DANSVILLE – The outlook for the Village’s wastewater treatment facility continues to improve as Village officials find ways to cut costs and make the project work for local residents as efficiently as possible.
Mayor Peter Vogt says that when he stepped into office, the project was anticipated to cost an estimated $19 million, and due to prudent work by the village and engineers, the project is now anticipated to cost $13 million, and continuing applications for grants make further reductions in cost possible.
“After the initial meeting in February of 2011, just before I took office, we continued to find ways to bring the cost down,” said Mayor Vogt. “We delayed the project for a year. We did an in-depth study. We found out that we qualified for hardship through the Environmental Facilities Corporation, so that we pay zero percent interest.”
Mayor Vogt said that part of the project includes the addition of a compost-generating feature that creates clean, safe compost for homes and gardens out of local wastewater. This composting capability makes it easy for the plant to transport material by-products of wastewater treatment away from the grounds, and qualifies the project for a grant from the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority that covers 50 percent of the construction cost.
Mayor Vogt said that once the plan is finalized, the project will be able to be completed for approximately $800,000 under budget.
MRB engineer Bill Davis added that the project has seen some delays, but as a result it is in a favorable position financially.
“They have received up to $2 million in principal forgiveness (from EFC), anticipate over $1 million grant for composting (from DEC), and over $100,000 (from NYSERDA),” said Davis. “I have not seen such a great financial package for a project like this in some time as the Village of Dansville is getting.”
Davis added that the facility does qualify for the WQIP grant from DEC, specifically for the disinfection part of the project. This DEC WQIP grant would help cover 85% of the construction costs for the UV equipment.
“This is a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility,” said Mayor Vogt. “We are proud of it and the efforts we have made to minimize costs, and are confident that the project will continue to move in a positive direction.”