NEW BERLIN – The New Berlin Town Board voted down the creation of a Chenango Lake Sewer District following an hour and a half of public comment last night that found many lakeside residents opposed to the controversial proposal.
In November, board members voted unanimously in favor of establishing the New Berlin Town Board as the lead agency in the formation of the Chenango Lake Sewer District, determining that action to construct a new sewage system would not have a significant adverse impact on the environment. On Monday, more than 40 people – many of them seasonal or year-round residents at Chenango Lake – attended the public hearing, the majority speaking out against the proposed project, which came with an estimated price tag of $4.47 million. Approximately 120 families would have footed the bill, according to information provided by the board, at an estimated cost of $680 per year – per family – over the course of 30 years.
Said Chenango Lake Property Owners Association (CLPOA) President Martha Hoover, in a prepared statement, “Although we are all united in wanting to preserve the lake and its surroundings, the majority of the property owners do not believe this sewer district and the resulting project is right for us. We are requesting you vote against this proposal.”
According to Hoover, representatives of the CLPOA – several years ago – approached the town board to look into the possibility of creating a sewer system, as the City of Norwich was in the process of testing the lake’s existing septic systems. Since then, several systems have been discussed by the town’s engineers, and the cost to property owners has changed several times over, said Hoover.
“The CLPOA has tried to keep property owners informed during this process,” she added. “In the summer of 2011, we circulated a petition to the affected owners and we had over 50 percent of the property owners, by assessed value, opposed to the current proposed sewer system. We reported this to the town. In the spring of 2012, we were informed that more money had become available for the system, lowering the cost to the owners. We gave this information to the owners, and at our August meeting, again a clear majority of the voters did not want the proposed plan. Again we have given this information to the town.”
The three primary reasons for the opposition, according to Hoover: costs to the owners of seasonal properties; the system of pressurized pipelines and grinder pumps; and the connection to the City of Norwich Water Authority for processing. In addition, many lakeside residents have already installed new septic systems – some at a personal cost of up to $27,000 – which the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation recommended be filled with sand following the installation of a new sewer system.
One seasonal resident, who could not be reached for additional comments following Monday’s public hearing, noted angrily that Chenango Lake residents – the aforementioned 120 families – were going to pay for the project if approved. The board and its members, he stated, “have no skin in this game.”
New Berlin Supervisor Ross Iannello responded that the “whole town has skin in this game,” and called the lake one of the town’s most important assets.
Asked another lakeside resident, “Due to the amount of taxes we pay?”
Said Bo Scannavino, another Chenango Lake resident, “The general consensus is always that if it is not broke, why fix it?”
Talk then turned to those attending Monday’s meeting intending to sign a petition that would lead to a referendum and probable vote against the proposed project.
Said Iannello, “I think we’ve been more than fair. If you vote it down, you vote it down.”
The board, however, took matters into its own hands, voting down the proposed Chenango Lake Sewer District unanimously. Said one board member, to general applause, “I can’t see spending any more money on it ... drop it now and that’s the end.”
Added Iannello, addressing those gathered, “I really think you’re making a mistake ... we’ll just drop it right here.”
Hoover said she and many other property owners at Chenango Lake were pleased with the results of Monday night’s meeting.
“I think we’re all very pleased that the wishes of the majority were finally heard. I’m glad that (the board) did not continue onward and we avoided the petition and referendum, and that we were able to resolve this last night without any more inconvenience or expense to property owners. There were a lot of pieces to this puzzle that made a lot of people uneasy.”