Also, village revisits trouble-prone Pearl Street sewer
Infrastructure items dominated a short agenda on Monday (May 17) when Nelsonville’s trustees heard that the village’s annual share of state aid for road repairs will exceed $55,500 and discussed a new fix for an old problem: the private Pearl Street sewer.
The village will receive $28,931 in Consolidated Highway Improvement Program funds; $14,282 in Pave New York money; and $12,289 in emergency winter relief.
Chris Winward, the deputy mayor, said the village will spend $30,000 of the money to pave Secor Street, “which will leave us a nice chunk of change left over.” She presided at the meeting, held via Zoom, in Mayor Mike Bowman’s absence.
In March, the aging Pearl Street sewer line broke and the village made emergency repairs. The 6-inch pipe runs along Pearl, turns the corner onto Pine, and connects to the Cold Spring sewer system at Parsonage Street. Nelsonville officials anticipate installing a maintenance hole for easier access but await estimates and discussions with the homeowners who use the line and reimburse the village for the cost of repairs.
(In 2016, six residents sued Nelsonville and Cold Spring, saying the villages should take over responsibility for the line, but later dropped the case.)
Aside from the Pearl Street line and a few other exceptions, Nelsonville lacks a sanitary sewer network, although the Cold Spring sewage treatment plant has the capacity to process Nelsonville’s wastewater. Nelsonville largely relies on home septic systems and, to a lesser extent, on cesspools.
In other business, Pauline Minners, who retired three years ago, returned as clerk temporarily while the Village Board searches for a successor to Mindy Jesek, who left for a job with the Putnam County District Attorney’s Office.
The board reminded residents of two curbside debris-collection days: Monday (May 24) for grass clippings, twigs, bundled branches and similar lawn-garden discards; and June 11 for furniture and household goods.
