Conklin board says Pride Manor hookup contingent on owner paying engineering, legal costs

The Town of Conklin told Pride Manor Mobile Home Park’s owner that the municipal water connection will be switched on only after the owner pays the agreed-up front legal and engineering costs for the extension, Deputy Supervisor James E. Finch said. Finch told the board that the town’s highway crew will perform trenching but the owner must cover the design, legal and hook-up costs before water will be activated.

The board and town engineers discussed practical safeguards for nearby users and the distribution backbone. Water and Sewer Superintendent Tom Delamarter and Town Engineer John Mastronardi said the work will include backflow prevention to keep private-system wastewater from entering Kirkwood or Conklin mains, and the owner agreed to fund required tests and mitigation. As Delamarter told the board during a public hearing on water rates, the town will follow ‘‘a good rate structure’’ for billing, and any outside-user agreement must document the metering, backflow, and maintenance responsibilities. The town also made clear that any extensions that add users should not increase costs for existing district members without a formal financing plan.