EARLVILLE – The Village of Earlville Water System Improvement Project has broken ground as Vacri Construction Corporation of Binghamton has been busy delivering pipe to the Village for the project. The draft schedule includes work at the tank site and along Route 12B in the first weeks of the project’s undertaking.
During construction, residents’ driveways will be impacted by the project; however the construction crew will be able to provide access for residents to their properties.
With the project underway, the clock has started ticking for the repayment of the bond. The project will conclude in 300 days and the first bond payment will be due approximately one year later. “Right off the bat we have had a difficult decision to make, but one that will give us financial security going forward,” said Mayor Mark Doeberl. “Because our water project is nearly right on schedule we will be having a Bond payment in the 2011-2012 fiscal year of $127,500. We have made significant changes in our budget to afford that payment, but since day one we have announced that a worst-case scenario increase to you would be $140.03 per year. I am very pleased to announce that after our public hearing on Aug. 11 and our Board meeting on Aug. 23, we have approved a water rate increase of just $40.00 per year for our Village residential customers.”
The Village Board has received several questions on the water project and provides the following answers:
There will be two financial audits performed, the first will be by with Ciaschi ñ Dietershagen ñ Little ñ Mickelson & Co., LLP for $12,000, a company the Village Board contracted with back in May (this is a requirement for funding by USDA Rural Development for the water project); the second will be by the New York State Comptroller (this is a no-cost audit but does not count toward Rural Development’s requirement).
The Rural Development funding has not been affected for the project in anyway, and though there have been some changes to the project’s plans, there is a budget line for contingencies like these.
