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Liberty votes ‘yes' on wastewater treatment plant expansion

Matt Shortall - Editor
Posted 5/6/21

LIBERTY — Board members in the town of Liberty voted four to one on Monday night to approve an $18 million bond resolution to upgrade the Swan Lake - Briscoe Road Wastewater Treatment Plant. …

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Liberty votes ‘yes' on wastewater treatment plant expansion

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LIBERTY — Board members in the town of Liberty voted four to one on Monday night to approve an $18 million bond resolution to upgrade the Swan Lake - Briscoe Road Wastewater Treatment Plant. Councilmembers Dean Farrand, Brian McPhillips, Maurice Gerry and Supervisor Frank DeMayo voted in favor, with Councilmember Vince McPhillips opposed.

The vote caps off months of debate surrounding the size and scope of the upgrade to a 35-year-old facility.

“Thanks everyone, board included, for all your hard work. It's been a long road,” said Supervisor DeMayo. “We will proceed the best we can to design a plant that will be efficient and service the district at the best possible cost we can get. We will also continue to look for means for which to lessen the cost of this project in its entirety.”

According to a timeline presented by Delaware Engineering, the town must submit its financing application to The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) by May 31 to receive zero percent financing. The town must also submit its engineering report to the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) by the same date.

Delaware Engineering says that a completed design, permitting, bidding and construction will all take place between 2022 and 2023.

Mary Beth Bianconi, a partner at Delaware Engineering, walked the board through where they were with the SEQR process since the scope of the project had been reduced since the first negative declaration. Bianconi said they would be relying on the prior determination that the board made to be lead agency. Another negative declaration was issued.

As previously reported in the Democrat, the first expansion was proposed at .96 million gallons per day (MGD), but the compromised plan was proposed to be .686 MGD. The town is eligible for a potential $4.5 million matching grant through the EFC.

According to numbers from Delaware Engineering, annual sewer rates are expected to increase for district residents from $840 to anywhere between $1,415 and $1,536 depending on grants and if other users enter the district.

A group of Swan Lake residents had been opposed to a larger scale $20 million expansion that was first proposed. Some were still opposed to the $18 million price tag.

Councilmember Vince McPhillips said he voted against the expansion because he believes the price increase on the people within the district is too high a burden.

“In the end I think it's going to be more than $18 million,” McPhillips said. “It's not that we don't need it … we need it, but I don't think it was the right idea to put that price on the people in the district in hopes that future development comes to support it.”

McPhillips said he has no hard feelings against anyone on the board who voted for the project.

“They thought it was a good deal. I didn't feel it was the best deal for the residents of Swan Lake,” he explained

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