By JIM AUSTIN
Cooperstown Crier
FLY CREEK — Otsego Town
Supervisor Tom Breiten said Saturday
that he would rather a have
a vote sooner than later on the proposed
sewer district for a section of
the western shore of Otsego Lake.
Approximately 50 people attended
an informational meeting
about the district to hear the latest
cost estimates and policies for the
proposal.
And some came to voice their
objection to the district, claiming
to have a petition with more than
enough signatures to defeat the
proposal, should it be approved by
the town board. No petition was
filed with the town, however.
At the end of the meeting, Cliff
Foreman commented about the petition
and asked Breiten, ``Why not
end it right now?’’
Breiten said he is not convinced
everyone who signed the petition
has all the correct information.
``We’ve already spent
some money, why not spend
a little more and take it to a
referendum,’’ he said. ``It
would be ideal to have (the
referendum) before the end
of summer while everyone is
still here. I’d like to wrap it
up and move on one way or
another.’’
If the town board voted to
create the district, that decision
would be subject to permissive
referendum. Breiten
said he is almost certain
enough people would sign a
petition to force the referendum,
so it may be simpler to
go directly to a referendum.
The district would cover
53 properties with 29 of them
expected to be initial users.
Watershed Coordinator Win
McIntyre said the number of
initial user was reduced to
focus on those systems that
had failed during testing. In
that area just south of the
Otsego/ Springfield town
line, the failure rate for septic
systems was 75 percent
— the highest failure rate
around the lake.
Each residence would
have a septic tank with a
pump to send the effluent to
a shared secondary treatment
facility behind the
Hickory Grove. Properties
which do not have enough
land for a tank would have a
grinder pump installed to
send the sewage directly into
the treatment facility.
The system is expected to
cost $740,000, and officials
hope to secure a minimum of
$200,000 in grant funds.
``There’s a good probability
on the lesser amount
($200,000) and a not as good
a probability on the higher
amount ($330,000),’’ Mc-
Intyre said.
Initial hook up to the system
is $5,000, and depending
on the amount of grant money,
the annual charge would
run from $884 to $1,178.
Property owners would still
be responsible for the periodic
pumping of their own
septic tanks.
Officials currently expect
to finance the system for 30
years.
Town attorney Martin Tillapaugh
said the process for
the formation of the district
is spelled out in state law
and makes certain people’s
voices will be heard.
The formation of the district
will be decided by a majority
vote of the deeded owners
if it goes to referendum.
He also said that once the
town formulates costs for the
system, they are set in stone,
and to spend additional money
would require the approval
of the property owners.
Property owners with a
failed system when the district
is formed would be required
to hook up. Those
whose systems are operating
properly would not have to
hook up, but if their system
failed in the future, they
would have to hook up at
that time.
There was some concern
among property owners regarding
a beaver dam in the
hills above the Hickory
Grove. The dam has ruptured
a number of times and
sent water and debris rushing
down the hill, across the
state highway and into the
lake. They asked if the system
could withstand a dam
break.
McIntyre said the dam is
being addressed. It was built
by the beavers on a slippery
clay base and has given way
nine times in four years.
Some efforts, he said, will be
made to strengthen the dam
to avoid problems. Engineer
Tim Wales said the dam
would definitely be taken
into account.
Breiten said the next step
is to nail down the remaining
details. There has to be
agreement on policies and
procedures, a complete map
plan and report and cost estimates.
Once those are in place, it
could go to the town board,
which has to approve the formation
of the district. The
board could, he said, decide
to go directly to a referendum
rather than require people to
file a petition to put it to a
vote.
