By Alex Brooks
Siegfried Krahforst, chairman of the Petersburgh Water District Committee, spoke to the Town Board once again at its June 18 meeting, asking to be included in meetings with Taconic about its contribution to the Water District renovation project. He said at a “Technical Meeting” held last Wednesday he asked the two people from Taconic who were at the meeting, Environmental Compliance Officer Karen Toth and Project Engineer Jeff Mirarchi, if they thought it would be OK for a representative of the Water District to join in the meetings between Petersburgh and Taconic about what parts of the water project Taconic will pay for, and they both said they thought it would be fine, and it might even be a good idea. But the next day Petersburgh Supervisor Alan Webster heard from Taconic, who told him in no uncertain terms, “that is not going to happen.” When Webster relayed this to Krahforst, Krahforst said his blood pressure went through the roof because he was so angry. Webster said those were not his words – he was just relaying what someone at Taconic said to him.
Krahforst asked again that the Petersburgh Board insist on a representative from the Water District attending negotiation sessions with Taconic and also that Petersburgh ask a DEC lawyer to join the negotiations and Water District Committee member Heinz Noeding followed that up by demanding that they pass a resolution to that effect.
The Board was silent for a moment while they considered, and then Supervisor Webster said, “I have so many concerns about that.”
Webster said he thought it would be counter-productive to insist on adding additional negotiators for Petersburgh into the discussions. To suggestions from Water Committee members that he does not have the interests of the Water District patrons at heart, he insisted that he thinks a lot about what’s best for the Water District and, in fact, has woken up at 2 am worrying about the Water District. He said he is feeling more and more comfortable with the numbers as the negotiations proceed and the Water Project takes more definite form, and he thinks when all is said and done the Water District will have to take on very little new debt for this project.
With the Water Committee’s request being rebuffed, Heinz Noeding launched into a strident lecture about what the Town should be demanding from Taconic. It went on for several minutes, which clearly annoyed the Board. Webster replied, “Thank you Heinz.”
Webster said he understood the Water Committee’s concerns. “it’s a legitimate request,” which he said the Board will consider, but he said, “No decision will be made tonight.”
Webster said he has met with Taconic a lot and is pushing for everything he can get, but the situation is delicate and complicated, and involves many issues, not just the Water District. To Noeding he said, “to be blunt, we are doing extremely well, unless you take us three steps backward.”
At this point Water District Superintendent Ben Krahforst said he had something to add to the conversation and described the latest developments with the water project. He said four items paid for by Taconic have been added, and some of the elements of the project have been cut back, so that the ration of PFOA items paid by Taconic to non-PFOA items that are the responsibility of the Water District is close to 50-50. This may mean that the Water district can do this million dollar project without adding any new debt, which ratcheted down the tension in the room quite a bit.
The grant program for water projects has not been announced yet this year. Last year the deadline for applications was at the end of June. Details about this year’s round of funding have not been announced yet. Speculation is that it will be announced soon and applications will be due some time around the end of the summer.
Games Of Chance
Prior to the regular Town Board meeting, a public hearing was held on a local law allowing Games of Chance to be used for fundraisers for local non-profits. But Town Attorney David Gruenberg said after researching the matter he found that such a law would require a vote of the Town’s citizens to be enacted and asked the Board if they wanted to do that. After some deliberation, the Board decided to schedule a new public hearing on the law for next month, contemplating a vote on it in the fall election.
The issue was originally brought up by the Petersburgh Library, which is re-inventing its spring fund-raiser and was interested in including some kind of raffle. Library Director Melissa Lockett said she had no idea how many hoops the Town would have to jump through to approve this, and Gruenberg replied, “neither did I.”
Two public hearings are scheduled for next month, one on the games of chance law and one on a law concerning records management. They will be held prior to the regular Town Board meeting on July 16, at 6:40 and 6:50.
Supervisor’s Report
Supervisor Alan Webster said C&H Contractors had finished the new floor in the hallway. He said, “It should be with us for a long time. They did a great job!”
Webster also congratulated Town Clerk Deidra Michaels on becoming a Notary.
The Board appointed three new members to the Park and Recreation Committee: Laura Saunders, Heinz Noeding, and Joe Michels.