Wastewater Committee Tallies Survey Results
April 7, 2011, page 1.....

At Town Meeting this year, the West Village Wastewater Committee asked members of the community to respond to a survey on whether – and if so, how – the town might use its reserve wastewater capacity to help implement the 2008 Town Plan. Eighty five surveys were returned, answering the following questions.
Question 1 asked whether “a portion of the unused capacity of the existing municipal wastewater system [should] be made available for private use – at some cost to the user – to support the goal of concentrated development in the West Village Center.” A strong majority (53 to 26) answered “Yes.”
Question 2 then asked those who answered “Yes” to indicate on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) which uses should have priority over others. Forty people responded using the scale. The highest priorities were to support the adaptive reuse of existing buildings (7.5), followed by the expansion of existing commercial uses (6.8), new commercial uses (6.4) and solving failed wastewater systems (6.4). Lesser but still significant support was expressed for senior housing (6.0), affordable housing (5.8) and expansion of existing residential uses (5.7). Least support was expressed for new residential uses (4.2).
Seventeen people responded to Question 2 using checkmarks. Among these respondents, senior housing garnered the most support; affordable housing, failed wastewater systems and the expansion of existing commercial uses all tied for second; adaptive reuses of existing buildings ranked fifth; new commercial uses ranked sixth. New residential uses and the expansion of existing residential uses garnered the least support.
Question 3 asked whether new private users should be charged “less than 100 percent of the pro-rated portion of the $125,000 it cost to build the municipal system in 2002.” By 43 to 22, respondents rejected this approach as a way of implementing the Town Plan.
Finally, the survey asked for ideas and suggestions that the Wastewater Committee should consider in putting together its final report and recommendations to the Selectboard.
Several who supported private access to the municipal system urged that new users be charged the full prorated and inflation-adjusted cost of what it would take today to replace and, if necessary, expand the system. They want the system to be fully self-sustaining with no support from taxpayer dollars for new users. In addition, a few people suggested that all new users be required to meet strict water efficiency standards (e.g., low-flow toilets and showers, no in-sink disposals) as a condition of connecting to the system.
Some who favored the use of the reserve wastewater capacity to support increased development in the West Village also suggested that the town consider charging different rates for new commercial than for new residential users, though there was no agreement on which users should be charged a lower or higher rate. Others suggested charging less than the full prorated connection cost for existing businesses and nonprofit enterprises while charging full costs for all other new tie-ins. Suggestions also included having the town explore the purchase of additional property near the village to expand the town’s capacity to meet future wastewater needs.
Several respondents opposed the use of wastewater subsidies to encourage further development of any kind – commercial or residential – in the West Village. One person put it this way: “Just because the Town Plan encourages compact development in the village centers does not mean that the town should provide septic in order to encourage that development.”
Finally, some respondents emphasized that the town should preserve the existing municipal system for current and future municipal purposes only – including the future septic needs of Charlotte Central School – and that all owners of private residential and commercial property should solve their own wastewater issues at their own expense. Others suggested, however, that new private connections to the system might be permitted if they demonstrably benefit the town as a whole.
The committee plans to present a draft final report to the Selectboard on May 9, with a final report to follow in early June. The ongoing work of the committee will be closely linked to the upcoming discussion of a new Town Plan, which will be put to a vote of the community in 2013. The members of the committee are well aware of the crucial role wastewater considerations will play in determining the direction of future infill and growth within the central village areas and appreciate the time and comments from interested citizens on this issue.

Information provided by the West Village Wastewater Committee – Dana Farley, Dave Marshall, Vince Crockenberg and Winslow Ladue.