Apalachin Community Press, January 2001
 
The Town of Owego
2000 in Review, 
Looking Ahead to 2001

by Carol Sweeney, Town of Owego Supervisor
The year 2000 was busy and exciting for the Town of Owego, a year of adding and rebuilding important infrastructure, helping our major businesses to add jobs and our smaller enterprises to thrive as well. A new Susquehanna bridge was started, some sewer and water line extensions have been completed and others added to the plan, Federal and State funds have been obtained to enhance our sewer treatment plants, and new and upgraded park bathrooms and new park sewer lines are planned and under construction. All of these things are adding to the quality of life here in our town.

The most exciting development this past year has been watching the construction of the new Apalachin-Campville bridge. I know many people have been viewing the progress from both sides of the river. The bridge is on schedule for an opening by July 1, 2001. This project is being funded by Federal and State transportation funds. There are no local property tax dollars being used to fund this bridge. This project also includes a new river access which will be on the south side of the river.

A new design for the Court Street bridge was unveiled, which will showcase the Tioga County Courthouse and the Village of Owego historic district. The final design and engineering work are almost complete. Bids on the new Court Street bridge project will be opened on June 21, 2001, and the contract will be awarded by August 2001. Construction will start shortly thereafter and the new bridge will be completed by the fall of 2002. The current Court Street bridge will not be closed and demolished until late in 2001.

The Apalachin Main Street bridge rehabilitation is being designed under the direction of Tioga County Public Works Commissioner Robert Korba. Construction is currently planned for this bridge in the 2002-2003 time frame.

Our newly upgraded Sewer Treatment Plant #1 located behind Sanmina (formerly Hadco) has been working well and producing clean effluent to the river. The additional capacity that this new plant provides allowed Sanmina to announce a 200-job expansion of their workforce and production capability here in the Town of Owego. Also, in May we were able to secure for this plant a twenty-year loan at 2.82% interest through the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation.

We were awarded a $323,000 EPA grant this past April to help pay for upgrades to our 30-year-old Sewage Treatment Plant #2 in Apalachin. The first phase of these upgrades will start this year and will produce cleaner effluent to the river. Thanks go to Congressman Hinchey for helping the town secure this grant.

During this past year water and sewer service was extended to over 200 residents at the eastern end of our town in the area of Stephens Road, Old Owego Road, Tobey Road, and Debra Lee Drive. We were pleased to finally get these projects constructed and allow residents to start hooking up to the town's facilities. In addition, the two wells at the bottom of Tobey Road that service the Tioga Terrace-Woodwinds area of the town were redeveloped, restoring these aging wells to their original capacity. In 2001, the area of Shady Hill Drive, Laine Court, Eland Drive, and Perry Drive is scheduled to have water service extended to the residences there.

There are renovations and expansions planned to be completed at our town parks in 2001. A new bathhouse being built by BOCES students at the Hickories Park campground should be finished this spring. Also, all of the Hickories bathrooms are currently being connected to the town's sewer plant since their septic systems were aging. In addition, the bathroom at Muth Park in Apalachin is in the process of being renovated and made handicapped-accessible.

During 2000, twelve residences of low-income homeowners have received rehabilitation assistance through the town's HUD Community Development Block Grant administered by Tioga Opportunities. An additional 12-15 homeowners should be helped through this grant this year.

Last January, the town board appointed a citizens advisory committee to look at the equity of our tax assessments and whether the town needed to do a full value reassessment. This committee met all year and delivered their report to the town board in November. They strongly recommended that the town do a full value reassessment to produce fairer and more equitable assessments town-wide. A copy of their report is available from my office for review. Thanks go to Chairman David Allen, and members Ada Ruth Ace, Charles Bertrand, Ellen Conti and Maureen Wilson for serving on this important committee. Since 1992, when the town conducted an inventory of all properties (but did NOT do a reassessment), the town has lost approximately $200,000 of state aid due to the fact that the town has not kept assessments current and equitable. Over the next four years (2001-2004) the town will lose another $180,000 of state aid due to not having our assessments equitable and at full market value. The town board will be voting on this important issue in January or February of this year.

As we work together to make the Town of Owego a better place to live, work and raise a family I encourage you to contact me with your ideas and suggestions at the Supervisor's office at 687-3535. My best wishes to you for a wonderful 2001!