Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor joined his fellow board members, State Senator Pam Helming, and Assemblyman Robert Oaks to announce that the Village has received significant funding for its water treatment plant project. The New York State Department of Health has awarded the Village a $553,000 grant for water fluoridation.
In the fall of 2017, Mayor Taylor and Administrator Murawski submitted a grant request to the New York State Department of Health, assisted by MRB Group. A fourth round of funding through the State’s Drinking Water Fluoridation program had become available, and the Board of Trustees was quick to support an application.
“If there’s an opportunity to offset the cost of needed system maintenance or improvements, we will do everything we can to reduce the cost to our water customers. We pursued the grant, and got it!” said Mayor Taylor. “This is a great day for the residents and water customers of Newark,” he remarked.
“Today’s announcement is great news for the Village of Newark and local residents!” said New York State Senator Pam Helming. “Mayor Taylor and the Village of Newark Board are terrific partners in government and I was proud to support this project. As State Senator, I will continue my efforts to drive critical state investment in local water and sewer infrastructure. These projects are important for the future of Newark and will ensure that local families have access to safe, affordable water now and for generations to come,” Senator Helming stated.
The competitive funding required an extensive application process, which included submission of an engineer’s report outlining proposed improvements to the system. According to Shawn Bray, PE, the engineer at MRB Group working closely with the Village, current operations and well-planned maintenance worked in the Village’s favor.
“The State wants to be sure they are investing in communities with sound strategies for maintaining water infrastructure,” Bray said. “Newark has proven that good planning is beneficial, not only in making sure the Village’s aging assets are properly maintained, but also in pursuit of opportunities like this – to lower the expense to local residents,” he continued.
The funding will enable the Village to relocate and upgrade its currently aging fluoridation equipment, increasing its efficiency.
“I am elated that Newark is focused on improving and upgrading its infrastructure and that the Village’s meticulous attention to maintenance was a factor in being awarded this competitive grant,” said Assemblyman Robert Oaks. “This project continues Newark’s strong efforts in improving and upgrading the Village’s critical infrastructure,” he said.
“We are very pleased to be able to announce this investment by the State in our community,” said Mayor Taylor. He thanked Senator Helming and Assemblyman Oaks for their strong support, as well as his staff and MRB Group for their hard work in securing the grant. “It’s rewarding on many levels, since we reduced the financial impact and increased what we can accomplish with limited local funds,” Mayor Taylor stated.
The project will be part of the planned upgrades currently taking place at the Village’s water treatment facility on Freshour Road in Shortsville. The Village also received $3 Million in State funding for the larger project through last year’s investment in water infrastructure, an initiative to address aging water systems and components state-wide. The problem plagues many communities without the significant financial resources needed to replace water lines, filtration, and plant buildings that have outlived their intended lifespans. The Village of Newark has been working with MRB Group to design system improvements, implement new technology, increase efficiency, and keep long-term operational costs as low as possible.
“The Village of Newark and our water customers will see the benefit of these water system improvements for many years to come,” said Mayor Taylor.
