Cut in water connection fee spurs demand for ref und

Ballston supervisor claims giving money back would be illegal

Fred Como wants his money back.

He and a g roup of about 37 other homeowners will ask t he tow n of Ballston to ref und t hem $ 7,100 — t he dif ference bet ween t he $ 9,100 t hey were charged to connect to t he Goode Street water line and t he recently reduced $ 2,000 fee charged to new homeow ners.

“This inf uriated me,” said Como, who ra l lied neig hbors who paid t he hig her fee. “We want action. We haven’t ta ken a vote on it yet, but we want a ref und.”

In 2004, t he Town Board approved a bond of $ 575,000 to pay for a water line t hat would r un a long Goode Street to supply t he newly constr ucted Tow n Hall with water. At t he time, t henSuper v isor Ray mond Calla nan sa id t he homes a long t he line were inv ited to connect into t he line for a f i xed fee of $ 9,100.

“We wanted to recover our investment,” Callanan sa id. “At t hat time, t here were some 50 homes t hat could connect. The idea was t hey could voluntar y ta ke it up or just not do it . A lot of people did choose to do it and pay.”

Calla nan sa id t he fee was to remain forever $ 9,100. “My philosophy was ever yone should pay t he sa me,” he sa id.

Town Board member Chuck Curtiss sy mpathizes with Como and t he other homeowners who want a ref und.

“We have to get some lega l adv ice on how to do it , but I t hink t hose who over paid orig ina l ly should get some sor t of rebate or credit,” Curtiss sa id. “We have to be caref ul about t hat, because i f we hand out rebates and credits people will want it for ever y t hing. Reducing t he fee has become quite a mess. It ’s just not rig ht.”

But Super v isor Tim Szczepania k sa id t he tow n cannot ref und t he money.

“It ’s i l lega l to g ive a ref und,” Szczepania k sa id, citing adv ice he received f rom t he tow n attorney. “We actua l ly corrected t he problem with t he water consolidation pla n. It reduced t he cost to $ 2,000 — we corrected it for t he f uture.”

Szczepania k sa id he would

consider options “t hat are lega l in nature” with t he Town Board, including credits for t he ag g rieved homeow ners.

Como sa id it took him 10 years to save up so t hat he could hook into t he line. In addition to t he $ 9,100, he paid a contractor $ 3,800 to lin k t he line to his home, plus bet ween $ 300 and $ 400 for a water meter.

Como sa id he and his neig hbors wanted to hook in because t heir homes are built on clay soil with poor- qua lit y water. He said most homeow ners with a well have to get t heir water treated, which is a lso costly.

“There was a lot of iron, sulf ur and minera ls in t he water,” Como sa id. “Most people jumped at t he oppor t unit y to connect.” But t he unexpected price drop “is quite unfair and does not satisf y us.”

This is not t he f irst time t he Goode Street water line has sparked controversy.

In 2016, t he water line became t he subject of a lega l wrangle bet ween t he tow n and t he state Depar tment of Ag ricu l