COST OVERRUN STUNS TOWN BOARD:

NORTH GREENBUSH -- Town officials were stunned last week when it was revealed the town has paid at least $400,000 more than expected for Water District 14, but Wednesday the contractor said they shouldn't be shocked.

The town, said Charlie "JR" Casale of Casale Excavating, has continued to pay him for the work monthly. The company began work on the district in June 2005.

The original contract for installation in the water district, which will bring water to about half the town's residents, was $6.4 million. But Casale said quantity overruns made the job more expensive.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:26 PM | Permalink

WHALEY LAKE RESIDENTS GET OK TO FORM DAM-REPAIR DISTRICT:

The final legal steps have been approved that could ensure the repair of a 19th century dam.

The Pawling town board Tuesday voted to accept the final order establishing the formation of an improvement district for the Whaley Lake Dam.

Supervisor Beth Coursen requested the approval be subject to review by the town attorney.

The unanimous vote was the culmination of more than eight years of work by residents of Whaley Lake.

Andrew Block, one of the organizers of the Whaley Lake Dam District Formation Committee, said he had doubted the district would come to fruition.

"It's what the community wanted," he said.

The vote, which took place Saturday, was 148 to 42 in favor of forming the district.

"We see it as a mandate," said Marilyn Berson, counsel for the committee.

In August, the board passed a resolution that approved the district subject to a majority vote of its potential residents.

State law required the board to take one more vote establishing the district, Berson said, adding that Tuesday's resolution will be filed with the state comptroller and the county clerk.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 06:57 PM | Permalink

LANSING APPROVES WATER DISTRICT:

A controversial water district in Lansing will be built, following Monday's special election in which district voters overwhelmingly approved the project. There were 96 eligible voters, and of that number, 81 turned out to vote. The vote was 60 in favor of the district and 20 against, with the 81st vote being contested.

But still, it was a three-to one-margin on an issue that will have serious economic impacts on the residents of the district. The request for the creation of a water district came back in the fall. After some studying, the town board approved the request, but that decision was challenged to a permissive referendum. Some residents within the district expressed concern about the costs of the water district. The total cost of the project is estimated at $770,000. The impact on homeowners would be a cost of almost $1,000 per year. Preliminary cost estimates indicated there would be a charge of $592 per year over a 30 year period for all properties located within the district, and an additional cost of several hundred dollars for the operating and maintenance fees.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:15 PM | Permalink