Public split on Salt Springs water district

TOWN OF MANLIUS – Residents of the Salt Springs Road area have a variety of strong opinions on a proposal to bring public water to the area and to improve the public water system in the Sky Ridge neighborhood.
The existing Sky Ridge Water District, which serves 29 homes on Salt Springs, Gulf Road and Horseshoe Lane, features an aging well-based system with low water pressure and not enough flow for fire protection. One of the two wells supporting that system nearly ran dry last summer.
Other Salt Springs Road residents in both the town of Manlius and the town of Sullivan are served by private wells with varying degrees of water supply and quality.
The proposed project would connect the area into the existing Onondaga County Water Authority infrastructure in Fayetteville and Chittenango, providing access to public water and fire protection for all the homes along Salt Springs Road.
At a public hearing on April 14, a number of residents expressed opposition to the proposal, stating that the residents along Salt Springs are being asked to subsidize improvements to the Sky Ridge Water District through a project they do not want or need.
Joseph Messineo, whose property would be affected by the project, said the Sky Ridge Water District should have been setting aside money over the past several decades for inevitable repairs or replacement.
“Horseshoe Lane is asking their neighbors in the town of Manlius to subsidize what I call an irresponsible behavior over a course of probably thirty years,” Messineo told the board.
Several others voiced similar opposition to the plan.
Sheila Ben, a resident of MacClenthen Road, called the proposal “nothing short of outrageous.”
“The number of homes in Skyridge that would benefit from this is 29. And to dilute the cost for these 29 property owners, you’re proposing to drag in 95 property owners that would not benefit from this,” Ben said. “The people that benefit ought to bear the cost.”
The projected cost of the project is $9.2 million, much of which could be offset by grant funding. The price tag for individual homeowners would be approximately $1,194 annually plus an additional one-time cost to hook into the system. Engineer Taylor Bottar from Barton & Loguidice had previously estimated those one-time costs at $2,700 but acknowledged that it will vary depending on setbacks from the road and how rocky the terrain is.
“Every single property is going to be different and their costs are going to vary,” he said at a previous meeting.
Engineer Ken Knutsen said the current environment for funding infrastructure is good right now, and the two towns are working with both state and federal representatives to reduce the local cost burden. Various funding sources could provide anywhere between 60 and 80 percent of the project cost, he said.
“The town board is doing everything they can to maximize funding and grants to reduce your costs,” he said. “It’s going to happen once and it’s probably now.”
There are a total of 126 properties in the proposed district, 95 of which are in Manlius.
To form the district and proceed with the project, homeowners representing 51 percent of the assessed value in the district must sign a petition supporting the project.
If residents along Salt Spring Road decline to advance with the project, the Sky Ridge system could be replaced, but the costs would only be applied to the 29 properties within that district, with a projected annual cost of $2,383 per unit.
The town of Manlius will continue the public hearing on April 28.