March 2016 Newsletter: Sewer Project Information Update

Following the November referendum, which approved going forward with sewers, the next step was to secure approval for the formation of a sewer district from the New York State Office of the Comptroller (OSC).

This application required the compilation of a large set of documentation which was prepared by Delaware Engineering with assistance from the Town Clerk. This was submitted a week or so after the referendum. As the OSC review progressed, there were many questions and requests for additional documentation that our team has responded to. On Feb 10th we were advised that the OSC had formally approved the district.

The Town of Ballston then scheduled a special meeting on Feb 16th at which the Town passed their final order forming the sewer district and a second resolution authorizing its bonding. Finally, on Feb 29th the application for funding from the State Clean Water Revolving Fund (CWRF) was submitted. We now have to wait for a final determination from the CWRF of our bond status which we expect will take several months.

This bond application is critically important because we hope to obtain a 50% subsidized interest rate. On a related note, BLIA has been nominated by the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County for one of the annual awards in the “Endurance” category. BLIA and the other three nominees were selected for “exhibiting dedication to excellence necessary to achieve long term success as well as tenacity and perseverance.” BLIA was nominated for our over 20 years of water test data collection, and the door to door campaign to educate residents of the importance of sewers which led to the successful referendum approval. Regardless of the outcome of the voting, this is great recognition of the hard work of many dedicated people!