr. Pond pointed out the higher elevations so therefore it would be an upper pressure zone to serve that area. Mr. Pond said that it has always been considered that to serve Iradell Road a pump station would have to be at the tank site . Mr. Ferrentino said that he also understood that it was previously mentioned that with tying together of the Village and the Town water system them the Village gets a secondary supply and the Town was told that Bolton Point did not want the Village water to go back into the line . But the understanding turned out to be that it could happen and if the Town had a problem the Village could supply. Mr. Ferrentino said then it wasn ' t only the fact that the Village was getting a secondary supply one of the things that was clear the water could go the offer way and take care of people in District #3 . Mr. Pond said that was why in his presentation he used the term mutual need and mutual benefit. The water can no go back through the pump station . Mr. Pond said keep in mind that Water District #3 and the proposed Water District #5 operates on higher pressure then exists in the Village so part of Water District #5 is a small pump station . Mr. Pond said that it does two things — if the Village of Trumansburg needs the water for an emergency there is a pressure reducing value to let the water into the Village with out blowing their mains , but right next to the pressure reducing value is a pump so if Water District #3 or #5 or the folks in the Town of Ithaca (Wolfe Lane and surrounding area) Special Town Board Meeting 2 03/23/2007 need water then the pumps will turn on left the water from the Village and bring it for the emergency need . (There are more Town of Ithaca residents being served by District #3 then on the Town. ) Mr. Austic explained that the Town had an Intermunicipal agreement to enlarge the pump station so they could have better pressure and also have fire protection. Mr. Ferrentino had to leave and was not present for the remainder of the meeting. Mr. Pond said that #3 District came about mostly because of the problem with water in Jacksonville, and then came along the problem that the Village has with a second source and also the State Park had a problem and that is why the area for District #5 was focused on. Mr. Pond said that along the western shore of the lake need water or desire water. Mr. Pond said at this time the Public Health office is providing him with documentation of what the water supplies along the lake are. Ms . Tyler said from what she has heard by serving on the Water Resource Council this is in direct disagreement other then way down at the bottom of the lake in the Town of Ithaca. Mr. Pond said that the condition of wells along the lake would of course have to be substantiated. Ms . Tyler wanted to address the West Shore Homeowners Association and what she understands they are a newly re-formed group . Ms . Tyler said that what is troubling about their letter to the Town is that no one signed their name so she feels that no one knows if it is 5 people or 50 people and do not know who is in that group . Mr. Pond pointed out that it is very difficult if you do not have the appropriate funding so when District #3 was done Taughannock Park did not have ground water under the direct influence of service water so it was a matter of time before the Village and the Park got a notice from the Health Department . With the project of #5 we knew that the Village could benefit and the Park could be served and other problems individuals have with wells could be taken care of and the dead end for Alpha House could be taken care of. Ms . Tyler said she understands about these problems but she also knows of other areas in the Town that have problems such as DuBois Road area and have asked the Town for water. Mr. Austic said that area was studied before when doing district #3 and records are on file . Mr. Pond said to keep in mind before District #3 was formed the Town had been trying for over twenty years and people thought it was just another futile attempt and people did not take it seriously until they saw the work staring and then it was to late to get on board. Areas were pointed out on the map to Ms . Tyler that did get water on Dubois Road because they paid for it. The three people that paid for the line did contact others on Dubois but they did not want to be included. Mr. Pond said that you build infrastructure and may not be the most perfect now but you look forward so you do not box yourself into a corner and preclude bringing water some area that needs water. For example Dubois — The four or five homeowners that wanted water paid for the water and hired the contractor and what the Town of Ulysses did was pay for the difference to install a larger main pipe line for in the future when you expand you have the infrastructure in place . Mr. Pond said that another thing to keep in mind that in these systems you do have a Town with relatively low population density compared to a city and what governs is fire flow as to the size of the tank, water main size and the pump size. Water District #3 was designed for fire flow at Cold Springs Road in excess of 1000 gallons a minute, so 1000 gallons per minute compared