ImplementationReportTownofTupperLakeSewerDistrictConsolidationOctober2017

Preparedfor:

TownofTupperLakeWater&SewerDistrictConsolidationStudyCommittee

Patricia Littlefield, Town of Tupper Lake Supervisor Samantha Davies Laurie Fuller Paul O’Leary John Quinn, Councilman Paul Maroun, Mayor of Tupper Lake Mary Casagrain Mark Robillard

ThisdocumentwaspreparedwithfundingprovidedbytheNewYorkStateDepartmentofStateundertheLocalGovernmentEfficiencyGrantProgram–ContractNo.T00020GG-3800.

Preparedby:

WarneckPumpStation23557NYSRoute37Watertown,NY13601www.danc.org

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TableofContents1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................1

2. ELEMENTSOFPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATIONAGREEMENT...................................................................2

A) NAMEOFEACHLOCALGOVERNMENTTOBECONSOLIDATED........................................................2

B) NAMEOFPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATEDLOCALGOVERNMENT..........................................................2

C) RIGHTS,DUTIES&OBLIGATIONOFPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATEDTOWN..........................................2

D) TERRITORIALBOUNDARIES...............................................................................................................2

E) TYPEAND/ORCLASSOFTHENEWCONSOLIDATEDLOCALGOVERNMENT.....................................4

F) GOVERNMENTALORGANIZATIONOFPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATEDSPECIALDISTRICTS...................4

G) FISCALESTIMATEOFTHECOSTSOFANDSAVINGSREALIZEDFROMCONSOLIDATION...................5

H) EACHDISTRICT’SASSETS...................................................................................................................7

I) EACHDISTRICT’SLIABILITIESANDINDEBTEDNESS...........................................................................9

J) TERMSFORDISPOSITIONOFEXISTINGASSETS,LIABILITIES&INDEBTEDNESS................................9

K) TERMSFORTHECOMMONADMINISTRATIONANDUNIFORMENFORCEMENTOFLOCALLAWS,ORDINANCES,RESOLUTIONS,ETC............................................................................................................9

L) EFFECTIVEDATEOFTHEPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATION...................................................................10

M) TIMEANDPLACE(S)FORPUBLICHEARING.....................................................................................10

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1. INTRODUCTION

ThisdocumentsetsforththeConsolidationImplementationPlanfortheTownofTupperLake’s

Sewer Districts that was developed by the Tupper Lake Water/Sewer Consolidation Study

Committee. ThePlan is the culminationof a ninemonth study that the Townundertook to

determine the impacts of consolidationof sewerdistricts on rates and servicedelivery. The

purposeof thisConsolidation ImplementationPlan is to summarize theactions thatwill take

placetomoveforwardwithTownSewerDistrictConsolidationandtoprovidedetailsonhow

services,willcontinueafterconsolidation. ThisPlanwillbesubmittedtotheTownofTupper

LakeTownboardforadoptionattheirNovember16,2017boardmeeting.IftheConsolidation

Implementation Plan is approved by the Town board, the Town will proceed with actions

neededtoconsolidatethesewerdistrictsasoutlinedinthisplan.

ThisreportisbeingfundedbyandpreparedinaccordancewiththeNewYorkStateDepartment

of State (DOS) Work Plan requirements, as outlined in Contract No. T00020GG-3800. The

DepartmentofStateprovides fundingofup to$50,000 (90%grant,10%municipal share) for

activities associated with the implementation of consolidation. This Consolidation

Implementation Plan identifies items that are recommended for completion prior to, or in

conjunctionwith,consolidationandtheestimatedcostsofcompletion.

The following sections of the Consolidation Plan follow the requirements outlined in the

Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act (NYS Department of State,

3/21/10).

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2. ELEMENTSOFPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATIONAGREEMENT

A) NAMEOFEACHLOCALGOVERNMENTTOBECONSOLIDATEDSeventeendebt-freesewerdistrictsaretobeconsolidatedandtheyinclude:1,2,4,6,8-1,8-2

Other,11,13,14,15,18,20,21,22,24,25,26. Thereare sevendistricts thathaveexisting

debt. TheyincludeNo.5,8-2(paidoff in2019),16(paidoff in2019),17,17-1,17-2,and23.

