Pomfret OKs 1 water line project, delays another
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Pomfret Town Hall was packed this month for a pair of hearings on construction projects in two water districts.
The Pomfret Town Board subsequently approved a new line for the Berry Road water district, but held off on another water line project set for Chestnut Road.
Up to 30 people jammed the town board meeting room -- still on Day Street as the town prepares a new hall on Chestnut Road. The audience peppered town officials with numerous questions about the projects.
One man stated, "I still think the village (of Fredonia) is going to make off on this." He complained that water rates are already high and the projects will probably make them higher.
However, he later acknowledged of the Berry Road project, "I know it's gotta be done." A Berry Road resident complained her water is constantly off-color and she has to filter it -- the water stains the filter brown and fills it with sediment. A crowd member muttered, "She can't change it?"
Chestnut Road residents made it clear they do not think the same about the necessity of the project for their district.
All who attended from the road spoke out against the project. They demanded to know if their water is unsafe or has unsatisfactory pressure -- it does not appear so to them.
"There's pressure galore," a Chestnut Road resident said. "No dirty water, no brown water. Who decided this?"
Town Supervisor Dan Pacos said it was a Pomfret Town Board decision. He defended the project as a way to ensure that safe, clean water is delivered to town residents in the future.
One woman seemingly tried to link the project with the Pomfret government's upcoming move to the street. Pacos denied any link, stating that preliminary work on the project was well underway before the town hall move was approved.
Although Pacos estimated the Chestnut Road project price at $960,000, the town supervisor said he had no idea how much it will really cost until construction bids are approved. Similarly, he didn't know how much the project could drive up Chestnut Road residents' taxes. Pacos did say a charge for the project will appear on town tax bills, not water bills.
"What we're hearing you say is you don't really want us to update your infrastructure," town board member EvaDawn Bashaw said. "We're trying to be responsible and do the right thing, and now we hear you don't want it."
"What is the cost?" an audience member shot back.
"It's not the quality of water we're worried about. It's the infrastructure," Bashaw continued. The current line on Chestnut Road is about 50 years old.
Audience members noted that Fredonia uses lines more than twice as old. Pomfret officials responded that they are trying to avoid that situation. The village had a catastrophic leak on one of those old lines in January, near the corner of Temple Street and Central Avenue, and is planning replacement of water infrastructure in the area.
Jude Gardner, town highway supervisor, commented that the Chestnut Road line is not in terrible condition, "but it's getting close."
Bashaw asked the audience if anyone there backed the project on the road. All said they did not. One man claimed he did a poll up and down the road, and only two residents responded in favor of the project.
Pacos decided that the hearing should be adjourned until 5:45 p.m. on Sept. 9, just prior to the Pomfret Town Board's next meeting. Board members agreed.
Pacos wants representatives of project engineers CPL to attend the next hearing, in order to further explain the planned work.
With the public hearing adjourned until next month, the board could not vote to move the Chestnut Road project ahead. However, it approved a State Environmental Quality Review negative declaration for the Berry Road project, and a separate resolution "authorizing increase and improvement of facilities" for the water district.
The Berry Road project will also serve residents of Martha's Vineyard and Johnson Street. It will install a new main pipe along the southern portion of Berry Road up to the railroad tracks, which act as a dead-end for water lines in the area. A separate line services the portion of Berry Road from the tracks north to Route 5.