This month, a group of residents in the Lamson Road area of the town of Lysander is going door-to-door to collect signatures in favor of creating the Lamson Road Water District.
While the debate between the haves (residents with functioning groundwater wells that produce plenty of clean water) and the have-nots (residents whose wells provide poor-quality or very little water) has been raging for years, the LRWD could become a reality in 2016 if the petitioners overcome a series of hurdles.
Read on to find out what the proposed LRWD means for you:
What does the proposed Lamson Road Water District entail?
According to the Lamson Road Water District Map, Plan and Report (MPR), which was prepared by town engineer Al Yager per the Lysander Town Board’s resolution in February 2015, the boundaries of the proposed LRWD contain “the parcels fronting Lamson Road from Pendergast Road to Dinglehole Road, the northern end of Sixty Road and Smokey Hollow Road, Oswego Road from Church Road to County Line Road, Church Road from Oswego Road to Dinglehole Road and Runnymeade Road from Lamson Road to Sourwood Drive.”
An informal survey of area residents in 2014 showed that most residents of Rabbit Lane, the southern portion of Smokey Hollow Road, Kellogg Road and the northern portion of the Chatham Woods subdivision were opposed to the creation of the water district, so they were excluded from the MPR. A map of the proposed district is included in Figure 1 of the MPR.
The LRWD would extend Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA) municipal water service to the above area via connection points at three current OCWA facilities: the West Phoenix Water District (along Lamson Road), the Route 48 Water District (along Route 48 at Hencle Boulevard) and the Granby Water District (along Oswego Road at County Line Road).
“The proposed water distribution system as shown by Figure 1 would consist of approximately 63,500 feet of 8-inch ductile iron water main,” the MPR explains. “Hydrants would be installed at intervals of 600 feet; valves would be installed at a maximum interval of 800 feet and at all connections between mains.”
Per county health code, property owners who connect to the proposed public water system must disconnect their private groundwater wells from their plumbing.
Why is the creation of this water district being proposed?
There is no public water facility in the area, so residences and businesses alike
draw water from private groundwater wells. According to the MPR, the water supply of several homes in the area tested positive for iron-sulfur and/or coliform bacteria. The MPR likens the contaminated water to “what is faced in Third World countries.”
Some residents say their wells don’t produce enough water, either.
“We have had water issues where we ran out,” said Janine Werchinski-Yates, an Oswego Road resident who is carrying the petition with Marty Ochsner. “You take military showers. You decide who gets laundry done today and who gets it done tomorrow.”
Werchinski-Yates said she and her neighbors are “sick of dealing with their lack of water and a lack of good water,” though she acknowledged that not all area residents had problems with their wells.
What is the process of the creation of the district?
Under Article 12 of New York State Town Law, a water district can be created through a petition of the property owners. If the assessed value of the property of those who sign the petition is greater than 50 percent of the proposed district’s total assessed value, the town board will consider a resolution to approve the district.
“[If] you get enough petitions, [that] doesn’t mean the board has to approve it,” Lysander’s town attorney Tony Rivizzigno said. “The town board has to ultimately see or find that it’s in the public’s best interest.”
There will be a public hearing before the town board’s vote. Should the town approve the district, the proposal goes before the state Department of Audit and Control for a final decision. If the state gives the go-ahead, construction would begin in the spring of 2016.
What is the town’s role in the residents’ petition?
While state law does not say a municipality must do this, the town of Lysander had its attorney, Tony Rivizzigno, prepare the petition for Werchinski-Yates and Ochsner to carry.
At the May 28 Lysander Town Board meeting, Supervisor John Salisbury said the town had Rivizzigno prepare the petition for the residents to make sure the petition complied with the state’s regulations for district formation, but the carrying out of the petition is up to the residents in favor of the proposal.
“It was not done to show favoritism to either side,” Salisbury said.
Rivizzigno said the cost of preparing the petition is included in the town’s regular fees for legal services. There will be a small additional cost to the town because Rivizzigno does not regularly handle district formations.
Rivizzigno said the town will refer residents interested in signing the petition to Werchinski-Yates and Ochsner, but he said the town is not “spoon-feeding” residents in favor of the district.
