The Sullivan Town Council met with representatives from Barton & Loguidice New Year’s Eve to hammer out the Bridgeport Sewer Initiative district.
In discussions that lasted nearly four hours, Supervisor John M. Becker, Dep. Supervisor William Cole and Councilman Tom Kopp worked with engineers Christian Lawton and Ken Knutsen to hammer out — road by road — the route the system will take from Lakeport to Bridgeport.
The core of the proposed sewer district revolves around those properties that abut Route 31, with some offshoots when the project gets to the hamlet of Bridgeport. The western boundary of the proposed district will begin at the center of Chittenango Creek and run 1,500 feet south of Route 31 along Kirkville Road. The targeted area includes all of Shackelton Point and includes the Cornell University Field Station.
Finally, it includes all parcels fronting Route 31 east to Chapman Park on the north side of Route 31 and to the Harbor Lights Business Park on the south.
At the Dec. 17 council meeting, Knutsen said the special meeting for potential funders held at town hall earlier in the month went very well. He said the message from those funding representatives was that the town needs to move this project forward.
“We have spent a considerable amount of time with the funding agencies, and we have a commitment for a single project,” Knutsen said. “This project has gotten a lot of attention, thanks to John [Becker] and the Wladis Law Firm.”
The area’s average income has made the project eligible for 0 percent financing, as long as the project’s costs don’t exceed $14 million, he said. That $14 million ceiling may be raised to $20 million in the coming weeks, according to Lawton.
During a recent visit to Madison County, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said President-elect Barack Obama’s first order of business will be signing into law a stimulus package for infrastructure and construction projects. Schumer said villages, towns and counties that have shovel-ready projects should get those proposals submitted for potential funding.
At the Dec. 31 meeting, Knutsen said the definition of “shovel-ready” has been somewhat elusive, but sources tell him that means projects that are about 90 days from getting the necessary permits and approvals.
Saturday Jan. 10, town officials and engineers will speak with affected residents to bring them up to speed on the progress of the sewer project.
“We’re going to let them know ‘here’s who’s in; here’s who’s not,'” Becker said. “We want everyone as much as possible to be served.”
Knutsen said once the public information meeting is held Saturday, the town will hold a public hearing and complete a State Environmental Quality Review Type 1 Action Coordinated Review. Engineers must complete a map plan and report, and the council must pass resolutions supporting the project.
Knutsen said the earliest that public hearing could be held would be February.
Becker said if the project isn’t done now with the funding sources that will be available in the coming months, it will be nearly impossible to complete in the future, due to rising costs.
“It’s pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Becker said.
