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Village needs law before sewage flows

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KINDERHOOK – The project to connect several properties in the village to the Village of Valatie’s wastewater treatment plant is ahead of schedule. Project Manager Jim Dunham told the Village Board at the regular meeting April 9 that some of the hook-ups on individual properties would be ready by May 9.

Over 35 properties in the village will have lines connecting them to the plant, most of them along the main streets of the village. The majority of the work is paid for by state and federal grants, but the village will contribute about $230,000 and private donors have promised to contribute $70,000.

 

Valatie Mayor Diane Argyle said that having all the new users in Kinderhook on line will produce $25,000 a year in additional revenue for the system. She told her board at its meeting April 8 that there may be more units connecting to the plant once it’s up and running. Some of the buildings in Kinderhook that are listed as planning to connect to the plant are now vacant.

Mayor Argyle she also said the Valatie sewage processing plant is now operating at less than full capacity and the village hopes that more properties in the Village of Kinderhook, which shares a border with Valatie, will eventually want to connect to Valatie’s central sewer system.

Mr. Dunham told the Kinderhook Board that he was in contact with Mayor Argyle about Valatie’s sewer laws. He and Robert Fitzsimmons, the attorney for both villages, have been working on adapting the law to fit Kinderhook. “We’ve got to get moving and get it adopted,” he said of the law, since the construction project is moving faster than the scheduled June end date suggests.

Mr. Dunham said the Kinderhook Village Board needs to meet again to adopt the sewer law before its next scheduled meeting in early May, when the board is scheduled to discuss the bids to for a construction project on Village Hall roof.

Kinderhook Mayor Carol Weaver, who was participating in the meeting from Florida via an Internet connection, said that she had a copy of the law with her.

Construction, which will continue throughout the month, caused a shut-off of water on Albany Avenue last Friday. Mr. Dunham said he had contacted neighbors about the water being shut off and he also said that construction updates are posted on the village website every Monday, at www.villageofkinderhook.org.

Also at last week’s meeting the Village Board:

Passed the 2014-15 budget with a general fund budget of $1 million, a water fund budget of $104,350 and a Highway Department budget of $50,600. The money to be raised by taxes is $311,115 which is up from $305,235 from last year. The increase complies with the 2% cap on tax levy increases mandated by the state

Approved a local law allowing for alcohol to be served at some events outside on the village green approved by the village

Heard from Renee Shur, representing the Kinderhook Business and Professional Association, that the village Farmers Market has received a grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation for publicity. The farmers market starts May 3. Ms. Shur is also working on applications for a Food Truck day in the village June 26. She said they expect about eight food trucks to park in the village on that day.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 14 at 7 p.m.

To contact reporter Emilia Teasdale email eteasdale@columbiapaper.com

 

 

 

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