The village of Elbridge, along with the village of Jordan and town of Elbridge, hosted Sen. John A. DeFrancisco and a representative from Assemblyman Will Barclay’s office last week to announce the community would be awarded $600,000 toward the LT2 water filtration project.
The funding is the result of a New York State shared municipal services grant aimed at promoting government efficiency and consolidation, and will cover a significant portion of the $922,000 price tag associated with the LT2 project.
The water project was undertaken jointly this year by the three municipalities to address a federal mandate regarding uncovered sources of public drinking water. By June, the Jordan-Elbridge community will house its own ultraviolet water filtration plant on Kingston Road, a project local officials had feared would have to be paid for directly out of taxpayers’ pockets.
But thanks to a creative grant application that grouped the municipalities together and emphasized the inter-municipal nature of the project, a substantial portion of the construction costs will be covered by outside funding.
“Sometimes in Albany it’s a matter of how you label things,” DeFrancisco said at last week’s press conference.
Both DeFransciso and a representative from Barclay’s office emphasized the strides toward consolidation of services being made in areas like J-E, which would serve as an example for other communities.
In the spirit of the community working together to address common issues, Elbridge Mayor Hank Doerr presented DeFrancisco with a key to the community, “as a symbol that one key fits all locks.”
Doerr said the LT2 surcharge would continue to appear on residents’ water bills to build up maintenance funds for the plant.
