Residents of Ashford in agreement against West Valley Crystal Water Company

The Ashford Town Board held its monthly meeting in front of a full house on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Residents of Ashford and the surrounding areas were present when the board discussed the latest issue regarding the community, a topic that received the vast majority of the board’s attention that night. West Valley Crystal Water Company intends to purchase and improve the water system in the area – at a cost.

While Ashford Supervisor Christopher Gerwitz acknowledged that the current system needs to be improved upon, as it is about 100 years old and past its “useful service life,” residents in attendance expressed their hope of finding an alternative to partnering with WVCWC. The private company, which is based in Springville and owned by Robert Runge, looks to take care of the problem with the help of a $3,000,000 loan that will result in a customer surcharge for the next 30 years. Estimates suggest that each resident in the area will be required to pay a $420 flat fee on his or her water bill, an increase of anywhere from $298 to $380, depending on the resident.

No surcharge or rate change can go into effect without voter approval and a meeting regarding the issue was scheduled for Monday, Feb. 13 at West Valley Central School. At this meeting, residents were encouraged to ask questions and voice their concerns. However, the chance to discuss the topic in the future did not stop residents from speaking up at Wednesday’s board meeting.

Rich Bernstein of Ashford did much of the speaking on behalf of the residents, informing the board of a petition that had been started 12 hours prior to the board meeting. In that amount of time, several pages had already been filled with concerned residents’ signatures. The petition featured two requests: one to the New York State Department of Public Service to refuse WVCWC’s intention and the other to the town of Ashford to form a water district as an alternative plan.

The cost of the plan that is going forward is the ultimate concern expressed by the residents. “It’s a matter of private citizens with a private company,” said Bernstein. “We expected some rate increases as things were developed and improved. We all encouraged that in our minds and wanted that, but never realized that, being put back in the hands of a private entity, they would not qualify for a public loan.”

The people of Ashford said they believed forming a water district would be a cheaper option than going with a private entity. In fact, the board had visited the option of a water district in the past. “We request on the behalf of the customers and the residents of this water supplier that the town board form a municipal water district and revisit the 2008 efforts through the board and attorneys do so,” Bernstein said. “Efforts were very extensive and recommendations were very clear and reasons were pretty plain. There was plenty of effort at that time, including the possibility of grant money that is still available for this situation, provided there was a water district formed.

“It’s not an impossibility,” he added. “We cannot exist as a town, and the customers of this community cannot endure these costs [from WVCWC]. People are in need. It really is devastating and will continue to be devastating for this area. We realize there are many in the town that will not be affected but we feel, in the long term, you will feel the impact if something is not done.”

Bernstein cited the West Valley Central School District’s success in installing a well, filtration system and pumping system through grants as a reason why the town could do the same. He suggested benefits such as generating “income for the town to the tune of almost $200,000 per year” and “[bringing] on some employment” if the town created a water district.

He also expressed concerns about Runge, though clarifying, “I have not met him personally. I do not have an axe to grind with him ... [But] if we allow Mr. Runge to have his loan, we have no contract with him and his company. He could walk away with one year, two years, and leave us with the burden of the loan to repay. We have no contract with him.

“There are many reasons why we have come together and signed this petition,” Bernstein concluded. “I’m not speaking for everyone, but I’m speaking for a lot of people whom I have contacted. I don’t want to look into the rearview mirror. I want to move forward.”

Charles Harrigan, town attorney, attended the meeting to help facilitate the residents’ understanding of the water situation. He defined a water district as a “defined geographical area” and said that, in order to create one, “the town must present to the public a plan for it.”

Harrigan said, “The plan would cost a lot of money – an engineering study that defines the water district, where the hydrants and reservoirs will be, etc.” In the town’s past research into a water district, there were “objections to the town’s spending any money for this [plan],” according to Harrigan. “If the town advances money for this study, it has to charge it back on the water district. This was so controversial that the town looked for a way to get around that.”

There are two proposed plans if the idea for a water district were to go forward, according to Harrigan. He cited plan A as a “complete rebuilding of the water system” and plan B as “limited to putting in the filtration and getting rid of the burden that they had from the health department to make this safe.” The result would be “typical annual costs to people in the district,” he said.

“You’re going to have to pay back the borrowing of the water district,” Harrigan said, adding that the cost would be about the same as Runge’s $3,000,000 private loan. “Every person in the district will get a bill to help pay back that borrowing, which is based on your [property’s] assessed value said Harrigan.” These costs would include vacant properties without water services because they still have assessed value.

“We can’t tell whether it will be cheaper to go with a water district or a private owner,” he added. “It might turn out that it’s going to be cheaper with a private owner than a water district.”

The lawyer also addressed the concern about Runge’s running away with the loan. “The lender enters into a ‘building loan agreement’ with anyone who wants this money,” he said “They get the $3,000,000 in stages: when he has 10 percent done, it’s checked, and we’ll give you the 10 percent in stages right up to the end. No owner is going to fork over $3,000,000 for the guy to play with. I’ve never known of any case where the bank did that. It doesn’t work that way. It’s generally quite protected.”

In other board matters:

- The board announced bids for the replacement of the Ashford Bridge in Fox Valley. Cold Spring Construction Company in Akron, placed two bids: $650,539 as bid A and $892,067 as bid B. Union Concrete and Construction in West Seneca bid $615,772 for its bid A and $879,839 for its bid B. LC Wilford in Wellsville bid $715,411 and $978,372 as its A and B bids, respectively. D&H Excavating in Arcade sent in one bid, at $438,707.

“We’re not making a decision tonight,” said Gerwitz. “We’re going to make sure everything will be there. Then we’ll go through them and make a decision at the next meeting.” A work session was set for Tuesday, Feb. 28.

- The board moved to support “Ashford residents to continue to patronize the businesses on the old 219 corridor” while construction continues. In addition, members of the board wished to “encourage the [New York State Department of Transportation] to expedite the repair on the bridge and open it up as soon as possible.”

The next board meeting for the town of Ashford is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Ashford Community Center.