Somers Proposing New Shenorock and Lincolndale Sewer District
The Somers Town Board is considering the creation of a sewer district for Lake Lincolndale and Lake Shenorock.
The Somers Sanitary Sewer District No. 2 proposal, which would cost $63 million, was discussed during a public hearing at the August 15 Town Board meeting at Somers Middle School.
Town Supervisor Rick Morrissey said last week, “We’ve been working on this process for quite some time.”
In 1998, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection provided funding to Westchester communities to protect the water quality of its Watershed, Morrissey noted.
Woodard & Curran Senior Principal Joe Barbagallo said his firm worked on the sewer study for the town for two years seeking to improve water quality in the Lake Lincolndale and Lake Shenorock areas.
In 1998, the DEP provided $68 million to Westchester communities to protect the Watershed, Barbagallo said. The town would be eligible to use $10 million from the DEP for the project. A change in the political climate in Westchester County government would allow the creation of sewers in the two Somers areas because County Executive George Latimer has expressed his support for a plan to transfer the waste the county treatment plant in Peekskill, he said. The plan would need to be approved by the county Board of Legislators.
The costs of the sewer project would include capital construction, buy-in to county sewer district for 10 years (which would cost between $170 and $184 annually) and annual operations and maintenance costs, Barbagallo said, adding the town would seek grants to seek to offset some of the cost. The town has already applied for a $3 million state grant, he noted.
Ken Kohlbrenner, project manager for Woodard & Curran, said the plan is to complete the project in three phases. The first phase, which would include 65 properties in Shenorock and Lincolndale, would cost between $10 and $13 million. The second phase, which would include parcels in Shenorock, would cost between $28.1 and $30.1 million. The third phase, which would include properties in Lincolndale, would cost between $21.1 and $22.1 million.
Kohlbrenner said the cost, for the average assessed home in Lincolndale and Shenorock would be $1,196 annually at full buildout. The plan is to have town take out a 30-year bond, Barbagallo said.
Resident Lisa Healy asked if the zoning of the Lincolndale and Shenorock would change after the sewers were installed and would additional homes be allowed to be constructed in the two areas. “There’s no change in zoning,” Barbagallo replied. All the homes that would potentially receive sewers are R-10, which allows for homes on quarter-acre lots, he added.
Resident Trish Labella asked why her home is not included in any phases of the sewer project. Barbagallo said the homes in the two communities that would receive sewers are on a small R-10 lots. “The key is the zoning,” Morrissey said. However, there is a potential for out-of-district properties to be hooked up to the sewers in the future, Barbagallo said.
In response to a question from resident Michael Ross, Barbagallo said the first phase of the sewer project could be completed by 2021.
The public hearings are scheduled to continue on September 5 and 12 at 7 p.m. at the Town House.
