MONTICELLO – Water dominated Village of Monticello Manager James Snowden’s report during last Wednesday night’s meeting as he discussed major savings on improvements to the village’s water treatment plant while also announcing that recreational facilities are now open as work on the new pool continues.

During his manager’s report, Snowden confirmed that the village’s renegotiated financing terms for the ongoing water treatment plant project are expected to save more than $600,000 in interest costs.

Snowden explained that he and Village Treasurer Martha Daza worked with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development program and other agencies to restructure how grant funding would be used throughout the project.

“The [Rural Development] money that we were going to use at the end of the project, we’re [now] going to use that in the beginning of the project,” Snowden reported.

He added that the USDA and the other participating agencies have already approved the revised arrangement, allowing the project to move forward under the new financing terms.

With summer now in full swing, especially following the Fourth of July holiday, Snowden also announced that the village’s recreational facilities opened for the season on July 1. Both the Dillon Park Pool and the DeHoyos Park Splash Pad are now welcoming visitors.

The splash pad, now in its second summer season, will operate daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the Dillon Park Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We have six lifeguards on hand,” Snowden noted, adding that staffing shortages would not be an issue this summer.

Meanwhile, construction of the new DeHoyos Park pool continues to progress and remains on schedule.

“The pool company said we’re on track for opening the new pool at the end of next week... maybe within the next three,” Snowden said, indicating the opening could take place within the next two to three weeks.

The remaining work includes waterproofing the pool and completing final preparations before the facility can open to the public.

Also on the topic of water, the village issued a notice to the public on Tuesday encouraging Monticello residents to conserve water by refraining from lawn watering, car washing, sprinklers and power washing due to decreasing water levels in Kiamesha Lake.

“Due to the aging water plant, although we have been able to keep it up and running, tolls on the water plant are mounting.  In the last 48 hours, we were only turned off for a 3 ½ hour stretch over that course of time, which is not good for an aging plant like the one in the Village of Monticello,” the notice read.