Steve Thurston (2021)
Patrick Morris, property manager of the Montcalm Apartments on Burke Road in Queensbury, addresses the board, Monday June 7.
The town of Queensbury will apply for Community Development Block Grant funding to help the Montcalm Apartments remove their on-site, septic treatment plant and install a system that will tie into the town’s sewer.
The issue for the apartments is the age of the system and the odors it creates.
CDBG money is available for economic projects, but only municipalities--not the businesses helped--can apply for the money, said Stuart Baker a senior planner with the town. The town will apply for the largest grant available, in this case is $1 million, gained through the New York State consolidated funding application process.
The Montcalm Apartments at 220 Burke Drive, a block south of the Queensbury School campus, has 226 apartments and a bit over 400 residents, said Property Manager Patrick Morris, adding that the complex is subsidized and 225 apartments are rented to low- and moderate-income people. He spoke to the town board at their meeting June 7.
The current treatment plant dates from 1971, and is generally in compliance with current envioronmental regulations. The Montcalm Apartments, and their parent company CRM Rental Management Inc., have been working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
"What we need to do is eliminate the odors," Morris said. The old system just cannot be made to correct the problem, he added. "It's a very difficult plant to maintain." The best answer is to eliminate it completely, he said.
Baker said he worked with the town's Water Superintendent and Wastewater Director Chris Harrington to create a plan to use grinder-pumps which would move the effluent from the apartments north to meet with the town sewer system on Weeks Road.
The two-inch pipeline would run through the edge of the Queensbury school campus--if the school system allows for the easement on its property--and under the Northway, Baker said. The size of the pipe means less disruption when construction occurs, yet it is still big enough to allow the school to tie into the system if they decide to, Baker said.
CRM has been paying for studies so far and will cover construction costs over $1 million if the grant is awarded, Morris said.
Asked what the back-up plan was if CRM did not get the money, Morris replied, “We don’t have a good contingency. We don’t have one.” As an affordable housing company, they do not have the money.
The application is due in July, and the announcement of awards should occur before the end of the year, Morris said.