AMENIA — Continuing work initiated in 2021 to develop plans for a Wastewater District, the Wastewater Committee discussed preparation of a possible fee schedule as well as a timeline for funding applications at their regular meeting on Thursday, Aug.1.
LaBerge Group of Albany is assisting the town with engineering studies, building on the preliminary engineering report prepared by Tighe and Bond in Rhinebeck in 2022.
Rather than developing a single fee schedule, the committee agreed to ask LaBerge engineers to create separate schedules for residential and commercial users, incorporating benefit units into the formulas.
Committee chairman Charlie Miller noted that the state Comptroller will need to approve the fee schedules eventually before the project can proceed.
Funding scenarios are also to be provided by LaBerge engineers as part of their report.
As the project proposal progresses, Miller said, a petition process to gain signatures from residents favoring creation of a wastewater district for their home or business should be completed by the end of the year, allowing for the formation of a district.
With that district in place, the way will be cleared to file grant applications that are generally due in June of each year.
“Forming the district does not mean that the project is going ahead,” Miller explained. “Funding will determine that,” he added.
About to open the planning event for the sixth annual Troutbeck Symposium on Sunday, Oct. 4, Troutbeck owner Charlie Champalimaud spoke with guest speaker Hasan Kwame Jeffries of The Ohio State University, who has been a vital participant in the program since it began in 2021.Photo by Leila Hawken
