By JOAN JOSEPHSON

OBSERVER Staff Writer

CASSADAGA - The Putnam Road water line replacement project will get under way shortly.

The Cassadaga Village Board recently approved the low bid of $138,116 received on the project from L.W. Parker of Dewittville.

Calling this bid a pretty good price, Sterns and Wheler engineer Robert Armstrong said he hoped it was an indication of what the future bids on the village's water development project will be. He went on to say the Putnam Road water line replacement could get started in October.

Mayor LeeAnn Lazarony said Rural Development, the funding agency for the project and the Chautauqua County Health Department have both approved it.

The other portions of the village's $3 million water development project include drilling a new water well, installing new water transmission lines along Maple Avenue and up High Street to a new water storage tank.

A survey of Maple Avenue and High Street for the new water line from the yet to be drilled new water well to a new storage tank has been completed, Armstrong said.

When asked how long it would take to have the designs for the new water line completed, he said they could be prepared by mid-October.

But, noting that because of the length of the bidding process, it would be winter before the line and tank installation could be undertaken, he advised the board to shy away from this.

"It is difficult to work under winter conditions and insure that the work is done correctly," the engineer said.

On the other hand, he said, drilling a new water well on property the village purchased for this purpose behind Cassadaga Elementary School could be done this fall.

This portion of the project involves specialized work, and could be done apart from the water line and storage tank, the engineer said.

"It could be ready to go within a couple of weeks, once approval was received from Rural Development and the county's health department," he said.

This information pleased the board members as did the report on the well's access road from Cassadaga Public Works Superintendent Tom Fetter.

He wasn't present at the meeting, but he did submit an estimate for the access road to the well site behind the school.

According to these figures, it would cost the village $20,000 for materials with the road project's work covered through shared services with neighboring communities.

Discussion of the proposed increased water rates needed to pay off the $3 million Rural Development loan will take place at Wednesday's village board meeting.