Swan Lake

To the editor:

In a recent article about the Swan Lake sewer omits to mention three vital questions that taxpayers in the sewer district have been asking for the last three years: do we need an enormous expansion of our sewer? Do we want the proposal that is being forced down our throats? And can we afford the massive increase in our taxes that is required to pay for it? The answer to all three questions is “no.” 

The beneficiaries of the Town’s plan will be developers who don’t live in Swan Lake and want those of us who do live here to pay for their sewer connections so they can make bigger profits. In return, Swan Lake taxpayers will face double or triple-digit tax hikes – in my case by 172% in my sewer tax and 58% in my total town tax. This is shameful.

No-one disputes that the Swan Lake sewer needs upgrading and expanding, which is why the Town Board agreed and obtained funding for a new plant with a capacity of 686,000 GPD three years ago – more than enough to handle approved and projected development. Construction costs have risen substantially in the meantime, during which the Board could and should have closed the deal. But now we are told we “must” have a hugely-bigger plant that costs more than twice as much.

No thank you. Swan Lake is not going to be handed over to developers at the community’s expense by Frank deMayo, Dean Farrand and John Lennon.