Asadistrictpaysoffitsdebt,thosedistrictscanalsobeconsolidatedintothesingle“debt-free”

district.Throughconsolidationthetotalnumberofsewerdistrictswillbereducedfrom24to8

immediatelyandafterdistricts8-2and16payofftheirdebtin2019theycouldbeaddedtothe

consolidateddistrict,bringingthetotalnumberofsewerdistrictsto6.

B) NAMEOFPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATEDLOCALGOVERNMENT

ThenameofthenewconsolidatedSewerDistrictwillbeSewerDistrictNo.1.

C) RIGHTS,DUTIES&OBLIGATIONOFPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATEDTOWN

Therewillbenochangetotherights,duties,andobligationsoftheconsolidatedspecial

districts.Theproposedconsolidatedsewerdistrictsshallassumetherights,dutiesand

obligationsoftheformerTownofTupperLakesewerdistricts.Anycontractsspecifictoexisting

Townsewerdistrictswillbeamendedtoreflectthenewconsolidateddistricts.

D) TERRITORIALBOUNDARIES

Please see Figures 1 for amap showing the existing sewer district boundaries andproposed

boundaries.

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FIGURE1-TOWNOFTUPPERLAKESEWERDISTRICTS

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E) TYPEAND/ORCLASSOFTHENEWCONSOLIDATEDLOCALGOVERNMENT

The consolidated special districtwill be a sewerdistrict establishedpursuant toArticle 12-A.

According to theOfficeof theNewYork StateComptroller, a special district is definedas “a

geographic areawithin a town established to address specific needs of the property owners

withinthatdistrict,utilizingchargesand,insomecases,userfeespaidbytaxpayerswithinthe

districttofinancetheseservices.Specialdistrictswerestatutorilyauthorizedtoassisttownsin

adjusting to patterns of growth that were not town-wide, and have been used liberally by

townsoverthelastseveraldecadestoaddressincreasedresidentialneeds.”1

F) GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION OF PROPOSED CONSOLIDATED SPECIALDISTRICTS

The organization will be consistent with NYS Town Law, NYS General Municipal Law, the

ConstitutionoftheStateofNewYork,andwillcomplywithallrules,regulationsandlawsofthe

State ofNew York. The consolidated sewer districtswill continue to bemanaged as special

districtsbytheTownofTupperLake.Therewillbenoimpactonelectedorappointedofficials

andpublicemployeesassociatedwithsewerdistrictconsolidation.

ConsolidationoftheTowns’sewerdistrictswouldhaveno impactonthedeliveryofservices.

TheTownwouldcontinuetooperateitssystemsutilizingVillagelaborinaccordancewiththe

existingInter-MunicipalAgreementbetweentheTownandVillage.TheVillagewouldcontinue

to bill Town customers on a monthly basis for usage and the Town would continue to bill

customersannuallyontheirCountypropertytaxbillsfordistrictandmaintenancecharges.

1https://osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/townspecialdistricts.pdf

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G) FISCAL ESTIMATE OF THE COSTS OF AND SAVINGS REALIZED FROMCONSOLIDATION

The Town of Tupper Lake’s sewer districts have evolved over decades into a complex and

administratively cumbersomesystem tomanage. By consolidatingdistricts, consistent sewer

lawswouldbeestablishedtogovernalldistricts,administrativefunctionscouldbestreamlined,

andefficienciesgainedattheVillage,TownandCountywithrespecttothemanagementand

billingofTownsewercustomers.

From an infrastructure management perspective, through district consolidation, the Town

couldmore sustainablymanage its sewer infrastructurebyestablishingoperating reserves to

planforupcominginfrastructuremaintenanceandreplacement.ThiswouldallowtheTownto

stabilizeratesandeliminatetheneedforinter-fundborrowingtodealwithendofyeardeficits.

TheDepartmentofStateprovidesgrantfundingforupto$50,000permunicipalityforactivities

associated with consolidation. For the Village and Town of Tupper Lake this could total

$110,000with$100,000ofthefundingbeingprovidedthroughgrantandtheVillageandTown

covering the remaining10%.The following itemshavebeen identified for inclusion inVillage

andTownImplementationGrants.TheseitemswillnotimpactVillageorTowntaxratesasthey

willbepaidforwillNYSDepartmentofStategrantfundsandVillagefundbalancetocoverthe

localshare:

1) TownOfficeAccessImprovements:TownwatercustomerspaytheirbillsattheTownof

TupperLakeoffices.Thecurrentbuildingisnotfullyhandicapaccessible.TheTownhas

aproposedproject to improveaccess to thebuildingandco-fundingof$27,000 from

theNYSDepartmentofStatewouldenablethisprojecttoproceed.

