The Skaneateles Village Board voted to advertise for a bid for a water system improvement project to be done this spring, at its Jan. 23 meeting.

The project entails replacing water lines on East Street from the water tower to Onondaga Street and is estimated to cost between $400,000 to $500,000, Mayor Marty Hubbard said.

The water line replacements will be phase one of three of an estimated $1.9 million water system improvement project. The project, originally recommended to the village by GHD engineers last year, is meant to improve water pressure for fire hydrants and residents on the east side of the village.

The cost of the project was reduced because Director of Municipal Operations Bob Lotkowictz and the department of public works was able to do the design and engineering work “in-house” meaning no money was needed to bring in an outside engineering firm, Hubbard said.

The board could award a bid as early as its Feb. 27 meeting and hopes to have the work completed by June 1, he said.

The village has several options for paying for the project within its budget, Hubbard said. The village has water department fund balance that can be applied to capital projects and the village also has a $266,000 infrastructure improvements fund from Onondaga County that is granted in lieu of sales tax revenue.

The village also needs to decide how to pay for an upcoming parking lot reconstruction project for the new village hall as well as the other two phases of the water system work and other capital projects.

Phase two of the $1.9 million of improvements will involve main replacements on East Lake Street from Onondaga Street to East Genesee Street, and phase three will be main replacements on East Lake Street south of East Genesee Street to the to the village border.

Though the village is planning for phases two and three, construction on those phases likely won’t take place in 2014, Hubbard said.

The poor pressure to numerous fire hydrants on the east side of the village has been an ongoing public safety concern for the past couple of years.

Also at the meeting, the board authorized GHD to make a proposal for the design and permitting for a dry hydrant to be installed at the water tower site on East Street. The dry hydrant will act as a water source for firefighters, pulling water from the now-decommissioned drinking water reservoirs.

In other business:

—Lotkowictz reported that the department of public works will be installing drain tile in parts of Austin Park prior to the refurbishment project that Lakeshore Baseball and Softball will be doing this spring.

—The village fire siren, now mounted on top of the former police department building, sounded two times during the meeting for fire calls. Village Historian, and firefighter, Jorge Battle reported that the siren is now working correctly under the specifications agreed upon by the village and fire department, which includes an 8 p.m. cutoff time. The siren was erected late last year, but was not operational for a time.

Joe Genco is the editor of the Skaneateles Press. He can be reached at [email protected].