Leaves, leaves, and more leaves! The leaf vacuum has been in full gear the past few weeks removing leaves. We hope to get them up before the snow falls. The Alternatives to Incarceration crew worked on Lake Street this past Sunday and did a nice job of leaf removal in doorways and sidewalks.
Please put leaves on the berm between the curb and the sidewalk not in the road where they will get ground up and clog storm drains. If you are interested in composting your leaves you may call the Tioga Cooperative Extension at 687-4020, ext. 304 to get information on how to compost leaf and grass clippings. The village compost is available to gardeners at the corner of River and Water Streets in Owego (near Marvin Park). The compost pile closest to the river is the one that is ready for use.
Snow season is upon us, and last year snow removal proved challenging due to the heavy snows. We are looking into alternate (odd-even) side of the road parking to facilitate clean and efficient snow removal this year. Residents are also reminded that sidewalk snow removal is mandatory.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has begun traffic pattern changes at the intersections of Court Street and Main Street and Main Street and North Avenue. These changes were implemented to decrease accidents at the North Avenue-Main Street intersection. There is no longer a right turn on red from Court Street to Main Street. The section on Main Street from Park Street to North Avenue will become one lane when new stripes are painted on this year weather permitting or next spring. There is no right turn on red for trucks at the North Avenue / Main Street intersection.
A study will be done to assess the results, but reports are that truck issues at North Avenue and Main Street have decreased. The missing streetlights on North Avenue and on Main Street are on order. We hope that this traffic change improves their longevity. The light pole on Main Street near Court Street has been hit three times.
In other DOT related business, I am working with them to restore the two parking spaces on Front Street next to M&T Bank that were lost when the street was repaved a few years ago. Restriping to uniform lengths may also gain another two or three parking spaces at that location.
The transition from sewer billing based on water meter readings to billing based on Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDU) began with the sewer bills mailed out in July. The reason the village had to change the billing system was because United Water Owego-Nichols (UWON) found out that the state’s Public Service Commission rules prohibited UOWN from sending consumption data to the village for use in computing sewer bills. Without access to water consumption data the village needed to find another method for sewer billing.
While consumption data intuitively seems like a fair method of billing it leads to the conclusion that more water used generates more sewer cost, and less water used generates less sewer cost. However, the total cost of operation of the sewage waste treatment plant (SWTP) is relatively fixed and independent of the volume of sewage treated. Fixed costs to run the sewage plant are approximately 80 percent of the total budget, while costs that vary with volume are about 20 percent.
The EDU methodology was selected after researching other municipalities in New York that use it. A single family home or an apartment is one EDU for billing purposes. The EDU figure for a dwelling unit was calculated using the minimum sewer billing in the past. This was used because most dwelling units were paying the minimum.
This EDU figure was used to calculate a formula based on past consumption for non-residential sewer users. There were increases in operational costs beginning this year due to the EPA mandated upgrade to reduce output of nitrogen and phosphorus. This upgrade was planned in 2009 and the costs of implementing it are starting to come due. The costs of the upgrade would have increased sewer rates even if we had remained on a consumption based billing system. The total sewer billing is designed to break even. Construction for the sewage plant upgrade is planned to begin in the spring of 2015.
The Village Board approved the hiring of three retired police officers to augment staffing, but improving staffing shortages will take some time and a commitment by the village board to have a fully staffed police department. There were eight officer positions approved in the budget in July and there are currently five unfilled positions. The Tioga County Sheriff will no longer be able to assign extra deputy patrols in the village.
The nine properties in Phase 2 of the FEMA buyout program are being processed. They all need a survey, asbestos testing, a title search and a closing before demolition can happen.
A meeting was held with homeowners pursuing elevation so that those who are in the early stages can learn from those who are further along and planning to elevate in the spring. A letter was sent to all residents that were approved for elevating to assess their continued interest in elevating.
The documentation needed to apply for a review and recommendation from the state’s Financial Restructuring Board (FRB) has been sent in. Based on this information, the Board will make recommendations to the village on improving its fiscal stability, management, and the delivery of public services. The Board could also offer grants and/or loans of up to $5 million through the Local Government Performance and Efficiency Program for undertaking certain recommendations
The FRB meets four times a year, but their staff works on applications year round. A recent telephone inquiry to them revealed that we are on the list of municipalities to be reviewed.
