The Pamelia Town Council Monday approved a $1 million bond to repair its water tower, as it continued discussions of a multi-million dollar plan to expand municipal water to new areas of the town.
The project will include the repainting of the tank and the installation of a sprayer system which will reduce disinfection byproducts in the system.
"You can see looking at the tower it's in bad shape on the outside," said Dustin J. Clark, an engineer with Barton & Loguidice, Watertown. "On the inside, it's even worse."
Supervisor Scott J. Allen said the work should have been done years ago.
"The health department is not going to let us keep the tower in the same condition it currently is," he said.
An important piece of the near-term tower repair work noted by Mr. Allen is that the work will not affect the town's application for grant funding for the larger project.
Of the approximately 600 interest surveys that have been sent out, 220 were completed. A total of 144 respondents supported the project, and 76 opposed it.
Mr. Allen said the town will have to pick and choose which sections of the town will receive municipal water.
With a maximum budget of $14 million that could get grant support, he said it would not be possible to cover every area of the town. The town's survey was sent to a broader area to ensure that if some groups of residents rejected the idea, the town could then direct its attention to other areas more quickly.
"We wanted to know at least what other areas we could go," Mr. Allen said.
One unidentified resident, from Military Road, said she was interested in the proposal, and that the current water supplies would not be sufficient for an influx in interest near her home.
"It's not sufficient to cover the new housing, and it's going to get worse," the resident said.
Mr. Clark recommended the resident get more people to return their survey letters.
"We need everybody's help to make the best decisions," he said.
The survey results will be examined more closely in the coming weeks, and will be discussed at upcoming town meetings, and eventually an information session about the project tentatively scheduled for within the next few months.
