Amsterdam officials reach water deal
City service to boost town developmentBy MIKE ZUMMO, The Leader-Herald
AMSTERDAM - Two years of negotiating a water contract finally has resulted in an agreement between the city and the town.
The city's Common Council last week unanimously approved a 40-year contract that promises 500,000 gallons of water and sewer service per day to the town in exchange for a portion of the town's sales tax revenues. The city already has provided the town with about 98,000 gallons per day.
The town agreed to the water contract at its May 20 meeting.
"I don't think anyone wants to go through what we just went through," Town Supervisor Thomas DiMezza said last week. "It was very contentious at times, and I think the city and the town, after a number of years, have to realize that the town needs the city and the city needs the town."
The contract stipulates the town will pay the city 20 percent of the sales-tax revenue it generates beyond $1.3 million, which is the most tax the town has generated in the past three years. Town officials have expressed a need for more water to help fuel commercial development along Route 30 north of the city.
"Any additional revenue generated, we take a percentage of in the way of sales-tax generation," Mayor Ann Thane said. "If the town doesn't make that revenue, they don't experience any pain in having to give anything. If they do, we take just a percentage of that."
The biggest sticking point, DiMezza said, was the money situation. He said the city was looking for more money from the towns and also looking from extra sales tax from the county.
"The way the deal is structured, the town benefits from development, and we also benefit from development [in the town]," Thane said.
The town will own all of the water infrastructure within the town limits with the exception of the main transmission line, which is owned and maintained by the city and runs from the Glen Wild reservoir in Saratoga County. The town also will pay for any water improvements that are "expressly necessary" for the service of the town.
"It takes into consideration us extending water districts within the town, so that's something where we won't have to go back to the drawing board," DiMezza said. "As long as we're extending within the town, we're all set."
The town is in a constant state of growth, especially on the Route 30 corridor, which is under development in several areas.
The project along Route 30 includes putting in new municipal water and sewer lines.
"The big thing is that developers look for is water and sewer," DiMezza said. "They don't want to be building in a place where there's no water and sewer because it becomes too costly to put their own water and sewer in to make it large enough to hold waste coming out of the buildings."
Thane said city officials also are negotiating a water deal with the town of Florida and hope a similar accord can be worked out.
Mike Zummo covers Montgomery County news. He can be reached by e-mail at montco@leaderherald.com
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Knickman
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06-08-09 8:17 PM
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With the recent fire and resulting claims of low pressure in the system, I wonder if the city has enough capacity from its pipeline coming from Glen Wild to serve all of these added areas, and any others that may be added?
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