March 2017 Newsletter: Sewer Project Update
The Ballston Lake sewer project is progressing.
In November – December the committee created an RFP (Request for Proposals) for the next phase of the project which is “Detailed Engineering Design”. We received bids from 5 vendors, the top 3 made formal presentations, and the committee made a recommendation to the Town Board. On February 14th the Town approved awarding the contract (resolution 17-32), pending attorney approval, to Adirondack Mountain Engineering (AME). Adirondack was the low bidder and many of the people involved are local residents. AME is located on Ushers Road and Ed Hernandez, the owner and project leader, lives in the sewer district.
Other participants are Travis Mitchell from Environmental Design Partnership, Al Longtin of Longtin Engineering, and Kurt Bedore of KB Engineering. The Detail Engineering Design Phase will take approximately one year. It will start from the preliminary design, surveying of the entire route will be done, and each residence will be evaluated for location of the sewer connection. Archeology studies are required to make sure no sensitive areas are damaged. Many test borings will be made to detail the underlying soil/rock conditions so that construction companies that bid on the contract will understand the precise conditions and be able to provide accurate proposals. The end deliverable will be a complete set of construction prints that will then be used to bid out the Construction phase of the project.
Most of the digging will be done along public streets. However, there are many private lanes and other situations where the lines will need to cross private property. We expect that we will need around 50 easements to support this. Rather than pay AME to do all of this work we hope to use BLIA volunteers to assist in facilitating this process. Once the details of the final design are complete the required legal documents will be drafted. We will send out information to all involved and plan to conduct information sessions at either the Town Hall or the firehouse where details of the process can be explained to residents and any questions answered. We will provide a notary so residents who are ready can complete the easement process immediately. For others who might wish to discuss with an attorney we will schedule a second follow up meeting a couple weeks later. For residents who have not participated in either session we will then need to follow up.
Other great news, the Town in early February officially closed on the $2.5 M grant with the Environmental Facilities Corporation. This money is now available to reimburse the Town for funds that have been spent to date and to fund the current phase of the project.
