Public Notice
There will be a public hearing on Town of Darien Water District #6 (proposed) at the Darien Fire Hall, located at 10537 Alleghany Road, Darien Center, at 7:30 p.m. on the 17th day of December (Monday).
The purpose of the public hearing is to discuss the proposal to establish a water district with specified improvements. All persons interested in the subject may be heard at this time.
Darien Residents Passing
Darien Residents Passing Petitions to have an official vote to overturn the
Creation of Water District #6 by the Darien town board
Darien residents who contest the formation of the Water District #6 have been actively getting signatures of those who want the issue finally put to a vote. Petitions are due by the 16th of January and 18 residents are afield with the petitions since the day after the “hearing”. The “Current status” section of the Darien Water District on the town website had no mention that the resolution was passed and that citizens have the opportunity to pass petitions for a special election on the issue. (Permissive Referendum)
The official public hearing was attended by about 140 residents. Background on this long standing attempt taken by the board to form the district can be found on thebatavian by searching “darien water district”
As explained by the Supervisor at the 2016-2017 meeting, one method was to have those residents who were asking the board to form the water district, pass petitions to create the district. At that time the audience was told if it did not get implemented then” it would be twenty years for another opportunity” Although no explanation was forthcoming when asked about the number of the residents signing the pro district petition, it is obvious that it was not successful.
The second method (implemented at the Dec 17,2018 meeting) was to have the board vote to form the district as a resolution after conducting this “hearing” where about 25 individual presented a number of reasons why this was not representing the residents who elected them. Issues such as :possible reduction of farmland now outside of the “Smart Growth Area; including areas designated as a Natural Asset Area and Ecological Network; overall debt load per parcel; questionable calculations and data in the updated plan by the engineers and planners ; highlighting unsafe wells without any statistical evidence. Each of these topics and more could be expanded as individual articles. Overall , the feeling in the room was one of real disappointment in the board. Conversations as to who will actually benefit from this decision in the future should the
district be implemented are common in town.
If you have not been contacted and want to sign the petition before Tuesday the 15th, Call the Darien Town clerk ,Ms Calmus, for names of those registered to pass petitions. A number of us are getting together to pool the petitions in order to submit them in one package with the proper cover page . Some petitions have been given to Ms Clamus already and those will be counted and attached on the date due. Send an email to Scidow43@gmail.com if you want to sign the petition or you will include your petitions with the group. Please , if you have turned your petitions in , let us know how many signatures you obtained.
E. Randell, would not being
E. Randell, would not being in the proposed district take you out of the County wide water deal?
I can't answer that.
I can't answer that.
A Nov 17 2018 article in the Batavia Daily Online states that Darien has not signed the agreement. No Town Board Minutes have been posted since June, 2018 so current info not available.
I have read docs posted by County Planning, Water Agency, etc and can't find any encouragement to develope this district. Most prominent are concerns about the ability to increase the public water supply anticipated for the future and needed increases in surcharge for those receiving water .