NORTH EAST— The North East Town Board authorized town Supervisor George Kaye to sign a letter of support for improvements to the local water system during a special meeting on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Kaye said he received a letter of support from the village that described its intent to apply for various grants and loans to update the local water system. Through a long-standing municipal agreement, he said the village supplies drinking water to the town of North East Water District No. 1. It is also through this agreement that the village administers, operates and maintains the district’s water system and that each water district user in the town is required to pay a water rate not to exceed the rate paid by a similar user in the village.
In order to ensure its continuance in providing a safe and reliable water system, Kaye said the village needs to maintain and improve its water system. With that being said, the village determined that it would be in the best interest of the village and the town of North East Water District No. 1 to undertake water system improvements, including rehabilitating the water storage tank, replacing several fire hydrants, repairing water meters, installing a remote read system and other related system improvements.
As a way of funding these improvements, the village plans to seek available grant funding and low-interest loans to assist in offsetting the costs of improvements for the benefit of the water users in Millerton and North East.
“It would benefit us to go in as a joint project,” Kaye said. “Since the water system supplies both the village and the town, I think this is a very important thing.”
The board unanimously approved a motion for Kaye to sign the letter of support for the village’s application for financial assistance for the water system in the form of grants, loans or both.
