April 25, 2008 08:26 am
—
Wait for
inspections
A moratorium should be
placed on sewer district formation
until the remaining
15 to 35 (no one knows the
exact number) un-inspected
camps in the proposed district
are evaluated. Thirty
percent of the camps have
not been evaluated, according
to the local inspector.
Projections are used to estimate
user costs and the rationale
for establishment of
the district.
It should also be stated
clearly that by law anyone
residing in the sewer district
will pay a significant annual
fee if they are hooked up or
not. Users will pay more but
all will pay. No one knows
how much and no one knows
what the annual increases
will be. It is likely any district
would have to expand
over time to cover ever-increasing
costs for self-perpetuation.
Two years ago a sewer
district proposed on the east
end of Oneonta was voted
down by a large margin for
those reasons. Many homeowners
with approved systems
understandably do not
want to be ``double-billed.’’
The real problem of sewer
district formation on Otsego
Lake is too complicated to be
solved by the approach currently
underway. Mr. Mc-
Intyre has worked tirelessly
to create a partial solution
and he should be given credit,
but until a comprehensive,
“whole Lake” solution is addressed,
the divisive Hickory
Grove Sewer District should
be tabled.
The Town of Otsego and
its residents should not be
pressured to implement an
expedient, unfair and inadequate
solution.
With over 5,000 in the Otsego
Lake Watershed, all or
some of the costs of protecting
this national, regional
and local treasure could be
distributed fairly. As the
headwater for Chesapeake
Bay watershed and the entire
Susquehanna River, federal
and state funding could
be obtained to aid in funding
and maintaining a complete
solution for Otsego Lake, including
construction of new
sewers and a shared septic
upgrade.
The Biological Field Station
has installed advanced
sewage treatment technologies,
and through an educational
partnership with
SUNY Delhi, has a Wastewater
Management program
that could become a national
model program while taking
care of the Lake, which is a
priority for everyone. With
the expressed support of Sen.
Seward and Congressman
Arcuri, lasting solutions to
water quality issues could
become a reality. The Otsego
County Conservation Association
(OCCA), directed by
Erik Miller, has examined
these and related issues, and
could be instrumental in
moving from the currently
proposed unfair and abbreviated
solution to one that is
comprehensive and equitable.
Doug Hallberg
Springfield
Sewer plant
a bad idea
I live in the proposed sewer
district and have an approved
system which I had
installed last summer. It cost
less than $7,000 dollars to
install.
This is way under the estimates
given by the town
engineering.
It’s a good deal compared
to the proposed sewer plant.
I think the entire population
of the town will end up paying
through the nose for a
project like this. The board
has already spent a lot of
taxpayers’ money to just investigate
this foolish idea.
Why do taxpayers from all
over the town stand for
spending their money this
way?
Cliff Forman
Town of Otsego
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