Woodstock approves acquisition of water company

This story by Clare Shanahan first published Oct. 30 on The Valley News.

WOODSTOCK — At a packed meeting of nearly 500 people at City Hall Tuesday night, voters authorized the town to purchase Woodstock’s privately owned water system.

After months of debate and a heavily initiated public comment period about a month ago, residents supported the purchase at special Town Meeting (382-103).

The vote allows the Selectboard to purchase the water system and the company’s assets from Woodstock Aqueduct Co. for $920,000, which would eliminate the company’s total debt. This money was allocated from the town’s unspecified fund balance, with about half secured by state grants. The water system primarily serves properties in Woodstock Village and fire hydrants throughout town.

Supporters of the purchase hope that through town ownership, long-term problems will be resolved and that the town will be in a better position to deal with the problems than the private company operating in the red.

The water system “is an issue that people care deeply about; water is really important to our community,” Selectboard member Laura Powell said Tuesday night. “This is vital not only for our residents, our businesses, our economy, our institutions, but also for our growth prospects.”

Attendance at Tuesday’s meeting seemed to underscore the importance of the water system to the community. About 500 of the nearly 3,000 registered voters in Woodstock turned out, or about 20%.

City Hall was so packed that most people had to stand upstairs or in the lobby.

“He’s very busy. “That’s the most people I’ve seen at City Hall today,” Powell said.

The meeting, which started at 18.00, was planned as a floor vote. At the beginning of the meeting, City manager Eric Duffy and the Selectboard briefly explained the purchase, cost, and the text of the vote.

By 6.20pm, residents had moved on to voting in Australia, choosing to end public comment. Some people reported that they could not hear comments from the main auditorium, and many shouted in support of opening the vote directly from the lobby.

Chaos reigned in the building, and about 500 people tried to organize in a single file to vote. Rather than wait, many left after the verdict was announced, and others returned later after the line became shorter. Many residents who brought their children to the meeting were moved to the front of the line to speed up the process.

Capacity issues were one of many issues that led to the town’s purchase. The Aqueduct company was unable to issue water permits to new developments due to limited water system capacity, slowing the town’s growth.

Although no one is sure what the transition will look like, “the town needs control of the system,” 72-year-old Don Wheeler said after Tuesday’s vote. Wheeler lived in Woodstock all his life.

In support of the ‘yes’ vote, Wheeler added: “(Town ownership) will be better for the system overall and will allow (the system) to grow and be properly maintained in the future.”

Duffy said in September that some improvement projects needed to be done to bring the system into compliance with state requirements. Specifically, many of the town’s fire hydrants are underpressured and no longer meet state requirements.

The town identified six necessary capital improvement projects for the system, including replacing and constructing new water mains, wells, pumps and storage tanks that will increase system capacity and durability.

Liz Nickerson is a Village resident and has lived in Woodstock since 2000. He said he voted for the purchase because it made the most sense for the town and would provide access to different financing sources.

“I always thought it was unusual to have a private water company and that the logic of having a private water company was obsolete,” Nickerson said.

As a public entity, the town is eligible for state and federal grants to repair and improve the system that the private company cannot access.

Problems with the private system, which serves more than 770 connections, came to public attention in July 2023, when floods damaged distribution pipes and left users without potable water for 10 days.

Duffy addressed the funding issue at the Board of Elections meeting on Sept. 23, where Tuesday’s vote was announced. He said ongoing system issues resulting from the 2023 flooding could be resolved much more quickly with FEMA funding and access to state grants.

Selection Board I’ve been looking into purchasing it since last summer. In January, the Selectboard officially gave Duffy permission to work on purchasing the system.

Duffy, other town staff and the Selectboard have held nearly daily meetings and forums around Woodstock since Sept. 23 to discuss the purchase and proposed capital improvement projects. Duffy explained in September that the town was forced to expedite the process after learning the grant funding had to be allocated by Thursday, Oct. 31.

Now that the town has approved the purchase, an Australian town vote will be held on Dec. 10 to approve a bond to purchase Vondell Reservoir, also owned by Woodstock Aqueduct, for $1.6 million and cost $1.6 million for related capital improvement projects . at least $6 million. The 352-acre reservoir is currently used for recreational purposes but could also be used to supplement the city’s water supply in the future.