By THANE GRAUEL
Property owners in Scotts Corners on Thursday Oct. 28 voted to create the Scotts Corners Water District. The vote was 20 in favor and 15 against.
A total of 35 of the 36 eligible stakeholders cast votes in the special election, which was held at the Town House from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“We’re very pleased with the outcome,” Town Supervisor Kevin Hansan said this week..
The question, a straight up-or-down vote, read:
“SHALL the resolution adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Pound Ridge, Westchester County, New York, on July 2, 2024, approving the establishment of the Scotts Corners Water District in said Town (“Water District”) and the improvements proposed for the Water District to connect to the water supply owned and operated by the Aquarion Water Company, at an estimated maximum cost of $11,129,000, with $7,789,000 expected to be paid with a grant from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation and $3,340,000 expected to be issued of general obligation bonds and/or notes of said Town, to be payable by benefit assessments upon the properties in said Water District, BE APPROVED?”
Scotts Corners, Pound Ridge’s business district, has faced water troubles for years from septic systems and a fuel leak from a service station. A more recent problem, the discovery of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals,” in the water made the district’s creation more urgent, at least to some.
Don’t look for shovels in the ground anytime soon. The state Comptroller’s Office must first approve of the formation of any new taxing district, and that could take as long as a year, Hansan said.
In the meantime, he said, obtaining a $7.5 million state grant for the project through a new emerging contaminants program is a priority. The grant application was submitted in July.
“We’re very happy with the outcome of the vote. It’s a big step forward. We’re going to support this all the way through and it’s going to be wonderful for the town.” – Mark Gjelaj
“Without the grant, there is no water district,” Hansan said. The town also will pursue “a patchwork of other grants, federal and state.”
In the meantime, he said, the town will work on lining up materials and preparing bid documents.
One of the criticisms in the walkup to the vote was that the PFAS issue is relatively new and some people felt the process was rushed.
“We tried to get as close to the head of the line as possible,” Hansan said. “If it felt rushed, it was rushed. With the deadline to get the grant application in we didn’t want to wait another year before applying. PFAS is being found all over the state.”
Cost has also been a concern, with some opponents arguing that the water system improvements not funded by grants could place a big additional financial burden on property owners in the water district.
Mark Gjelaj owns the Barnwell Center, which has about 17,000 square feet with 15 stores as well as office and residential space. He was a “yes” vote.
“Pound Ridge is a crossroads,” he said. “There have always been issues with water and the contaminants, and there’s been a lot of misinformation about PFAS and how easy it is to resolve.”
“I’ve been going through this process for two years,” he also said. “Iit’s very expensive and time-consuming,” he said. “It’s important for the town to understand the most important piece of this is bringing clean water to the townspeople.”
“We’re very happy with the outcome of the vote,” he said. “It’s a big step forward. We’re going to support this all the way through and it’s going to be wonderful for the town.”