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295.94 RESOLUTION CALLING FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED INCREASE OR IMPROVEMENT OF FACILITIES OWNED BY THE QUEENSBURY CONSOLIDATED WATER DISTRICT AND SERVICING SEVERAL OTHER WATER DISTRICTS WITHIN THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY RESOLUTION NO. 295, 94 INTRODUCED BY: Mrs. Carol Pulver WHO MOVED ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr. Nick Caimano WHEREAS, there exists in the Town of Queensbury Consolidated Water District, a Water Treatment Plant, water storage facilities, and certain water transmission mains and related real property holdings servicing the Queensbury Consolidated Water District, Sherman Avenue Extension Water District, Peggy Ann Road Water District, Easy Street Water Extension, and Hiland Park Water District, hereinafter referred to as the "Effected Districts and Extensions," and to some extent, certain adjacent communities pursuant to Water Supply agreements, and WHEREAS, after considering the capacity, age, efficiency, and effectiveness of existing Water Treatment Plant and distribution facilities, the future water needs of the areas serviced by the said Plant and distribution facilities and those areas expected to be served in the future, the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury, hereinafter referred to as the "Town Board" previously determined it appropriate to consider the expansion of the aforesaid Water Treatment Plant, purchase of certain additional lands, construction of various improvements to the Water Distribution System, and assessment of the cost of construction of the improvements and subsequent operation and maintenance to all the aforedescribed Effected Districts and Extensions, and WHEREAS, the Town Board caused a map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, of proposed improvements and land acquisition, together with an estimate of the cost thereof and Part I of an Environmental Assessment Form, to be prepared by O'Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc., a copy of the same being presented at this meeting, and to be kept on file with the Town Clerk hereafter, and WHEREAS, the maximum amount proposed to be expended for said improvements is not to exceed $13,228,000, and WHEREAS, the map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, provided by O'Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc., states, in part, that The existing water treatment plant does not have sufficient production capacity for meeting the District's current water demands. With this shortfall, 1 the reliability of the system is compromised. Also, the transmission and storage system needs to be improved to take advantage of the increased plant capacity by improving hydraulics and increasing reserve storage capacity. We recommended that the Town make improvements to the water treatment plant to provide a capacity of 15 mgd, construct a 1-MG storage tank, construct a 16-inch transmission main, and incorporate other miscellaneous improvements as outlined in this report. Specifically, the improvements include the installation of variable frequency drives on all raw and finished water pumps and construction of a new high lift pumping station within the proposed filter building; and WHEREAS, the Town Board has had numerous conversations and discussions with officials from various communities including the Village of Hudson Falls and it is recognized that the Village of Hudson Falls will most likely desire to acquire an interest in the aforesaid expansion, such that the Village reserves 1 million gallon per day capacity in the expanded Plant, and that the Village will be making a corresponding payment towards such acquisition, which is anticipated, in turn, to lower the cost that has been anticipated will be paid by the residents of the affected water districts, and WHEREAS, the Town Board notes that arranging for participation by the Village of Hudson Falls will take some time and that there is the possibility that an agreement cannot be reached, but, upon review of the map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, has determined that, regardless of whether the Village of Hudson Falls or other communities should decide to join in or later purchase water from the Town, it is appropriate to continue to proceed with plans for the expansion of the aforesaid Water Treatment Plant, acquire additional lands therefore, construct additional water storage facilities, install a new water transmission main along Gurney Lane from West Mountain Road to New York State Route 9, and make other appropriate or necessary improvements, more specifically referred to in the map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, and hereinafter referred to as the "Expansion Project," and WHEREAS, the Town Board, by previous resolution, indicated it was considering the Expansion Project, and determined the action was subject to SEQRA, identified certain involved agencies, preliminarily classified the action as a Type I under the SEQRA regulations, indicated it desired to be Lead Agency for purposes of SEQRA review, authorized the completion of initial applications to New York State DEC, DOH, and DOT, and other permitting agencies, 2 and authorized notification to all other agencies that it desired to be Lead Agency for the SEQRA review, and that a Lead Agency must be designed within 30 days, and WHEREAS, the Town Board hereby recognizes that in order to proceed, that it must now 1. designate itself Lead Agent and make a determination as to significance as allowed and required under the State Environmental Quality Review Act; 2. hold a public hearing on the proposed improvements as required by Town Law §202-b; and 3. after the aforesaid hearing, decide upon the evidence given thereat, whether it is in the public interest to acquire the lands involved and/or construct the improvements proposed hereinabove and correspondingly, to determine whether to direct the engineer to prepare definite plans and specifications and make a careful estimate of the expense with the assistance of the Town Attorney and to prepare a proposed contract for the execution of the work and purchase the aforedescribed property, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board considers the map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, prepared by O'Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc., concerning the proposed Expansion Project and presented at this meeting as complete, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby designates itself as Lead Agency for purposes of determining the significance of the proposed project and hereby further determines that it is appropriate to wait until after the public hearing to determine the significance of the proposed project as further information may be presented at