Clarksburg Given Deadline to Close Senior Center Well
 Selectman Carl McKinney, Vice Chairwoman Lily Kuzia and Town Administrator Michael Canales discuss the well situation. |
The town followed the state guidelines, including the state Department of Environmental Protection's wetlands regulations, for the 6-year-old Senior Center. But the state Division of Solid Waste was somehow left off the contact list when siting for the artesian well was done.
"Somebody dropped the ball," said board Vice Chairwoman Lily Kuzia at the Selectmen's meeting Wednesday. Chairwoman Debra LeFave was absent.
The oversight was discovered recently when DEP representatives were reviewing plans for the proposed senior housing development behind the center. The landfill is in the far right corner of the 88-acre town-owned parcel but lies above the grade for both the center and the housing project.
"The good news is that they like the location where we're going to put the well [for the senior housing] and they're very supportive of our application, which has been received by HUD," said Town Administrator Michael Canales. "The bad news is the Senior Center well should never have been put there."
The location of the landfill should've triggered review by the Solid Waste Division and expanded testing beyond the regular coliform bacteria monitoring. The town's testing service, Stantec, was called in to do further tests for other elements, including for volatile organic compounds that may be toxic.
The solution is to hook the center into the new senior-housing well, which will be designated a public water supply and require higher standards of testing. The housing project is in the running for a U.S. Housing and Urban Development grant.
Kuzia and Selectman Carl McKinney approved Wednesday night expenditures of $2,600 to pay for the extra and expedited well testing by Stantec. Canales said there were some leftover funds in certain accounts and the reserve that could be tapped for the money, and for the two extra elections this fiscal year.
The town budgets about $1,000 for election costs but was caught short by the unexpected Senate primary and election this Tuesday, Jan. 19, to fill the seat of the late Edward Kennedy.
In other business, the board took under consideration a request by John Tietgens to install an 8-foot wide monument across four lots in Clarksburg Cemetery. The grave marker would include space on each side for urns. Tietgens owns 16 lots in the cemetery.
McKinney, as trustee of lands in tax title, suggested retaining the garage at 430 N. Houghton St. after the house is demolished. The structure is in good condition, he said, and should be covered with a tarp to prevent further deterioration. He estimated having the garage on the property would increase its value significantly once the town takes possession for auction.
Canales reported that plans have been approved for removal of the Briggsville dam. The state's bridge program had reviewed the effect of the removal on the Cross Road bridge to River Road and signed off on the plans.
"We're all clear. Everybody's in agreement that this is the way it should be done," said Canales.
The state is expected to certify the town's budget and revenue by the next meeting, which will allow the next billing for property taxes. A special meeting last week rectified an accounting error necessary before the Department of Revenue could begin the certification process.
