Millbrook approves $1.5M in wastewater upgrades

MILLBROOK — The village’s project to upgrade wastewater treatment operations took a major step forward as the Board of Trustees accepted a bid for a total of $1.5 million in new processing equipment at its regular meeting on Wednesday, March 13.

By unanimous vote, the Trustees approved the purchase of Sequencing Batch Reactors for a total cost of $1,070,600 and Cloth Media Filters for $438,560. The solicited bid was provided by Aqua-Aerobics Systems of Loves Park, Illinois, the sole bidder for the equipment. Project Engineers with Tighe and Bond had reviewed the details of the bid and determined that it was reasonable.

A sequencing batch system treats effluent in batches, rather than continuously. An advantage is that it is a one-tank system that aerates and clarifies in a sequence that includes fill, react, settle, draw, and idle.

Since Millbrook is likely to experience fluctuating flow rates throughout the day, the new system allows for control over treatment times and it takes up less physical space than would be needed for a continuous flow system.

The filtration system needs specialized cloths within its mechanical filtration system to separate solids from liquids. The cloths are also designed to capture microplastics and particles of phosphorus before the water is discharged safely.

In other business, during public comment, a resident who had spoken at the April Planning Board meeting, addressed the Board of Trustees to present her concerns about an application under consideration by the Planning Board. Of concern was the project located at 3265 Franklin Ave., where developers are seeking to create new apartment units.

The resident felt that there had been insufficient public notice before the April Planning Board meeting and questioned the accuracy of the meeting minutes. She also questioned the number of apartments being planned for the site and had additional concerns about parking and traffic impacts near Merrit Avenue, which she described as an already congested and heavily traveled area.

“It’s deserving of a hard look,” she said, arguing that the application, if approved, would allow expansion of a non-conforming use in a residential neighborhood. She suggested a moratorium on approvals until the zoning regulations can be examined.