the hearing which will have an impact on the Town Board's decision of significance, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby states that the maximum amount proposed and preliminary project cost estimate, including contingencies, engineering, legal, and miscellaneous expenses, as more specifically set forth in the map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, for the Expansion Project is $13,228,000, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby determines it appropriate 3 to proceed to obtain authority for the expansion project as provided by Town Law §202-b jointly, on behalf of the Queensbury Consolidated Water District, Sherman Avenue Extension Water District, Peggy Ann Road Water District, Easy Street Water Extension, and Hiland Park Water District, hereinafter referred to as the "Effected Districts and/or Extensions," and further determines it appropriate to propose apportionment of the capital construction costs associated with the Expansion Project on an ad valorem basis for all Effected Districts and/or Extensions such that each District or Extension contributes or is taxed for the project according to the assessed value of property within the same from time to time, and that the operation and maintenance charges thereafter incurred annually, equally, and proportionately shared among the effected districts and/or extensions in a manner similar to the costs associated with the Expansion Project, and the amounts so apportioned shall be levied and collected in each district and/or extension as provided in Town Law §202 and §202-a, all in accordance with written agreements proposed to be entered into upon approval of the Expansion Project, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby determines it appropriate to proceed with a public hearing on the map, plan and report as amended June 17, 1994, which allocates the entire cost of the proposed Expansion Project against the effected Districts and/or Extensions and not provide for the assessment of any costs against the Village of Hudson Falls, since 1) if the Village should join with the Town on the Expansion Project, it will be allocated a reserved capacity of 1 million gallons or less and share in of the costs of the Expansion Project and operation and maintenance, as well as transmission costs, and accordingly reduce the amounts assessed against the lots or parcels within the various affected districts within the Town, and 2) the Expansion Project as sized and as planned according to the map, plan and report as amended June 17, 1994, is desired for purposes of the existing water district regardless of the involvement of the Village of Hudson Falls, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby, in general terms, identifies the location of the lands proposed to be acquired as part of the Expansion Project, as those currently owned by Warren County, being part of a parcel being tax map no. 32-1-26.1 consisting of .52 +/- acres, and located near a currently existing water storage tank and those lands owned by Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and located in the general vicinity of the existing Water Treatment Plant along Corinth Road, and consisting of three parcels and comprising approximately 36 +/- acres, and being portions of those parcels bearing tax map numbers 151-1-7.1 AND 4 148-1-2.1, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby calls for a public hearing to be held jointly on behalf of the effected Districts and/or Extensions on the map, plan, and report and said proposed Expansion Project outlined in the said map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, to be held at the Queensbury Activities Center, 531 Bay Road, Queensbury, Warren County, New York, on the 11th day of July, 1994 at 7:00 p.m., to consider the proposed improvements and land acquisition, more specifically set forth in the aforesaid map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, and to hear all persons interested in the subject matter thereof, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the notice of the said public hearing shall constitute this resolution, with a lead paragraph reading as follows: NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS TO THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES AND ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN PROPERTY IN CONNECTION THEREWITH EFFECTING ALL WATER DISTRICTS AND/OR EXTENSIONS IN THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as authorized and directed by the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury that a public hearing will be held by the Town Board on July 11th, 1994 at 7:00 P.M. at the Queensbury Activities Center, 531 Bay Road, Queensbury, New York, at which time all persons interested will be heard concerning proposed improvements consisting of an expansion to the Queensbury Consolidated Water District Water Treatment Plant, construction of additional water storage facility, and installation of a new transmission line, acquisition of certain land to accommodate the expansion of the Water Treatment Facility, and other appropriate or necessary improvements as described in a map, plan, and report dated February 1994 and amended June 17, 1994 by O'Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc., and on file for public review at the Town Clerk's Office located for review during normal business hours at the Town Office Building, 531 Bay Road, Queensbury, New York, PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the maximum amount proposed and preliminary project cost estimate including land acquisition, contingencies, engineering, legal and miscellaneous expenses is $13,228,000, and that the expense of such project and land acquisitions and other 5 costs are proposed to be apportioned among the Queensbury Consolidated Water District, Sherman Avenue Extension Water District, Peggy Ann Road Water District, Easy Street Extension Water District, and Hiland Park Water District, on an ad valorem basis and the expenses associated therewith will be assessed, levied, and collected in the same manner and at the same time as other Town charges, PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that additional information and/or details are set forth in the copy of the resolution provided with this Notice and set forth herein below, and that further information may be obtained by reviewing the map, plan, and report as amended June 17, 1994, on file at the Town Clerk's Office: (Copy of this resolution to be placed here) and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to arrange for publication and posting of the Notice as aforedescribed, in the manner prescribed in Town Law §193. Duly adopted this 20th day of June, 1994, by the following vote: AYES: Mrs. Pulver, Mrs. Monahan, Dr. Wiswall, Mr. Caimano, Mr. Champagne NOES: None ABSENT: None 6