By John Addyman
waynecountylife.com
SAVANNAH (Sep 13 10) – The state Department of Health has against cited the Savannah municipal water system for problems, this time adding a new violation to the list.
But in citing the town, Engineer Hyland Hartsough also offered some assistance which may help Savannah get the funds needed to repair and upgrade the system.
. Hartsough met with Supervisor Ken Lauderdale and Town Clerk Julie Carey on Aug. 10 and followed up with a letter Aug. 18 which detailed the violations. The town has known about the violation for failing to filter the water coming into the system and for inadequate purification measures. The water project planned will add a secondary purification system and provide proper filtration. But Hartsough, in his inspection, found that water mains did not maintain the required minimum 20 pounds-per-square-inch water pressure – his tests showed areas where the pressure was as low as six psi, and he cited the town.
The town’s upgrades and water system improvements, including new water lines, would fix all those problems – but the funding from USDA Rural Development was tied to stimulus money and dried up before funds could be set aside for Savannah’s project.
“Our situation is now more serious,” Lauderdale said at tonight’s town board meeting.
But he added that Hartsough’s department assigns “hardship” points for systems in need of repair, and Savannah has been racking them up. Those points move the town up on lists for funding, and Hartsough referred Lauderdale to the state’s Environmental Facilities Corporation, which offers a variety of funding mechanisms.
Lauderdale said the town is pursuing funding through Environmental Facilities Corporation and also through the USDA again, now that a new funding year has begun, and he felt the town would be looking for a Small Cities grant as well.
The town board also discussed:
Verizon Cell Tower – The new tower, on town property, was to have county 911 equipment on top of it, but that hasn’t happened. “I will send a letter to SBA, which owns the tower,” Lauderdale said. “The lease requires the county equipment to be on the tower: our expectation is that they’ll satisfy the requirements of the lease.”
Street Lights – The Chamber of Commerce will use a grant to put five new street lights on the west side of North Main Street. Lauderdale said that one day, the lights may be converted to solar power.
Property Clean-up – Two properties, one on Clinton Street Extension and the other on Rt. 89 across from the Audubon Center, have been cleaned up and are now being properly maintained.
Recycling – “I’d be really surprised, a year from now, if the county is in the roadside pick-up recycling business,” said Lauderdale, announcing two meetings coming up at the county level – an Economic Development Committee meeting on Sep. 21, and a special board of supervisors meeting on Sep. 28, where the matter would be voted on.
Lauderdale said the commercial and industrial properties in the county pay taxes that are used for the recycling program, but do not get to use it. “They (the supervisors) have come to a conclusion as a group that it’s more viable to have private haulers do the recycling.”
Fred Baker asked who takes care of the recycling program trucks, which are in such bad condition that the program has been put on hold in the eastern part of the county. Lauderdale said the Western Finger Lakes Solid Waste Management Authority contracts maintenance out. He added the trucks are old and heavily used. “The fact that they wore out shouldn’t be a surprise,” he said.
BOOKS, HIKES AND BIKES – Carol Spellman announced awards for kids who excelled in the summer program of reading, walking and riding bikes – Chance Rice-Porter, Devon Goodman, Jordan Black and Roger Rice-Porter. She also said a 5.3 “bicycle poker run” drew 21 kids in 93-degree heat and was a hit, with community volunteers making it a special day.
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