OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen
The Town of Hanover is hoping to receive bids in the coming weeks on a water line replacement project along Routes 5 and 20.
HANOVER — The Town of Hanover is awaiting the opening of bids regarding the costs for its proposed water and sewer system upgrades along Route 5 and Route 20.
After waiting for the go-ahead from the State Department of Transportation, in hopes of coordinating the upgrades with the impending lane reduction project of Routes 5 and 20, the Town is now ready for bids for the work to proceed.
Town Accountant Elmar Kiefer has been in contact with an engineer for the water line project and was given a target date of Monday to go out to bid. Town Supervisor Louis Pelletter also said the engineers for the water line project are hopeful to receive bids within the next week or so.
“Let’s see where the numbers come in,” Kiefer said. “… I have a feeling that it is going to come in a little bit higher than what we originally did. When we did this whole project, I set things up so that this project would pay for itself and we wouldn’t have to raise water rates because of this project. I want to hold true to that, but the longer we draw it out, the higher these costs are going.”
Kiefer said if the costs are much higher than the Town planned for, it will reevaluate.
“Let’s get it out there and find out,” Kiefer said. “… This project has taken forever.”
The Town also approved the Engineering Report from Nussbaumer and Clarke regarding the Hanover Sewer System capacity. The study was funded through grant funding. A consulting agreement between the Town and Jody Faulkner of J.F. Grant Consulting Services was also approved to continue at a negotiated hourly rate as the Sewer Line project proceeds.
But still, the Town’s water and sewer needs are not just along Routes 5 and 20. The past few weeks have certainly not been smooth for the Town of Hanover Water and Sewer Department workers.
In late June, a fire started at the plant when one of the control boards combusted. The plant was shut down momentarily because of the fire. Quotes to replace the damaged control board are being sought.
But that’s not all.
Within the first week of July, two separate water main breaks occurred in the Town near Sunset Bay. An 8-inch water line broke on Allegany Road in the early hours of the morning of Sunday, July 7. An alarm was triggered because of the dropping water pressure, which alerted the crew of the break at approximately 5 a.m., with the crew fixing the issue by 9 a.m. Then, the following morning, another break occurred in Sunset Bay, which was fixed by that afternoon.
“Kudos to the Water Department for getting that taken care of and saving us a lot of money on a Sunday. If we didn’t spend the money to put those alarm systems in, we might’ve been in trouble,” Deputy Supervisor Bernie Feldmann said.
The Town is also seeking to establish a full-time groundskeeper position to address needs around the Town, including cemetery maintenance for the cemeteries the Town assists with maintenance. The Town hopes that by establishing a full-time position — rather than a part-time seasonal worker and substantial donations to each cemetery — the needs for each cemetery will greatly decrease and other work around the Town can also be addressed. The Town Board hopes to discuss a proposal for the creation of the position in the coming weeks.