Brasher To Seek Study Proposals On Water District

BRASHER FALLS - The Brasher Town Board agreed Wednesday to solicit proposals from area engineers to conduct a preliminary engineering study for a proposed municipal water district that would serve Brasher Falls and Winthrop.

Now they need to meet with Stockholm officials to see if they're on board, and to ensure the town will pay for 50 percent of the cost.

A preliminary engineering report typically costs between $10,000 and $15,000, according to Christian A. Nill, senior community development specialist for the non-profit group RCAP Solutions, who is working with the towns on the proposed district.

If the towns went forward with the proposed water district after a preliminary engineering report, the cost of that report could be reimbursable. If, however, they elected not to pursue it, Mr. Nill said, they would need to absorb the survey's cost.

The preliminary report would assist town officials in providing local residents with the potential cost for a municipal water system.

Councilman John M. Keenan, Brasher's representative to an ad hoc committee exploring the formation of a district, suggested Wednesday that they use Burley-Guminiak and Associates, the town's engineering firm for the preliminary study.

But Town Supervisor M. James Dawson said he had received a copy of a letter sent to the Stockholm Town Board from Bernier, Carr and Associates, requesting consideration for the work.

He suggested that, rather than limiting themselves to the town's engineering firm, they put out a request for proposal, which would give them approximately four bids from area firms to choose from.

"They'd send out a representative to look at the situation," Mr. Dawson said.

He said they could provide firms with a timeline, such as three weeks, to return their bid. Then they could meet again with the Stockholm Town Board to select a firm for the work.

"It has to be a joint thing," Mr. Dawson said. "That technically is the best way to do it anyway. An RFP is very simple as far as I can see."

Once they've awarded the bid, he suggested it could be a couple of months before the study would be complete, pushing them into the spring to hold an informational meeting to answer questions - including how much the cost would be - from residents in the proposed water district.

Mr. Dawson said it would be up to those residents to determine if they wanted to move forward. He noted that 51 percent of the assessed value in each community would need to approve the move.

"Fifty-one percent assessed value doesn't mean 51 percent of the people served," he said, pointing out that one person could own several parcels of land in the proposed district, and that one no vote could put the project in jeopardy.

"In Helena, it was about 80 percent versus 20 percent," Mr. Dawson said. "If it's close to 50 percent, the board's going to have to make an informed decision."

A recent survey indicated 45 percent of 189 residents who responded said they would not support the formation of a public water district. Another 38 percent said they would support it, while 17 percent said they weren't sure.

At the same time, however, a recent Department of Health sampling of private wells in the hamlets of Brasher Falls and Winthrop area found that 11 of the 33 that were tested contained total coliform bacteria.

Thirteen samples were collected from Winthrop and 20 from Brasher Falls, according to Public Health Engineer Ronald E. Sheppard from the state Department of Health.

Approximately two-thirds of residents also had high levels of hardness and/or iron, approximately one-quarter have sulfur, and several indicated they had drilled within the last 10 years or planned to drill a new well because of declining or insufficient yield from their well.

A number of homeowners also indicated that their water supply was shared with at least one other home, according to Mr. Sheppard.