Pound Ridge adopts Scotts Corners Water District

A water main will run from the Aquarion water tank at the Pound Ridge Golf Club off High Ridge Road to Scotts Corners. THANE GRAUEL PHOTO

By THANE GRAUEL

The Town Board on Tuesday approved the formation of the Scotts Corners Water District.

The unanimous vote followed months of public discussion at hearings and in online forums, at times contentious, and follows the district’s authorization last month by the New York State Comptroller’s Office. It also comes as an appeal of an unsuccessful lawsuit challenging the validity of the town’s application to the state is pending.

The almost $11 million project to pipe clean water into the business district from the Aquarion system’s water tank at the Pound Ridge Golf Club along the Connecticut border is intended to fix decades-old problems with groundwater contamination. Various chemicals, ranging from an old gas station tank leak to more recently targeted PFAS “forever chemicals,” have been detected.

Tuesday’s board meeting included the second day of a public hearing on the water district. The vote came after more people, living both in and outside the district, spoke their minds.

Ellen Ivens of the Water and Wastewater Task Force gave an overview of testing for PFAS, or “forever chemicals” from 30 sampling sites.

“The information that we have at this point provides a picture of the extent of the PFAS contamination in Scotts Corners and underscores the need to provide reliably clean drinking water to the area,” she said. 

Scott Fernqvist of Westchester Avenue said his home is on the edge of the water district, and that he has sought to have it removed.

“We continue to oppose the project as it is currently proposed, and we continue to seek exclusion of our property from the water district,” Fernqvist said. “There also remains significant opposition to this project among affected property owners, yet many of the questions we raised weeks, months, and now even years ago remain unanswered. There’s been little meaningful engagement with those of us who will be directly affected by this project and who have raised legitimate concerns about its necessity, governance, cost and fairness.”

“The people whose voices deserve the greatest attention are the property owners,” he said.

John Nathan, a local lawyer, questioned why the court appeal of the suit challenging the district’s legitimacy had not been mentioned in town communications, including newsletters and notices.

“If you’re a person on the street and not here, you know nothing about this,” Nathan said of the court case.

John McCown, a former candidate for town supervisor and a critic of the district and how it has been handled, discussed a letter with questions he emailed members before the meeting, which he said was signed by 46 residents. It had several questions about the process and what might happen if the plan fails. 

“If I was a numerologist, I might say it means the board is at the craps table, rolling the dice with taxpayer monies,” McCown said. “But I will say that this project involves poor planning and worse disclosure.”

Jill Faber of Barnegat Road thanked the Town Board for its work.

“Clean water is important,” she said. “And I think that the Town Board has spent years figuring out a way to do this at the least possible cost to the town. The fact that we’re able to tap into Aquarion, and that you have recognized that and took the steps over the years to make that happen, is huge.”

Mirash Vataj, who owns several commercial properties in the water district, went after McCown and questioned his motivations.

“I think you have a personal problem because you ran against (Supervisor) Kevin Hansan and you lost,” Vataj said. “And you’re doing everything to try and stop this. I think it’s very unfair.”

“I don’t want people to drink this,” he said of the water in the district, which he called disgusting. “Yes, it wasn’t bad 10 years ago, but it’s getting worse and worse all the time.”

Vataj’s comments drew a rebuke from board member Dan Paschkes.

“Let’s keep personalities out of it,” Paschkes said, saying comments should be about the proposed project. He also took issue with Nathan’s statement about the lawsuit appeal.

After the public hearing was closed, Hansan thanked the people for taking part in the process. He also made comments of his own (see Letters to the Editor on page 6).

“I understand and respect that no property owner wants to face additional costs, particularly residents on fixed incomes,” he said. “That concern is real. It’s something the Town Board recognizes and that is why we have worked so hard to secure outside funding.”

The state will provide up to $7.6 million in grant money for the project.

“But creating a water district requires us to look not only at individual circumstances, but also at the long-term health, environmental and economic needs of the entire district and our community,” Hansan continued.

He said criticism of the project had overlooked “the extensive review, public process and documented water quality issues.”

“The Scotts Corners District is about protecting public health, supporting local businesses, addressing documented environmental concerns, and ensuring that the heart of Pound Ridge remains viable for decades to come,” he concluded.

Board members made comments thanking those who spent many hours on the topic before casting the unanimous vote.