63°
CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. - Lacking sufficient information regarding the quality of the sewer and water main lines it proposed to dig up, the New Castle Town Board postponed discussion on any King Street construction plans at Tuesday night's work session.
The proposed construction calls for the upgrade of water mains and sewer lines underneath King Street. At a work session on Jan. 17, questions were raised by local store owners about the necessity of the construction, and whether or not it had to be carried out in 2012.
"Unfortunately the engineers did not get all the work done today, they'll have it (Wednesday)," said Town Administrator Penny Paderewski.
The information will then be introduced by the board during a meeting with King Street store owners at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the New Castle Community Center. The meeting was organized by town officials to gauge merchant interest and concerns about the proposed construction.
Marmalade owner Cindy Lupica once again appeared at the board's work session on Tuesday night to restate her objection to digging up the street in front of her store. Lupica believes local merchants need time to recover after losing customers during construction on the Route 120 bridge and South Greeley Avenue parking lot.
While merchant interests will be factored into the process, much of the decision ultimately lies with how structurally sound the sewer and water main pipes are.
"I know our engineer said maybe we can put it off for a year, but at some point you really have to worry whether or not the infratructure's gonna hold," Town Supervisor Susan Carpenter said at the Jan. 17 work session. "If we have broken water mains and broken sewer pipes, your business will really be hurt."
Despite being unable to present all of the information on Tuesday, Paderewski said that cement lining put around the pipes in the late 1980s or early 1990s was not meant to make the pipes stronger, and the infrastructure has not been improved on since they were originally installed nearly a century ago.
"It does not make the pipes stronger; it doesn't do anything to prolong the life of the pipes," said Paderewski. "It just makes the water going through cleaner and clearer. Somebody raised the question, does that make the pipes sturdier? It does not. It was separate from that."
Paderewski stressed that the board is still in a data gathering stage and has not yet made any decision on the construction.
"We will be getting those engineering directions, or information, from our consulting engineer. Then our board will be able to make an informed decision about whether to move forward or not," said Paderewski.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Chappaqua and receive free news updates.
