By TORY DENIS
[email protected]
BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — A Bellows Falls nonprofit will be able to forego payment of approximately $2,000 in past due utility bills for water and wastewater.
Bellows Falls trustees approved by majority vote a request from Bellows Falls Area Development Corp. / Island Holdings for forgiveness on approximately $2,000 in owed water and wastewater billing.
BFADC Development Director Gary Fox said at a Bellows Falls Village Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday that “cleaning up” these fees would help BFADC move forward.
“This is a nonprofit organization that doesn’t live in the facility,” Fox said. The group does not use it or occupy it, and “won’t get a penny out of it,” he added.
BFADC / Island Holdings purchased the building in 2014 with plans to clean it up, demolish it, and create an attractive site for potential developers.
At the meeting, Bellows Falls Trustee Jim McAuliffe said that it would be great if the board showed support for the “epic” project that has raised more than $1 million over the past year. McAuliffe also noted that he recused himself from any recent board action on the issue, and would again, as he is associated with the group overseeing the Robertson Mill building project.
BFADC has received about $1 million in funding to clean up the site of the former mill, which still has a large brick building occupying it.
The nonprofit is a group of local citizens who are not financially compensated for their time serving on the board.
The group’s sole purpose, Fox said, is to serve the town and to help provide infrastructure and opportunities for incoming business.
Fox also said he appreciated the community’s concern regarding the utility bills. Fox said none of the funding BFADC / Island Holdings has received allows for payment for water and wastewater.
After Trustee Steve Adams inquired about the possibility of the town putting a lien on the property, Fox said that grant funding could not continue to move forward if a lien were to be placed on the property.
Bellows Falls Village President Myles Mickle made a motion to forgive the delinquent water and wastewater bills and to waive all fees for BFADC on that property.
Not all members of the board were in agreement with the suggestion. Trustee Deborah Wright stated that the timing is “really poor” and that this issue should have been taken care of a few years ago. She also stated that other citizens had to pay their water and wastewater and taxes on time.
Wright said she could not agree with forgiving the BFADC debt at this time, and encouraged the members of BFADC to step forward and contribute toward paying the debt, as she noted she has done in the past when involved with nonprofit organizations.
She also said this is a private nonprofit, and that BFADC has received two revolving loans, and that to her knowledge, repayment has not yet begun. However, she said, if no lien is place on the property, then grant funding should remain secure.
Trustee Stefan Golec said that it is a “tough call,” because bills went out recently and a lot of residents have contacted him about water bills. For some people in the community, he said, a recent rate increase will affect them.
Jonathan Wright, a resident and Bellows Falls business owner who was in the audience, said that he agreed with Wright, but said he also thinks it is a “little bit short-sighted” to not look ahead at the potential for the Robertson Mill project, and that the whole board is made of volunteer members.
“The whole premise of BFADC is Bellows Falls,” he said, and added that if it were a private entity, it would be a different story.
“We have a gem in the rough right here on the island,” he said.
He also said the property could have the potential to put the property back on the town’s Grand List and bring in revenue, and that he would support the board absolving the nonprofit’s debt so BFADC can start deconstructing the property.
O’Keefe mentioned that for delinquencies in water and wastewater fees, structurally “it is a lien, automatically.”
The trustees voted to allow the utility bill debt forgiveness on the Robertson Mill property, with Mickle, Golec and Adams in favor, Wright opposed, and McAuliffe recused from the vote.
In related municipal news, in the Manager’s Report for the April 24 meeting, O’Keefe also reminded everyone that door knocker reminders would be delivered on Wednesday and Thursday for residents with delinquent water and sewer bills, and that service shut-offs will occur May 7-10. He encouraged any residents with delinquent bills to take care of payment as soon as possible to avoid having water shut off.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.