To:                   Members of the Glenville Town Board

From:               Barb Casey, President, Alplaus Residents Association

Date:                February 21, 2007

Re:                   petition to extend sewer district #1

Attached are petitions from the residents of Alplaus not currently served by sewer district #1.  They are requesting that the district be extended to include their properties.

I’m also attaching the spreadsheet that we used to keep track of the process, for your information.  Of the 132 parcels included in the petition, we had 86 signatures, which represent 65.2% percent of owners and 62.9% of the assessed value.  The owners of 36 parcels told us they didn’t support the petition.  Ten property owners didn’t give us a decision one way or another, although an attempt was made to contact all of them.

I want to point out that this memo is almost exactly the same one I submitted on May 19, 2004.  The numbers are very nearly the same; the only difference being that more than twice as many people opposed the petition, although not necessarily sewers, as did nearly three years ago.

The signatures speak clearly:  the people of Alplaus want—and need—sewers.  What’s not clear just from the signatures is the appalling lack of confidence in the Town’s ability to do this for us.  Those who are on the existing system are angry and frustrated about their inability to participate in the process while they are subject to the results of that process.  Many who didn’t sign, include those who signed last time, indicated that they think we need the project, but that it now costs too much and the engineering is incomplete and suspect.  Even those who did sign indicated to us that they aren’t certain that, even now, the extension can be built for the costs we’ve been given.   

I’m standing here asking you to prove the doubters wrong and to build a quality sewer extension this year that comes in well under the $904 per person per year outlined in the current petitions.

Here are some ways to restore faith:

1)      Give us a timeline for a reasonable completion of the project, something I’ve asked for several times but have yet to receive.  When can we get started and when will it be completed?  What are the steps that need to be taken and when will they happen?

2)      Consider whether a re-bid of the project will bring costs down.

3)      Work diligently to get an agreement on paper with Niskayuna School District and possibly, Olde Nott Farm, that will benefit all the people of Alplaus.

4)      Demand from those who work for you answers to remaining questions about the existing district.  I’m attaching copies of those questions and the answers I’ve received to this memo.

5)      Consider hiring a value engineer to review the project as currently designed.  Two engineering firms have reviewed the project, but a value engineer has more freedom to make recommendations for changes that might save costs.  We believe that for a relatively small amount of money, savings could be found and since the costs are added to the project, the Town loses nothing by agreeing to hire a value engineer.

We believe that all of these steps are necessary and that, if done expediently, will not add any time to the project, an important consideration for those who have waited so long.

Thank you all for your time and for all of the careful consideration you’ve given to this project and to the people of Alplaus over the past few months.