OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Portland Town Supervisor Rich Lewis was commended by Chautauqua County Legislator John Penhollow for his efforts to be cognizant of taxpayers regarding water rates in the Town.

PORTLAND — The Water District 2 capital project in Portland continues to make progress, as a mild winter has allowed for construction to proceed in the past few months.

The project, pertaining to areas of Route 5, near Van Buren Point and the Greencrest community near Patterson Lane was approved by the Town Board last summer. The project includes the replacement of water lines that were originally installed in the 1970s, along with installing new water meters and meter pits. The area is one of the larger water districts in the Town of Portland.

“They are moving along on that project pretty well,” said Portland Town Supervisor Rich Lewis.

Water main replacements have been completely installed in Greencrest and at Van Buren Point. Work is near completion at the road crossing from the pump station at the Portland Water Tower to Parkview Lane, with the final water main replacement to be wrapped up at Parkview Lane in the coming days. The timing for meter pits to be installed is still unclear.

The project was planned prior to the pandemic shutdown, but was paused and went out for bid again a year ago. When the project last went out to bid, the price more than doubled, from $1.8 million to over $3.8 million. The project is overseen by CPL: Architecture-Engineering-Planning, formerly referred to as Clark-Patterson-Lee. Construction is handled by S. St. George Enterprises.

At its most recent meeting, the Town Board approved the payment of $457,541.28 to S. St. George Enterprises, listed as Pay Application #5, for the Water District 2 project. A budget modification was also approved by the Board pertaining to the Water District 2 project, with approximately $15,900 allocated to Municipal Solutions from contingency funding.

Also related to water related dealings in the Town of Portland, Lewis was commended by Chautauqua County Legislator John Penhollow for his efforts on the Board of the North Chautauqua County Water District and through dealings with Chadwick Bay Intermunicipal Water Works (CBI). Lewis is a Board member for the North Chautauqua County Water District alongside Penhollow, and also works as the Waste Water Treatment Supervisor for the Village of Brocton.

“(Lewis) has done a fantastic job on both CBI and North County Water, and all the Boards that he’s on, protecting and representing the taxpayers and ratepayers of the Town of Portland and the Village of Brocton,” Penhollow said. “He should be commended for that.”

Penhollow defined dealings with CBI as a “long, arduous, convoluted mess for a long period of time.” He stated that he believes progress is being made overall, but billing remains a major issue. With any billing issues, call (716) 792-1900.

The last remaining vacancy on the Zoning Board was filled at the recent Town Board meeting, as Dan Jones was appointed as a Town Zoning Board member. Jones has been a property owner in the Town since 2014 and a homeowner in the Town since 2019.

The Board also approved Town employees to conclude their workday by noon on April 8 without any loss of pay, in order to allow for safe travel home prior to the total solar eclipse. “I think our employees are great employees and I don’t want any of them to get hurt on the roads. If there’s all kinds of nonsense going on, I’d rather them be home,” Lewis said.

The Town Board also opened and later accepted a bid from Ken Becker, the Town Highway Superintendent, to lease the 6.7 acres of land located behind the Town Hall and Courthouse. The land was recently cleared of weeds and brush. Becker submitted the lone bid on the land, which he valued at $40 per acre for a total price of $268. Becker intends to plant corn on the land.