To the Editor:
I am writing to present the facts that contrast with the misinformation presented in your printed opinion. Oneonta Town Board members were elected to represent the interests of their constituents and this water project is, in fact, an example of very intelligently planned growth which will benefit our entire area. An experienced, reputable firm, with an impeccable reputation, Lamont Engineers, was engaged by the Town to assist in planning this endeavor. The completion of this project not only ensures a consistent, clean water supply, which is a major public health issue, but also allows for the safe expansion of business, a benefit to all in the area and a major economic advantage to this region.
The state Department of Health has reported multiple instances of water contamination over the years that threaten the health of our Southside residents as well as the health of the consumers utilizing local restaurants and businesses. Almost all of the current public water systems fail to provide the required chlorine contact time. There have been, as of May 2014, 79 coliform sampling violations, 18 chemical sampling violations and 84 operational violations, and several public water systems along the Southside corridor have been required to install disinfection due to multiple positive bacteria results. In 1999, chemical contamination, including benzene, 1,2,4 trimethylbenzene and toluene were detected in the mobile home park water supply after a kerosene spill. All but two of the 25 public water systems have had violations since 2000. There have been 16 boil-water orders for the public water systems, totaling over 390 days, since 2002. Multiple wells were also flooded during the 2006 event.
Because of these issues, the Town began its consideration of this project in 2008, when the Courtyard Marriott sent an application for a new well to the DOH, which requested that the Town conduct a study regarding the provision of municipal water to the Southside area. Fortin Park was chosen for the well site because the Town already owns the land, it is not floodable, and the perimeter around the well can be controlled to prevent contamination. Oneonta Town Supervisor Bob Wood has worked tirelessly over the last several years to secure funding to a total of $3.25 million in grants, as well as $150,000 in pending grant money. The commercial district will receive $2.4 million in loans with an interest rate of 3.5 percent over 30 years and the residents’ portion will consist of $2.4 million at 0 percent (interest free) over 30 years, all of which will considerably reduce the overall cost of the project, saving millions of dollars for both businesses and residents.
The proposal for providing municipal water services to Davenport is not a contingency upon which the success of this project depends. The cost of water for our town residents, if supplied by the proposed city project, would be markedly higher; 2.43/1000 gallons (500,000 gal/day x 365 days/yr), the cost of which would be $443,475. The exact same volume over the course of 365 days would be $109,012 if supplied by the Town via the Fortin Park well. The financial advantage to the Town residents of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year is very clear.
It is illogical to suggest that the Town proposal will “assuredly increase dependency on fossil fuels” while city support of the exact same model would not, given that the end result would be the same, just with higher costs to the town residents. The purpose of this project is to preserve the trend of positive growth in the region while ensuring the safety of the existing residential population, hardly a “crazy quilt approach.” The value of properties within the district will likely be increased with a safe and predictable water supply, a major health benefit to residents and those who visit our area. To allow politically driven misinformation to distort these facts is a gross disservice to the residents of the Town of Oneonta.
PATRICIA JACOB
Member, Oneonta
Town Board