The second phase of Cobleskill’s $7.1 million water project is underway––though not without controversy.
Work has already begun on one water storage tank off Edgewood Drive, behind Fusion Church, and a second tank will rise near the water treatment plant off Mineral Springs Road.
A second part of the project––water mains and sewer linings along several village streets––will start in May.
This second phase comes nearly three years after a new water main was installed on Main Street between North Street and Campus Drive. That was the first phase.
The 250,000-gallon tank off Edgewood will replace a metal one that will remain standing, a sore point for some neighbors.
The original contract called for the old tank to be removed, but the tank will stand because the village doesn’t have enough money to remove it.
Contractors have cut down trees near the old tank, which is now visible to Edgewood neighbors.
“I could not see it before,” said Bryan Haslun. “Now there’s a huge rusty thing when I walk outside my house.”
Mayor Becky Terk was sympathetic, adding that solutions may come in the future.
“I agree with Bryan. . .I understand,” she said. “Perhaps down the road we can plant trees or get it removed somehow.”
Upset at first, Mr. Haslun recognized the village’s dilemma, though he’s still looking for an answer.
“I hope they get creative,” he said. “Can scrappers take it out? I don’t know.”
The water tank at the water treatment plant shouldn’t become an issue. This 500,000-gallon tank will replace a long-unused one behind Cobleskill Regional Hospital, Mayor Terk said.
DN Tank is the contractor for the tanks.
New water mains will be installed on South Grand Street, Veterans’ Drive, France Lane, High Street, Pine Street, Quarry Street, North Grand Street and Ridgewood and Grandview drives.
All of those streets except France, North Grand and Ridgewood will get sewer lines and lateral replacements.
All of those streets will also be repaved after mains and lines are installed, including a stretch of Quarry Street to the town line that’s not getting new water mains.
Engineer Brendon Becker said the water line work should start in mid-April.
Doing water and sewer work, then repaving at once makes sense, Mayor Terk said.
“Do it once and do it right,” she said. [Highway Superintendent] Lee Johnson said we should pave that extra part of Quarry while we’re there, and he’s right.”
Grants will pay for about $3 million of the $7.1 million project cost. The village is getting a zero-interest 30-year loan for the rest.
Mr. Becker said the two tanks, water mains and sewer linings should be finished in August or September.

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Going forward, work at the sewage treatment plant is next. Cobleskill has some grant money to pay for the project, but “we’ll probably have to use some of our reserve for that,” Mayor Terk said.
There’s more water- and sewer-line work to do along village streets, she added, but that will be done when money’s available.
“We can’t rely on grants all the time,” Mayor Terk said. “We want to get everything done but also keep costs reasonable and taxes down.”