Council authorizes 10-year sewer agreement with Town of Amsterdam, adds 2-year review

The Amsterdam Common Council voted to authorize a 10-year intermunicipal agreement (IMA) with the Town of Amsterdam to govern sewer service, billing and capacity. Council members said the contract includes a two-year review process and provisions to address maintenance, billing and capacity needs.

A council member summarized the contract timeline: "It's a 10 year contract, subject to review every 2 years." City staff explained the IMA would require the town to create a sewer district to capture residents currently connected to the city's system, and it sets the town's charge at 1.5 times the city's rate. "It's 1.5 times the city's rate," a city director said during the presentation.

The draft agreement raises the town's daily wastewater allocation in the shared system from the previous 500,000 gallons per day to 750,000 gallons per day to reflect anticipated growth and proposed development. Staff told the council that if the town approaches the new limit, the city and town must discuss additional capacity and, if wet-weather flow accounts for more than 15% of the town's flow, the city will require the town to identify and correct unauthorized connections before any extra capacity is granted.

The IMA also requires the town to complete an infiltration-and-inflow (I/I) study within two years to locate inappropriate stormwater or unauthorized connections that can cause rapid flow spikes and occasional combined sewer overflows. City staff said the measure is intended to clarify maintenance responsibility, streamline billing and reduce wet-weather events.

The council moved and approved the resolution to authorize the IMA. The clerk called the roll and recorded ayes from council members as part of the approval.