The Village and Town of Macedon have once again squared off in public opinion and court on the issue of sewage.
The Village of Macedon built a sewer plant on the east side of the Village on Route 31, back in 1973. With a growing Town, including industrial and business interests, use of the plant grew over the decades, to the point where the town became the principal user of the facility.
In 1989, the Town entered into a contract with the Village to expand the capacity of the sewer treatment plant, with the Town funding the majority of the expansion, via a bond for approximately $2.2 million dollars, to be paid back by all Town taxpayers and sewer users. The only legal way for the Town to invest in the Village plant was for the Town to be granted a vested share of ownership in the facility. The State Comptroller and the Bond Attorney had documented the legal reasons for this.
On Dec. 15, 2012, the bond was paid in full and the intermunicipal agreement between the Town and Village expired. This is where the Village claims the sewer issue gets sticky. The Village claimed that, once the 1989 contract expired, the Town’s vested interest would become null and void. The Town Board felt they, according to the language in the 1989 contract, now owned a portion of the plant.
Lawyers on both sides squared off and legal shots were taken from both sides, finally ending up in a suit in County Court, being heard by Judge Daniel Barrett.
To date, both sides have accumulated close to a quarter of a million dollars in legal fees, firing broadsides in court and the public court of public opinion.
Both sides blame the other for the lack of progress, that at times seemed to be near agreement, only to break down on language and percentages.
For its part, the Town Supervisor, Bill Hammond, claims that since the 1989 contract, and due to the fact the Town is an equal user of the facility, they (the Town) should have at least an equal voice in the plant operation and any upgrades and expansion. “We (the Town) have paid into it. We paid the bond over the 20 year period to receive a vested interest in the plant. You don’t pay off a mortgage just to lose your house.” He added the Village can run the plant, but the Town must have a say in the operation.
Village Mayor, Marie Cramer, blames the Town for all the confusion and rhetoric and has moved forward with a plan to have a Rochester company test and perhaps install a new, unproven technology at the plant that promises to, not only handle the capacity needs, but meet government standards for future operation.
The new technology, developed by ClearCove, says it would result in a cleaner, safer disposal of waste water, but could end in one of the final waste products being used to produce methane gas. Initially, the goal would be to create enough electricity to run the plant and in the future tap into the electric grid, and sell power, adding to the Village coffers.
The ClearCove technology is currently being tested in several sites at plants throughout New York. The Village of Macedon has contracted with the Company to run a pilot test at the Village Plant beginning October 14th and running for anywhere from three to seven days. The Village has agreed to pay the Company $5,000 to run the tests.
In the ‘chess game’ being played by both sides, the Town claims the Village is violating a Judge’s orders to keep the status quo and not proceed with any ‘capital improvements’ at the plant until a decision on who owns what and how much is settled.
At issue is the application by the Village for millions of dollars in grants to upgrade the plant, with the hope of not only participating in a public/private partnership with ClearCove, but becoming a “Hub” plant for taking in waste streams from outside sources, such as food industrial sites and other municipal plants.
Town Engineer Scott Allen, stated that the ClearCove solution sounds good on paper, but the technology, beyond a few tests, has not shown how, or if, it can work in the long run. “They are throwing shit against the wall to see if something sticks,” he said of the Village and ClearCove. The Macedon Town Board has taken the position that they do not want to undertake any capital improvements until the power sharing agreement is finalized.
One of the concerns of the Town Board is that to become a “hub” for taking in waste products from other facilities, the Village has not even done a study to see if they will have enough customers to justify the process. In addition, there were concerns over truck traffic to and from the site.
Hammond pointed out that if the Village actually wants to use the facility as a revenue source by creating electricity from methane…“They had better find out ahead of time the cost to runs lines into the electrical grid,” said the Town Supervisor.
With well over $7,000,000+ dollars in the mix, a portion of which would be subsidized by sewer plant users, the stakes are high for all Macedon residents.
The Macedon Town Board feels Mayor Cramer is stalling a formal agreement until she feels all the capital improvements are made that she and her Board feel are necessary. This would include the ClearCove project. Following the signing, both Boards would have to approve spending on any capital improvements.
Meanwhile, the amount of current and future capacity at the plant varies from 25% to 50%, even among Village Trustees.
Village Trustee, Dave Sliney, said he opposed the payment of $5,000 to ClearCove to test their process at the Macedon Village plant. “Let them come in and try it themselves. It would be to their benefit if the pilot works.’ Show us if it works. I’m from Missouri on this thing You have to prove it to me. There are a lot of promises by ClearCove.”
Sliney was not alone on the Village Board concerning paying ClearCove to test the unproven technology. Dave Kelly Sr., said he too had his doubts concerning paying the company the $5000, but agreed in the end to the test.
Mayor Cramer said that ClearCove already has the green light to proceed with a full installation at the plant in Bath, New York.
The Village Board showed up at Thursday’s (10/9) Town Board meeting. Missing were Mayor Cramer and the Village Attorney they are using in the sewer arguments.
Upon arriving at the meeting and requesting a one-on-one talk between the Boards, Town Attorney, Tony Villani left.
At that point the Village Trustees handed out their latest version of the 9 page agreement and asked the Town Board for their approval and signing.
Hammond asked and was told that both Cramer and the Village Engineer working on the sewer plant project, Dan Cornwell, had made changes to the agreement and the Village felt it was ready to be signed.
Town Supervisor, Bill Hammond said the agreement would again be reviewed, but the Town was in no position to sign anything until their attorney had reviewed the document.
“This is the same old crap,” said Hammond following the meeting.
According to Village trustee Dave Kelly, it is the Macedon Town Board who is attempting to wrestle control of the facility from the Village. He said the Town is the culprit who keeps adding words to the agreement. “They shouldn’t try and rewrite it,” he added.
“The two boards seem to get along when they get together collectively, but the Town’s “egos” get in the way when we are separate”, said the Mayor.
Hammond added that the sewer district, overall, is too small and cannot afford the large amount of money that the village wants to depend.
The two sides are scheduled to meet in County Court, for the Court to hear motions in the case on October 22.