https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Ballston-sewer-vote-adds-to-development-debate-12836043.php
Ballston's Route 50 $15.8 sewer plan facing opposition
Residents will be required to hook up to the system
Updated 7:47 pm, Sunday, April 15, 2018
BALLSTON - Susan Robbiano has lived happily in the quiet hamlet of Burnt Hills for 27 years. But in the last few months, her feelings towards the community have changed from contentment to anger.
That's because leaders of the town have proposed a $15.8 million sewer line to run along Route 50 that will cost residents between $3,500 to $10,000 for a required hookup to the system.
Robbiano and other residents in the southern end of town are urging a "no" vote on a referendum being held Wednesday.
"About 600 residents — and a handful of businesses — should not be forced to pay for the $16 million, Route 50 sewer project when it's unnecessary to start with," said Steve Walsh, who lives in Burnt Hills and owns several rental properties.
Burnt Hill residents will have to pay $926 a year in town and county sewer fees. Residents will also have to pay a one-time fee to hook into the line — a cost estimated of between $3,500 to $10,000 — depending on how far the house is from the line.
Additionally, if a home or business dips below the sewer level, the residents will have to pay another $3,500 for a grinder pump.
If a resident refuses to pay for the hookup, the draft sewer law indicates that homeowners could be fined $500 to $1,000 per day — or face jail time — until they hook in.
Some town officials counter that the new sewer line is necessary to spur economic development along Route 50 and ensure that nearby Alplaus Creek does not become polluted by failed septic systems.
The town recently won a court case brought by the state Agriculture and Markets Department that sought to block a water line extension on Goode Street which would allow the development of a small upscale housing development in a state-designated Agricultural District.
Three members of the town board, Supervisor Tim Szczepaniak and board members William Goslin and Kelly Stewart support the Route 50 sewer line. The same three town officials also pushed to extend water into the town's Agricultural District.
"All I can tell you is we did our due diligence," Szczepaniak told the Times Union last week. "We were transparent, we had five sewer forums. It's just a very small group of folks who don't want it."
Szczepaniak said those who can't afford to pay for the sewer hookup will be given more time, up to 10 or 15 years, to come up with the money.
Those who opposed the Goode Street water extension have criticized town board member Kelly Stewart, saying she has a conflict of interest on the board because her husband runs a local construction company. She told the Times Union last year that her family had nothing to gain from the water extension because they had no plans to build in that area.
Others have questioned the hiring of a public relations firm earlier in the year to help push a "yes" vote on the sewer project. Residents in the proposed sewer district have received mailers about the project.
Firm owner Megan Baker of Baker Public Relations told the Times Union in an email last week that her firm has promoted the town's other work, such as the recent purchase of Fireman's Grove.
"Our work as related to the ... vote has been to educate the public about the four informational sessions held by the Town of Ballston, the joint public forum with Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School and the project itself," Baker wrote. "My agency has not produced mailers pertaining to the vote."
Charlie Morris, owner of the Morris Ford dealership on Route 50, says he is for the project because "it will be good for the town."
"The way I look at it is it is good for economic development," he said "It will help the hamlet of Burnt Hills, the business and the homes."
He also said he is asking businesses to contribute to a fund that would help people pay for the hookup. So far, he has raised $15,000, enough to help two homeowners with the hookup cost.
"We will be raising more," said Morris, who has 21 acres of developable land in the district.
"I've been here for 46 years," Morris said. "If I said I would not develop it, that would be a lie. The debate is heated, but you can't say all developers are bad."
But Walsh points to the new CVS, a new Stewart's and an Saratoga Schenectady Gastroenterology Associates, all businesses that moved in and installed septic systems.
The town has also argued it's environmentally sound to have sewer requirements and have emphasized that the creek is at risk of becoming polluted with sewage.
The town's latest water readings, measured by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, shows no contamination in the Alplaus. Szczepaniak said that it is because it hasn't rained a lot lately.
Walsh as well as other residents say their septics are fine, many are new, and that the town is trying to scare voters by continually calling all septics "failing." Walsh said he also expects his property values to decrease because of $926 increase in his annual town and county bills.
"If this goes through, my taxes will go up 400 percent," said Walsh, who owns Upstate Detailing Inc."I will go from $11,500 a year to $44,o00 a year. It's unbearable. That is why we have to stop this."
Town board member Chuck Curtiss agrees that the cost is too high.
"It's a big concern," said Curtiss, who voted against establishing a sewer district. "Many residents can't bear the cost. Only 1 percents of septics are failing. It would be perfect if it was zero percent. But to put this level of hardship on residents is not right. And they still haven't shown me any proof that it is good for economic development. Out of respect for our residents, we should find a more affordable solution."