Town Assessor Theresa Golden also provided Werchinski-Yates and Ochsner with a list of parcels in the proposed district. Once the petition is complete, Golden will check each signature on the petition to calculate the assessed value of the properties of the signatories.
Cindy Todd, a Dinglehole Road resident who is opposed to the formation of the water district, said she asked Salisbury at the May 28 town board meeting for Werchinski-Yates’ and Ochsner’s contact information. Todd said in a June 4 email to the Messenger that Salisbury still had not provided her all the information she was looking for.
What does the petition entail?
Property owners, whether or not they live at the parcel in the proposed district, may sign the petition once for each property they own. Residents who do not own the parcel on which they reside may not sign.
The number of signatures does not determine whether the petition will pass; that depends on the assessed value of the parcels whose owners sign the petition.
“If it doesn’t reach 50 percent, it’s over,” Rivizzigno said.
Werchinski-Yates and Ochsner are going door-to-door with a map and list of parcels and property owners. The petition they’re carrying contains a copy of the MPR for the residents to inspect, which includes a summary of the cost of the water district.
Werchinski-Yates and Ochsner are holding a petition signing event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 13, at the Old Lamson Station on the corner of Lamson and Oswego roads.
What is the cost of the LRWD?
The total cost of the creation of the district is estimated to be no more than $3,551,243. The town will bond for the construction cost on behalf of the district, and property owners will pay an annual charge toward debt service for the bond for 30 years.
“All financing options will be considered by the town, but at this time it is assumed that private financing will likely fund the project,” the MPR reads. “An estimated interest rate of 4.25 percent for a 30-year financing period is projected for the project. The annuity factor for this term and rate is 0.0596.”
Yager calculated the cost to each parcel by assigning an equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) value to each property. A single-family residence or small commercial parcel using less than 73,000 gallons of water annually will be assigned one EDU; larger commercial users will be charged an additional EDU for every 73,000 gallons of water over the initial usage. Vacant parcels with potential for development that are not located in an agricultural district are assigned ½ EDU. The proposed district contains about 330 EDUs total.
Each EDU will be charged $642 per year for the debt service. There is an annual charge of $20 for hydrants.
The remainder of the cost is based on a property’s water usage. For a four-person family, based upon a typical usage of 73,000 gallons per year, the cost of OCWA water service is about $349 per year. A four-person family in the proposed LRWD can expect to pay $1,011 in the district’s first year.
For a two-person family, assuming a typical usage of 36,500 gallons per year, the annual cost of OCWA service is about $230.32. That two-person family can expect to pay $892.32 in the LRWD’s first year.
If more land in the proposed LRWD is developed, the cost to each parcel will decrease.
What about those who are against the creation of the district?
The petition method listed in Article 12 of state law places the responsibility to act on the petitioners instead of those who oppose the district. If the town had chosen to go with Article 12-A, which does not require a petition, the town board’s approval of the district would be subject to permissive referendum, meaning that those against the LRWD would have to vote down the board’s resolution.
“This way, you’re getting the people’s input upfront,” Rivizzigno said. “In effect, it’s being voted for ahead of time by signing the petition.”
Cindy Todd, a Dinglehole Road resident, is opposed to the LRWD. Todd has a functioning well, which she doesn’t want to have to disconnect, but she said she is opposed because of the cost to residents and the town’s lack of transparency about the district creation process.
“It’s way too much money. We have invested thousands of dollars into a filtration
system — our water is fine,” Todd said. “When it’s all said and done, I’m going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars even if I don’t connect.”
Salisbury said residents like Todd will have the chance to speak against the creation of the water district at the public hearing, but Todd said that it will be too late to change the town board’s mind by then.
If the district is created after all, opponents will have one more option for recourse. Rivizzigno said they can bring an Article 78 proceeding against the town to appeal the town board’s approval of the district. Someone who brings an Article 78 proceeding may argue that the town’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious” or not supported by “substantial pixevidence.”
The Lamson Road Water District Map, Plan and Report is available on the town of Lysander’s website at bit.ly/lrwdmpr.
