The Stafford Town Board voted 5-0 to accept the County Water Supply Agreement which will last 40 years and give Genesee County an open ended surcharge. You can expect your water rates to immediately go up from $0.60 cents to $1.20 per 1,000 gallons, according to Town Attorney Mark Boylan who helped create the agreement.
“There are a number of municipalities in the county that are having some issues with it,” says Boylan.
The Town of Batavia has not signed the agreement and continues to negotiate with several County Legislators. Supervisor Greg Post says he still has a good water agreement in place that will last the next 20 years that guarantees an unlimited supply of water at the current rate of $0.60 per 1,000 gallons.
The City of Batavia, and Pembroke have not signed the agreement as of last Monday either. The deadline to sign the new water agreement was December 31, 2017. Bethany and Darien are still mulling it over.
The towns of Alabama, Elba, LeRoy, Oakfield along with Pavilion have signed
“From the county’s perspective, it’s a sort of take it or leave it proposition,do you want the water? You better sign,”says Boylan.
The current county water supply agreement was created about 18 years ago with the introduction of a Smart Growth Plan.
Genesee County was one of the first to adopt a Smart Growth Plan which is intended to encourage the revitalization of villages and hamlet areas and protect agricultural resources while focusing on economic development opportunities in the most promising locations. It is also to encourage the revitalization of existing industrial areas, business districts and residential neighborhoods. Lastly, the Smart Growth Plan focuses on protecting farmland and the rural character of the countyside and maintain the viability of agriculture.
“It is to prevent sprawl, to conserve farm land and to avoid a house springing up wherever there is a water line,” says Boylan
The county currently has enough water to fulfill all the water obligations in the county right now.
“It’s just going forward they are going to have some issues,” says Boylan.
“Now there is a number of large dairy farms that are realizing that having treated water actually increases their milk production by 15 %, so they are wanting water, that’s a huge consumer. That is another issue that needs to be addressed.”
The new plan calls for a 2.4 million gallon per day system upgrade. The Genesee County Legislature has already approved an extended 40 year deal with the Monroe County Water Authority.
“A lot of the improvements they need to make are outside of Genesee County, its a volume issue,” says Boylan.
Councilman Don Mullen had concerns about the length of time there would be an open ended surcharge.
“I understand the need for raising the rate, it has almost been 20 years, just the simple fact that we are leaving the surcharge wide open for 40 years, that is bothersome to me.”
Boylan says the agreement has to be 40 years to obtain funding. All water agreements will run concurrently with the bonds.
Stafford and Bethany will be the largest recipients if the agreement goes through, according to Supervisor Robert Clement.
“We have potential water districts over in the southwest corner of the town that we can’t do because of lack of water and elevation problems, “says Clement.
“If this goes through, we are proposing to put in two water tanks on Bethany Center road to get enough water.”
Councilman Robert Pacer then made a motion to accept the new 40 year agreement and Councilman Panek gave it a second.
After the 5-0 vote, Councilman Mullen said, ” I just want to make a comment, I don’t agree with the language on the surcharge, but we don’t have a choice.”
“We share your concern,” said Councilman Ronald Panek.
“We have to do this for the people who have water and want to get water, it’s just the way it is, ” says Mullen.