Town Meeting To Vote On Middle Gate Water Line

By Jan Howard

The Board of Selectmen on Monday set a town meeting for June 16 at 7 pm at the C.H. Booth Library meeting room regarding the appropriation of $500,000 for the design and construction of a water main extension of United Water’s system to the Middle Gate School.

The Legislative Council, Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen, and Board of Education have unanimously approved resolutions approving the appropriation.

The water line extension would run along town property on Cold Spring Road to the school.

Up to June 30, the water line is ranked second on a list of projects to be considered by the state’s Bonding Commission. As of July 1, the town drops to third on the list if it does not submit its application for funding by a June 25 deadline. Even at third on the list, however, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said last week that the project would still be “within fundable projects” because of its high ranking among approximately 20 projects.

The project must receive town meeting approval in addition to the above approvals before being placed on the Bonding Commission’s agenda.

If the bonding were approved, it would provide for a low-interest loan of approximately two percent for 20 years.

The water line, originally proposed for the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the 2005-06 fiscal year, became an issue late last year because of continuing water problems at the school and other water-related issues, such as the need for a new well, replacement of water tanks, and expiration of a permit for a uranium backwash system. Bottled water has been supplied to the school since last fall.

In July 2003, the water line connection was submitted by the Board of Education to the Board of Finance as one of three capital school projects proposed for a town meeting vote. Later, the Board of Finance narrowly approved the project, but the Legislative Council voted to reject the project. Following that rejection and the receipt of additional information regarding the project, the water line was reinstated as a priority item in the CIP for fiscal year 2004-05.