[By Matt Freeze]<\/p>\n
After the delay in opening the new Tractor Supply store on State Route 434, the company is anticipating opening this summer, though there remain questions about how a water connection will be established.<\/p>\n
Town Supervisor Gary Hellmers said the store was originally set to open by Thanksgiving, but as of mid-February, there\u2019s no water and no solid plan on how to get it there.<\/p>\n
Hellmers said they really want to reach a solution so they can get the store up and running, but there have been bureaucratic issues with Veolia Water New York and engineering concerns about bringing water up over the hill from behind the store.<\/p>\n
IDA Chairman Jon Ward recently said during an IDA meeting that their involvement with an easement for water access appeared to have folded following some sort of issue with the proposed Veolia water connection.<\/p>\n
Sophia Salis, director of communications and community relations for Veolia, said their concerns revolved around hydraulic issues that could negatively impact water infrastructure and customers\u2019 experiences with water pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sent a letter in early January to the Town of Owego Superintendent of Utilities letting them know that the plans submitted for the Tractor Supply service posed hydraulic issues to our system,\u201d Salis said last Wednesday. \u201cWe let them know that the plan, as submitted, would not work in terms of protecting the integrity of the existing system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veolia suggested an alternative to install a water service through the public right-of-way on Route 434 instead, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEssentially, we are working with them and will continue to answer any questions that they might have,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to make sure the connection is done in a way that protects all of our existing customers and our system integrity as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salis said Veolia\u2019s engineers are available to help if the town so chooses; the project just requires an adjustment to the proposed connection line into the Veolia water system.<\/p>\n
Salis also said there\u2019s a lot of work on their end to review how a new connection will impact service, pressure, and reliability for their existing customers.<\/p>\n
Hellmers said Tuesday night that the town is looking to help set up a connection for the company without involving Veolia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in talks right now for doing our own thing,\u201d Hellmers said. \u201cWhether we do a well or go under the river to tap in and feed, we haven\u2019t had a discussion. We\u2019re just trying to get that water supply there so we can get it open. We\u2019re ready to go \u2014 one way or another, we\u2019ll get them water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hellmers said the ultimate plan is to get an adequate water supply so that additional businesses can develop in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a slow grind, but we\u2019ll get it one way or another. We\u2019ve talked about that; if we need to sit down and do it ourselves, we will,\u201d Hellmers said. \u201cI want that place open myself; it\u2019s a beautiful building, and there\u2019s more we could develop. If there\u2019s more to develop, the more tax dollars come in.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Matt Freeze is a senior writer for the Sayre Morning Times)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [By Matt Freeze] After the delay in opening the new Tractor Supply store on State Route 434, the company is anticipating opening this summer, though…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":109233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n