2) VillageOfficeAccess Improvements: TownandVillagewatercustomersalsopaytheir

monthlysewerbillsattheVillageofTupperLakeOffices.Thecurrentbuildinghasbeen

modifiedtobemorehandicapaccessiblebutadditionalimprovementsarestillneeded

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includingadditionalsignage,etc.TheVillagehasaproposedprojecttofurtherimprove

accesstothebuildingwithestimatedcostsof$13,000.

3) RateStudy/EDU-BasedBilling:Theestimatedcosttocompletearatestudythatwould

evaluate the impacts of converting to an EDU-based billing system is $10,000. This

studywouldhelpstandardizebillingpracticesandensureamoreconsistentmethodfor

assigningusercosts.

4) Sewer District Consolidation: The estimated cost to complete the sewer district

consolidationlegalprocessis$5,000.

5) Sewer Billing SoftwareUpdate: The estimated cost to upgrade the Village and Town

computers, software, printers andother technologyused to complete sewer billing is

$20,000fortheVillageand$10,000fortheTown.

6) LocalLawRevisions:Theestimatedcosttocompleteadetailedreviewofintermunicipal

agreements and sewer local laws, and to develop new or amended Town laws is

$10,000;$8,000forTownlawupdatingand$2,000forVillagelawupdating.

7) AssetManagementPlans:TheVillageandTownwould like todevelopcomprehensive

assetmanagementplansforsewerinfrastructure.Theseplanswouldincludeadetailed

assetinventory,assetlife,recommendedpreventivemaintenancetasksandfrequencies

of maintenance, and recommendations for annual contribution to replacement

reserves. TheestimatedcosttocompleteassetmanagementplansfortheVillageand

Town’sinfrastructureis$10,000fortheVillageand$5,000fortheTown.

Thetablebelowsummarizesitemstobeconsideredforimplementationgrants:

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ImplementationGrantBudget Village TownTown/VillageOfficeAccessibilityImprovements $13,000 $27,000RateStudy/ConversiontoEDU-basedBilling $10,000 $0SewerDistrictformation $0 $5,000SewerBillingSoftware/HardwareUpdates,digitizingwater/sewerbillingrecords

$20,000 $10,000

LocalSewerLawRevision $2,000 $8,000AssetManagementPlansforSewerInfrastructure $10,000 $5,000Totals $55,000 $55,000

H) EACHDISTRICT’SASSETS

Thevalueofthesewerdistrictassets iscomprisedoftwocomponents:1) fundbalancesthat

are associated with each district; and 2) the value of the infrastructure associated with the

district(i.e.,pipes,valves,pumps,etc.)

AsofFYE16theTownhadthefollowingfundbalancesintheirseweraccountstotaling$28,258:

DistrictNumber FundBalance

SewerDistrict1 $9,943SewerDistrict2 $908SewerDistrict4 $1,091SewerDistrict6 $7,450SewerDistrict8-1 $1,498

SewerDistrict8-Other $0SewerDistrict11 $0SewerDistrict13 $0SewerDistrict14 $0SewerDistrict15 $628SewerDistrict18 $6,129SewerDistrict20 $0SewerDistrict21 $611SewerDistrict22 $0SewerDistrict24 $0SewerDistrict25 $0SewerDistrict26 $0

TOTAL $28,258

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To estimate the value of the infrastructure associated with the districts, an inventory was

compiled that quantifies themajor components of each district, the approximate age of the

system, and the materials of construction. This information was shared with the Town’s

engineertoobtainanapproximateestimateofthevalueoftheinfrastructure.

District Parcels EDU

Pipe

Age GrinderPumps

PumpStation

EstimatedValueofDistrictAssets

Force(ft.) Gravity(ft.)