to maximum usage is much smaller. Mr. Pond said that the • Special Town Board Meeting 3 03/23/2007 funding agencies will not always allow you to upsize infrastructure to accommodate a future need but they will allow you to upsize to accommodate fire flow. Ms . Marino said she is concerned about making sure that the planning for the rest of water in the Town goes through in a way that the public feels included in and that the appropriate level of discussion before the decisions are made, which in her opinion is one of the most clouded issues for District #5 . Ms . Marino would like some revisions to Mr. Ponds report before it is the Town ' s final accepted report that reflects some ideas she will address . Ms . Marino said that she is concerned that the letter from the West Shore Homeowners Assoc . , which was not even signed, is recognized in the report as the greatest outstanding water supply need in the Town yet to be addressed by a public water system . Ms . Marino said that the Town is committed to do a survey and just have not had the time to develop it yet, but until that is done she does not want a document accepted by the Town as the public record to to contain a statement that does not reflect a Town decision or any public discussion of unmet water need priorities . Mr. Pond understood and agreed with Ms . Marino ' s concern. Ms . Marino proposed the following to Mr. Pond and asked if he would consider making the corrections in his draft . The Board reviewed the following presented by Ms . Marino : Under " Outstanding Town Water Supply Needs " : Add as first sentence : "The primary goal of this study, as per Town Board resolution of Decemberl4, 2006, was to investigate, in conjunction with the Town of Ithaca and the Village of Trumansburg, solutions enabling the service of a source of water that is adequate to provide water in an amount to serve as a backup source for the Village of Trumansburg through the Town of Ulysses that can deliver as much water as the Village requires for a primary source . " Add "over the past few years , groups of individuals in other areas of the Town have also expressed concern to the Town over the quality of their water, and the desire for municipal water service" after (exhibit 1 ), second sentence of draft report first paragraph. Strike : "With this expression of interest . . . " , full sentence . Add : Barton and Loguidice chose to explore feasibility of providing municipal water to the homes along Route 89 and the lake shore south of Taughannock Park as part of this study because we found that the most feasible way to provide water in the volume required to serve the Village of Trumansburg as a primary source for an extended period of time and meet redundancy requirements was to install a new transmission main along Route 89 . The Town Board has not identified by any study or resolution of the Board the area including the homes along Route 89 and the lake shore south of Taughannock Park as the greatest outstanding water supply need in the Town yet to be addressed by public water at this time. Under "Trumansburg Primary Water Supply" : Current report last paragraph : Change to "would pass through the area of greatest outstanding water supply need, as discussed above" to "would pass through one area of expressed interest in municipal water supply need, as discussed above . " Add a final paragraph to this section : • Special Town Board Meeting 4 03/23/2007 . "The Ulysses Town Board has not completed a Town-wide study of unmet water needs at this time . The inclusion of the following alternative suggestions (A & B) and cost analysis for a proposed Water Distinct 6 in the Town do not in any way indicate the intent or endorsement of the Town Board to pursue these or any other plan for a Water District 6 in the Town of Ulysses , until such study is completed and presented to the public . " Under "Trumansburg Back-up Water Supply" : Second paragraph : Revise this to be consistent with the reports of the discussions with Dan Walker as per the Town-Village joint committee meetings (September, early October? 2006) , or provide documentation of the statements in this draft report, from Dan Walker or others . Mr. Pond said he would get Mr. Walker to review the report and get documentation from Mr. Walker to include with his revised report. Both Ms . Tyler and Ms . Marino did not have the same understanding of the meeting with Mr. Walker that Mr. Pond, Mr. Austic and Mr. Coogan had in reference to the long term availability of water and long term build out timeline, based on discussions at the Town- Village joint water committee meetings in the fall . After discussion of this in more detail both Ms . Tyler and Ms . Marino requested that documentation of this be presented in writing from Mr. Walker to be more clearly understood by all parties, and possibly be a part of this report including timelines . The discussion continued on the availability of water. Mr. Pond has no objection to the changes Ms . Marino has requested and Ms . Tyler and Mr. Austic understand and agree to the revisions that Ms . Marino is asking for. Hearing no further discussion the meeting adjourned . F . Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG : mlg