News

Sewage plant foundation almost completed

By David Gordon

GREENVILLE — The foundation for a 24-foot extension to the town’s sewage treatment plant is within one pour of completion.

Town engineer Alan Tavenner said construction of the building itself could begin by the end of this month, he said.

The town is enlarging the sewer plant to accommodate a second sand filter, required by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Most of the construction work, once the foundation and slab are poured, will be done by town employees, saving a good deal of money, according to Town Supervisor Kevin Lewis.

The town is currently under a consent order with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Until the plant is upgraded to the DEC’s satisfaction, no new hookups can be made to the plant.

Tavenner said the next tasks for the Town Board are getting funding for the project and completing an environmental assessment.

The town has put some money into the plant, and will seek some $900,000 in grants or low-interest loans to pay for the ongoing improvements at the plant, as well as to recoup money it has already spent.

The board voted to set a public hearing at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 on a resolution to borrow $928,000 to complete the upgrade of the sewer plant in two phases. The request includes $200,000 already spent on phase 1 of the project. The town has purchased a sand filter and sand for the new filter and replacement sand in the old filter.

The town will not necessarily spend $928,000, Lewis said. The figure is an outside cost of all the possible “wish-list” items the town would like to see, and is based on the hiring of outside contractors for the work. The town would not include all the items, and will save money by having some of the work done by town employees, he said. However, the application process requires a resolution for raising the full amount. Greenville is high on the list of projects for public funding, but is not above the line for guaranteed funding, Lewis said.

“We have to apply for it, and when we get it we can pick and choose which items we want to fund,” Lewis said. Phase 1 should be completed by February, and it includes the work the DEC is requiring in the consent order.

Tavenner has prepared a so-called long form environmental assessment. The 21-plus page study asks about environmental effects of a project from water pollution to endangered species of plants and animals to potential traffic problems. The sewer project is unlikely to have negative environmental impacts, so the study should not be complex.

The board passed resolutions setting the public hearing and stating its intent to act as lead agency for approval of the environmental review. The town must wait 30 days before completing the review to give other agencies the opportunity to seek lead agency status.

Several residents of New Ridge Road in Norton Hill attended the meeting to complain about a neighbor who is keeping two horses, a goat and dogs on his property. The neighbors asserted that the property is less than one acre and is in a residential subdivision.

“He has a structure to board the horses right outside my bedroom window,” said Aileen McCarthy. “It’s pretty scary.”

Code Enforcement Officer Larry Cooke said the area is zoned agricultural, and the definition of agriculture allows animal husbandry. “I’m not saying it’s right, but that’s what it calls for,” he said.

“Between the goat and the horses and the dogs barking, I’m getting no sleep whatsoever,” McCarthy said.

“It is true that this is an agricultural zone,” said James Barry. “But New York State law also talks about animal cruelty when there’s not enough water. This gentleman we’re talking about doesn’t have enough water. He’s been stealing it from neighbors.”

McCarthy said the neighbor attaches a hose to her outside faucet to fill a holding tank on his property.

McCarthy presented the board with a petition bearing some 20 signatures of neighbors complaining about the conditions. Barry gave the board members a letter outlining the problems, including the smell of urine and the danger to health. The horse feed draws rats, he said. “Horses require grazing, and we’re talking about less than an acre of land.”

Cooke said it might pay to bring the problem to the attention of the planning board and the comprehensive plan board to consider the possibility of changing the zoning in the area. They may already be addressing the permitted uses in certain areas.

“The barn right across the street (from Town Hall) used to be a horse barn,” Lewis said. “We’ll have our attorney take a look at this and see what we can do.”

A newly installed toilet facility, the result of a Girl Scout project, floated out of its hole, said Lewis. “They had it up and running, and there was no water in the tank, he said. “Then we had that big rainfall two weeks ago and it floated out. The maintenance crew has a plan - pull it out of there, put a drain in the bottom so it won’t fall out again. It wasn’t vandalism; it tilted back at quite an angle.”

Three Girl Scouts arranged for the installation of the Clivis Multrum composting toilet unit in the Town Park as their Gold Star community service project. The units include the outside building, are odor free and are said to require less maintenance than a Porta-Potty.

Planning board chairman Peter O’Hara said Jack VanAuken has resigned from the board and alternate Reggie Ratcliffe is taking his place. VanAuken also represented the town on the Greene County Planning Board. O’Hara asked the Town Board to recommend Arnold Cavallaro to the position, which it did.

O’Hara noted that the planning board and zoning board of appeals both need alternate members; interested persons should apply, sending a resume, to the town hall.

VanAuken was the town’s representative to the Greene County Planning Board, O’Hara said. He asked the Town Board to recommend Walter Ingalls for the post. The Greene County Planning Board makes the appointment, but generally accepts the Town Board’s recommendation.

The board set 7 p.m. on Dec. 1 for a public hearing on the town’s comprehensive plan. The plan is available on the Internet at www.greenvillecommunityplan.org.

The board voted to appoint Walter Ingalls to the library board, to fill a vacancy to a term ending Dec. 31, 2012.

Greene County Health Department will hold a flu clinic from 9:30 a.m. to noon at St. John’s Church in Greenville, Lewis said.

Stan Barzyk thanked the board and the highway department for helping to control traffic in Greenville Country Estates on Halloween. The town supplied traffic cones and volunteers shunted traffic off the main roads through the development. Lewis said he was there that night, and “people really seemed to enjoy it. It was a community even, really.”

Barzyk said the event drew people from New Baltimore, Coxsackie, Cairo and other surrounding areas.

The laundromat at Bryant’s center is closed. The center did not make needed repairs to its wastewater system, Lewis said, and until it is brought into compliance with the DEC it will remain closed. The wastewater system is not likely to be improved, so the laundromat will remain closed. The nearest alternative is in Cairo.

The Greenville Food Pantry’s shelves are nearly bare, Councilman Richard Bear said. He asked that people try to donate food or money to the shelter. Through cooperative purchases through food programs, the pantry can make money go farther than an individual could, Bear pointed out, so cash donations are really helpful. To donate, call Phyllis Beechert at 966-5276.

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