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By LOHR McKINSTRY
TICONDEROGA — A $4 million grant to buy water meters for all homes and businesses in Ticonderoga has been canceled.
After going through several Town Council discussions, the placing of legal ads and a lengthy public hearing, the town was informed by the State Environmental Facilities Corp. that all of the Green Innovation Grant Program money available had been allocated.
GONE
Town Supervisor Robert C. Dedrick said he received a call telling him the $4.17 million they'd been offered for the meters would not be available.
"We lost the money. The EFC overestimated what was available."
The Ticonderoga Town Council voted in September to accept the grant, as long as no strings were attached.
"We would have had to go to bid (for meters) by the end of the year," Dedrick said. "The grant would have expired Dec. 31."
Environmental Facilities Corp. Acting President Matthew J. Millea said there was tremendous competition for the green-project money.
"We asked for an analysis from all of our clients to make their project more efficient and more green. Ticonderoga came back and said, 'We need water meters.' Comparing this water-meter project to the dozens of other green projects, we made a decision that the water meters would not be something we'd be interested in funding."
The engineering firm that Environmental Facilities was using, AES Northeast of Plattsburgh, was also spending too much time on the water-meter plan, he said.
"The engineers said they couldn't keep up on the work; they were falling behind on other projects."
Ticonderoga may get the money for meters, he said, just not now.
"We'd want to partner with them in the future on water meters. It's not something we can go ahead with at this time."
PLANT UPGRADES
Dedrick said the town was already getting a grant from Environmental Facilities for $3.2 million as part of a $4.9 million project to do upgrades at the Town Wastewater Treatment Plant.
"That's not in jeopardy. We have a notice to proceed. Bids are out."
Millea said Ticonderoga, Newcomb, Essex and Schroon all have American Recovery and Reinvestment Act infrastructure projects through his agency.
"All of those projects need to be bid and awarded and under construction by spring of next year."
Environmental Facilities Corp. provides grants, low-cost funding and technical assistance to municipalities for environmental projects.
FLAT RATE
Ticonderoga now bills a flat annual rate of $322 for water. The town has never installed water meters, which would track exact usage.
"We went through a lot of discussion, a public hearing, and people were finally starting to say they understood why we were getting water meters," Dedrick said.
"Then they (the state) told us they had no money. There wasn't enough money to go around. Their engineers overestimated. So no water meters."
The state allocated about $103 million from its federal stimulus money for green infrastructure projects.
"They went with the places that scored highest," Dedrick said. "New York City will take the bulk of the money, they told me."
He said Environmental Facilities Corp. representatives were very apologetic when they called, and he asked for a letter from them officially canceling the grant.
"I don't want people to think this is our fault. We didn't do anything wrong."
E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
