Water purchases deemed ineligible for fed program
A Putnam County legislative committee voted to reallocate $370,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds Philipstown planned to use to buy water for the Garrison Landing Water District because the purchases have been deemed ineligible.
Legislators on the Audit and Administration Committee approved on Monday (July 29) a resolution to instead spend the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) money on a county Department of Public Works project in the town.
They also authorized replacing half of Philipstown’s ARPA allocation with $184,835 from Putnam County’s General Fund that can be used to reimburse the town for Garrison Landing water purchases.
The Rules Committee also had to approve the change, which it did on July 11. A vote by the full Legislature is expected on Tuesday (Aug. 6).
Michael Lewis, Putnam’s finance commissioner, wrote in a memo that despite “valiant efforts” by the county and Philipstown, “the expenses would likely not be eligible for ARPA and/or not be in compliance with rules for procurement using ARPA funds.”
John Van Tassel, Philipstown’s supervisor, said the town was “misled” by its ARPA consultant into believing any expenses associated with providing drinking water to the Garrison Landing Water District’s residents and businesses would be eligible.
The town discovered that the guidelines prohibited spending ARPA funds on the water that Philipstown has been buying for the district’s 84 users as it connects a new well to the system, said Van Tassel.
“Everything provided with trucking water is covered, except the water itself,” he said. “I could have purchased a truck to truck the water, built the road, put the piping in, but I can’t buy the product that we need with the ARPA funds.”
Putnam County received $19 million from ARPA, a $1.9 trillion COVID-relief spending plan enacted in 2021 by President Joe Biden. Putnam combined $5 million of its share with an equal amount in sales-tax revenue to create a $10 million pool to share with towns and villages based on their populations.
The Legislature approved spending from the pool in July 2022, with Philipstown receiving $740,000, initially to connect the Garrison Institute to the water district. (Cold Spring received $203,000 and Nelsonville, $64,000.)
A request by Philipstown to reallocate the sales-tax portion of the funding, $370,000, to instead connect a new well to recharge the district’s fading water supply won approval from the Legislature in June.
“We are close to getting the well hooked up,” said Van Tassel. “We finally got all the approvals that we needed.”
The well is expected to eliminate the need to purchase water for Garrison Landing. Created in 1998, the water district formerly drew from three wells, but they more recently have been unable to meet demand.
According to the town, trucking in water costs $25,000 to $30,000 a month. Fees collected from the water district’s customers for operations and maintenance are capped by state law at $20,000 annually, leaving Philipstown to spend town funds to cover the remainder.
In its search for a new source, Philipstown considered spending $800,000 to run a mile-long connection from its water tank at the Recreation Center. The town also drilled a 960-foot well that did not turn out to have sufficient water.
