Middletown board authorizes $1.5 million bond to acquire watershed land
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Summary
The Middletown board approved a $1.5 million serial bond authorization to provide the city's matching funds for state DEC grants aimed at buying watershed parcels, including the Hosking Farm, and installing riparian buffers to protect the water supply. The grants are reimbursement-based and must be spent by June 30.
The Middletown board voted to authorize $1.5 million in serial bonds to provide local matching funds for state grants that would buy and protect land in the city's watershed.
The measure, introduced as a resolution to support land acquisition for the city's water supply, was sponsored by Mister Rodriguez and seconded by Mister Massey. The board approved the authorization in a voice/roll-call vote that recorded three ayes.
The action follows a presentation from Mister Tweel, who said the project is being supported by two New York State Department of Environmental Conservation grants—one from what he called "Round 14" and a second from "Round 15". Each grant is roughly $3 million; according to the presentation, the DEC grants would cover about 75% of project costs and the city would provide a 25% match.
"Riparian buffers are just basically [a] natural filter that will clean the runoff when it rains," Mister Tweel said, describing planned buffers along the Chiwangong Kill to reduce sediment and other pollutants entering the stream. He added that planned acquisitions include the Hosking Farm and other watershed parcels.
City officials emphasized that the grants are reimbursement grants and that the city must front costs before the state reimburses. The mayor noted a previous reimbursement delay of about three years on earlier purchases and said the current grant funds must be spent by June 30. Under the figures discussed, if all planned spending proceeds, the city's out-of-pocket cost would total about $1.5 million of an estimated $7.5 million project.
Officials cautioned the board that the full $1.5 million outlay depends on finding willing sellers whose parcels meet DEC watershed criteria; purchases are restricted to qualifying watershed property. The resolution authorizes the city to issue serial bonds to provide the necessary upfront funds pending reimbursement from the DEC grants.
The board approved the resolution and then closed the meeting.