BF sewer treatment plant still at top of infrastructure list

BOSQUE FARMS — The village of Bosque Farms has compiled a five-year list of infrastructure projects of nearly $60 million it is hoping the state will help fund through capital outlay awards.

As part of its yearly process, the village council reviewed the projects on its Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan and prioritized the work for the purposes of seeking funding from the state.

Village Deputy Clerk Shailene Lopez recommended leaving the funding request for improvements to the municipal waste water treatment plant at No. 1, since it is the “most pressing” infrastructure need in the village.

Lopez recommended keeping the request for funding for booster pumps for the village wells as the second priority. Booster pumps kick in when demand for water increases to keep water pressure in the system consistent and adequate.

Councilor Erica De Smet asked if the booster pumps would be funded out of arsenic treatment mitigation funds the village already received, as previously discussed. Lopez said the arsenic mitigation funds were separate and could not be used for the pumps.

The deputy clerk recommended putting arsenic removal at No. 3, followed by the purchase of heavy equipment.

“We have equipment that is failing and have needs for new equipment like a hydro excavator, for the maintenance and water department,” Lopez said. “The backhoe is struggling and needs to be replaced.”

Other priorities included road construction, renovations or construction of village offices and renovations of the police and fire station.

“(Village hall) needs better space and it’s falling apart. I would suggest construction because it needs a fresh start, in my opinion, but that is harder to fund,” she said.

De Smet asked what the plans were for the police and fire department renovations. Lopez said her understanding was new construction for the police department and then renovations for the remainder of the building for the fire department’s use.

Bosque Farms Police Chief Andrew Owen said the current police station was not designed for a police department, “and never has been. Two years ago we received funding for renovation planning and we’ve used the majority of that already with Molzen-Corbin for about half the property next door for PD and animal control.”

The chief said the department needs a true evidence room and interview rooms if the department ever hopes to be accredited, something that he felt can’t happen in the current facility.

“It’s easier to start from ground zero. For instance, we need actual IT that is separate from the village’s due to new federal standards. We have issues with officers printing documents (in the admin offices) accidentally,” Owen said.

The design developed by Molzen-Corbin would create a true animal control space, so the village can hold and quarantine animals itself instead of transporting them to the Valencia County Animal Shelter, which would result in a cost savings to the village, the chief said.

“The county had to raise its costs last year and the village is losing money. This would mitigate costs to residents,” he said.

Owen said if a new building was constructed for the police department, it would be up to the council to decide how the current PD space is used.

Lopez said any projects can be added or removed from the ICIP list and given whatever priority the council wants, noting the top five projects are typically considered the “most important.”

De Smet said she’d like to move the splashpad/pool project to the bottom of the list and add replacement of lights on Bosque Farms Boulevard rather than just repair of the lights.

The top 10 ICIP project requests for the village include $19,328,152 million for the wastewater treatment plant as its No. 1 priority. The village has already received $3,949,749 million for that project.

Following are $625,000 for new booster pumps for the wells, $5 million for an arsenic removal system, $2 million for road construction, $1 million for heavy equipment purchases, $2 million for village office renovations, $8 million for police and fire station renovations, $500,000 for the Little League concession stand, $8 million for construction of a new village administration building and $1.5 million for expansion at the Bosque Farms Community Center.