MCWA asks Hamlin and Kendall to consider a switch

MCWA asks Hamlin and Kendall to consider a switch

More than 3,000 Town of Hamlin and Kendall residents may soon be paying less for water.

Officials in both the towns have been asked to consider a proposal set forth by the Monroe County Water Authority (MCWA) to lease all of the Hamlin/Kendall Authority for the next 40 years. The change would mean that the Water Authority would be responsible for the maintenance of these lines and the cost back to the customer will be reduced.

Currently residents in the Hamlin/Kendall Water District pay $2.85 per 1,000 gallons and $10 for the first 3,000 gallons. The Monroe County Water Authority charges $2.54 per 1,000 gallons.

Hamlin Supervisor Austin Warner III said he has been working toward this for years. Originally the Monroe County Water Authority insisted on a 10 percent out-of-county fee for Kendall residents. The county has now dropped that fee. In addition, the MCWA will allocate money for improvements to the Hamlin/Kendall area for upgrades to the existing lines, Town of Kendall Supervisor John Becker said.

"It's likely that most of the money will be allocated to Hamlin to close some water loops, but it will be available for both municipalities," Becker said.

"The win-win is that the water lines will be put in by our highway department," Warner said. The residents have the final say as to whether the lines will be installed.

Warner sees this plan as the solution to a problem coming down the road. The town doesn't currently have any reserves for maintenance on the water lines. As problems arise, costs would have to be passed back to residents.

Hamlin is the last town in Monroe County to handle their own water.

Warner hopes to have an agreement by the end of the year. He said both Sweden and Clarkson have switched to the Monroe County Water Authority with no reported service problems.

Becker said that MCWA wants to be the supplier of water in the region and that they have expanded to Genesee and Wayne counties and have asked to have their charter amended to move into the Orleans county area.

"The benefit to Kendall," Becker said, "is that we have an aging water system and if MCWA comes in they have the funds to repair and replace the aging lines and that relieves the burden from the municipalities going into debt to do those repairs."

The biggest concern for Kendall, Becker said, is that if Hamlin decides to go with the MCWA and Kendall doesn't, the partnership the two towns have shared will be dissolved.

"I'm not sure whether Kendall can afford to operate on its own to hire individuals to run a water department," he said.

Can Kendall afford to go it alone? Becker said he isn't certain but said the biggest change could be in that the MCWA doesn't install water districts and that could be a concern for residents who are not on public water.

"The municipality could build districts and then turn them over to the water authority," Becker said. "These will be some of the issues raised during the public information meetings."

Loss of control and loss of the "personal touch" are two of the concerns that could be raised at the meetings, Becker said. He said the incoming board will be engaged in any decisions.

"The homegrown touch of knowing the man who reads your meter or being able to go to the town hall to pay the bill or ask questions about it will be lost," Becker said.

Kendall is holding a public meeting at 7 p.m. on December 1 at the town hall; Hamlin's meeting is scheduled at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, corner of Brick Schoolhouse Road and Lake Road West Fork, at 7 p.m. on December 6.