Total Diameter Material

SD01 112 112 2,927 7,245 10,172 2-8" PVC/Transite 1970 6private $263

SD02 12 12 0 1,437 1,437 8" Transite 1977 0 $0

SD04 8 8 0 1,764 1,764 8" Transite 1977 0 $0

SD06 2 2 DirectlyonVillage/Townline;lateralconnectioninfrastructureonlyandmaintainedprivately $0

SD08-1 30 30 260 2,700 2,960 4-8" PVC 1980 1private 1 $3,404

SD08-2Other 2 2 Twopropertyownerspaidofftheirportionofthedebtinfull,andareonlytaxedforthemaintenancefeein

thisdistrict$0

SD11 5 5 0 555 555 8" Clay 1930 0 $0

SD13 2 2 0 919 919 4-6" PVC 1958,1988 0 $855

SD14 1 1 0 1,200 1,200 8" PVC 1988 0 $2,976

SD15 19 19 0 3,500 3,500 8” PVC 1990 0 $9,485

SD18 1 1 DirectlyonVillage/Townline;lateralconnectioninfrastructureonlyandmaintainedprivately $0

SD20 5 5 0 2,197 2,197 8" Transite/ClayTile

1993 0 $15,800

SD21 6 6 DirectlyonVillage/Townline;lateralconnectioninfrastructureonlyandmaintainedprivately $0

SD22 2 2 0 183 183 6” PVC 1996 0 $470

SD24 5 5 3,236 2,899 6,135 4-8" PVC 2002 0 1 $35,760

SD25 12 12 2,484 0 2,484 4-6" PVC 2005 0 1 $28,720

SD26 3 3 DirectlyonVillage/Townline;lateralconnectioninfrastructureonlyandmaintainedprivately $0

TABLE1-TOWNOFTUPPERLAKESEWERDISTRICTINFRASTRUCTURE

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I) EACHDISTRICT’SLIABILITIESANDINDEBTEDNESS

Sinceonlydebt-freesewerdistrictswillbeconsolidatedtherewillbenodebtwiththenewly

formedconsolidateddistrict.

J) TERMS FOR DISPOSITION OF EXISTING ASSETS, LIABILITIES &

INDEBTEDNESS

Personal property and other fixed assets owned by the special districts at the time of

consolidationwillbecomethepropertyoftheconsolidateddistrict.Personalpropertyincludes

vehicles,equipment,officefurniture,computers,andanyotheritemcommonlyconsideredto

bepersonalproperty.Fundbalancesexistingatthetimeofconsolidation,willbetransferredto

theconsolidateddistrict. There isnoexistingdistrictdebtthatwillneedtobetransferredto

thenewlyformedconsolidateddistricts.TheTownofTupperLakecannotprojectwhetheror

not therewillbeuncollectedtaxesuponthedateofconsolidation;however,anyuncollected

taxeswillhavebeenturnedovertheCountypercurrentpracticeandtheCountywillmakethe

Townwhole.

K) TERMS FOR THE COMMON ADMINISTRATION AND UNIFORM

ENFORCEMENTOFLOCALLAWS,ORDINANCES,RESOLUTIONS,ETC.

As part of this study, a comprehensive review of Town of Tupper Lake’s sewer laws was

performedtodetermine lawsthatshouldbeconsideredforupdatingaspartofconsolidation

implementationprocess.Thefollowingidentifiesthelawsrecommendedforupdating.

• Village-Town Intermunicipal Agreement for Water and Sewer Districts executed

9/10/01,updated9/1/05

• VillageSewerlaws

• AdoptionofnewTownSewerlaws

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These local lawswouldbeapplieduniformlyacrossallTownsewerdistricts,unlessthe lawis

specifically written to only apply to a certain district or area. Additionally, Inter-municipal

Agreement(IMA)thatdefinethetermsfortheVillageprovidingwaterandsewerservicetothe

Town’sdistrictswillbeupdatedtoreflectthenewlyconsolidateddistricts.

L) EFFECTIVEDATEOFTHEPROPOSEDCONSOLIDATIONTheeffectivedatefortheconsolidationofwaterandsewerdistrictswillbe12/31/18.

M) TIMEANDPLACE(S)FORPUBLICHEARING

TheTownofTupperLake,atitsTownBoardMeetingonOctober12,2017,passedaresolution

to endorse the Sewer District Consolidation Plan and set the date of the Public Hearing at

November16,2017.