Staff report
Rutland city’s water is slightly contaminated.
Mayor Mike Doenges told the Board of Aldermen Dec. 18 that haloacetic acid was found at 60.5 parts per billion in the water, which is just above the federal limit of 60 parts per billion.
Doenges said there were no immediate health risks to the public. The contaminant has been reported to put people at an elevated risk of cancer if a person consumes the contaminated water over a long period of time.
Doenges said the contaminant has appeared in the city’s drinking water before. The city will identify the cause and then put a plan together to remdiate it over the next three months. Residents will receive a notice about the issue on their next bills.
The Rutland City Board of Aldermen also approved a letter of intent for the former factory building at 10 Cleveland Avenue.
The letter asks the property owner to hold the property for 60 days while the city conducts environmental assessments to put together a corrective action plan.
City officials are hoping the property could become part of a future TIF district — a longterm plan to take care of blighted properties in the city. The TIF distirct could be put to voters within the next 12-18 months.
“It’s very important that you vote for this tonight so we can get access to the property and finish the information process that we need so we can put a TIF bond together,” Alderman Bill Gillam told his colleagues.
“This gets us into the door. We need to go through the steps to get there so we can present to the taxpayers an actual plan to correct the blighted properties in this community.”
The property, a former factoy, has long been vacant and often has squatters, despite it being deemed unsafe to occupy.The property owner also owes the city $126,516 in back property taxes
“I know the neighbors are very, very excited to see this move forward,” Gillam said. “It’s been sitting there way too long doing nothing.”
The city will likely enroll in the state’s Brownfields Reuse and Environmental Liability Limitation Program (BRELLA), which would eliminate the city’s liability for cleanup.
“This is something that we’ve been working on through the TIF process for a significant amount of time,” Doenges said.
