Anger rises about sewer district
Cost, mandatory hookup of Ballston Lake district result in calls for revote
When Ballston Lake residents approved a sewer district in October 2015, many claim they didn’t know what they were getting into.
They say they didn’t know they would be forced to hook into the line. They say they didn’t realize the cost: $907 a year plus $10,000 for installation. Some also say they didn’t even realize there was a vote.
“I got no notification of any vote,” said Nancy Yakaush who lives above the lake on Lake Hill Road. “We are up on a hill. I don’t even know why our house is included in the lake district. It’s beyond me. I feel there was no full disclosure about what it was going to cost. This was badly handled by the town.”
Yet they all now appear aware of their $10.2 million sewer commitment after the neighboring Burnt Hills sewer was defeated by a 419-108 vote last month. About 100 of those lake residents showed up at last week’s Ballston Town Board public hearing. Many chanted for a revote on the 2015 referendum that was approved 280-135. Others called to end mandatory hookups to the line for the 700 parcels that the sewer will pass by.
Town Board member Bill Goslin said he is unsure if the town could go out to vote again on the project. But he says he and the board are listening to the people and will reconsider everything from the mandatory hookups to $1,000 a day penalties with possible jail time for those who don’t connect to the sewer line.
“We will make adjustments,” Goslin said. “We are looking at everything, to see what is appropriate. We will take it under further review. I’m here to represent the people and that is what I will do.”
Yakaush speaks for many in the district who say the cost is too high and the town officials must do more.
“No one on the lake disputes that we need a sewer,” Yakaush said. “We are concerned with the health of the lake. But we can’t afford this. Do your work, Town Board. This is not what we want.”
Joe Rosamino, who lives on Lake Road, said the financial hardship will force him to sell his home.
“We can’t afford this place,” Rosamino said. “This is where we planned to retire. I love this place. We have 10 acres that we keep up and maintain. I am grieved, so grieved.”
Goslin is trying to reassure residents, saying that the $907 yearly fee will be reduced because the lake sewer project received a $2.5 million state grant, thus lowering the costs by 25 percent. However, the hookup fee, which was estimated between $2,000 to $10,000 per household has grown since 2015 to $10,000 to $12,000 per household.
Rosamino said residents have been complacent while the Town Board takes up an agenda that benefits developers and not people. Even if he gets away from the sewer charges and sells, he says the value of his home will decrease when the buyer finds out they will have to pay for a sewer line.
“It’s no win for me,” Rosamino said. “It’s a sad situation. We were presented a bill of goods. I will go down swinging.”
Town Board member Chuck Curtiss understands why residents are upset. He said the anger and frustration by residents can be alleviated if the town would simply put out all the facts and figures of the project.
“Right now, everything is backwards,” Curtiss said. “First you put out the facts. But there was a vote and now people are just getting some of the facts. The public has every right to criticize us. It’s a lot of money that is going to be borne by the residents. They have every right to question the board.”
In Burnt Hills, meanwhile, where the sewer was defeated, the sting of the vote lingers. On Monday, residents on Kingsley Road who spearheaded the sewer opposition received an anonymous letter from someone who identifies themselves as serving on one of the town boards for years.
The letter writer scolded residents for perpetuating “a hostile environment” and asking them “to get a hold of themselves and settle down. Your victory has gone to your head.”