S. Burlington to Shelburne: Pay to use our water tank

SHELBURNE – For those who seek panoramic views of the Champlain Valley, elevation is everything. But higher ground around the Kwiniaska golf course in Shelburne — and the challenges it poses to water supplies — has kept a proposed 90-unit housing development on hold for eight solid months.

EARLIER: Shelburne gives initial approval to Kwiniaska project

Shelburne and South Burlington officials are still negotiating fees for the project’s state-required access to a source of emergency backup water storage, confirmed Shelburne Town Manager Joe Colangelo on Thursday.

“There are a lot of hoops that developers have to jump through in Vermont,” Colangelo said, “but water is not typically one of them — because there is plenty of water around here.”

Indeed, ample domestic and fire-service flow reaches the plateau on which Kwiniaska perches. Massive pumps operated by the Champlain Water District see to that.

As insurance against those pumps’ failure, every part of the district’s service area must document a secure, 24-hour source of water, said CWD’s general manager, Jim Fay.

As it happens, South Burlington’s high-capacity (and suitably elevated) tank on Dorset Street has, for decades, served as emergency storage for about 400 homes in Shelburne's northern Spear Street neighborhoods.

The “South Burlington East” tank has ample capacity to support the Kwiniaska development, Fay said, but Shelburne must formalize that access.

South Burlington has no objection to the plan, said City Manager Kevin Dorn last week. But, but he added, that amenity will carry a price, as it does currently for South Burlington ratepayers — who are still footing the bill for upgrades to the tank.

“They’re paying for the storage capacity for which the town of Shelburne is benefiting,” he continued. “The question has come up: Should Shelburne not share the cost of that?”

Ratepayers in Shelburne who years ago connected to the Dorset Street tank never contracted with South Burlington for the privilege — and should now be included in a fee-for-service agreement, along with Kwiniaska, Dorn added.

Colangelo sees it differently.

“This came out of the blue,” he said.

“No one in Shelburne knew that this tank had our backup storage until last November,” Colangelo added. “The issue simply never came up until the Kwiniaska proposal.”

Furthermore, South Burlington never consulted with Shelburne when the city bonded for improvements to the Dorset Street tank, Colangelo said; nor did South Burlington ever notify Spear Street’s Shelburne residents when the tank was taken off-line for maintenance.

“I don’t have a problem paying for anything that happens from now into the future,” Colangelo added.

Complicating negotiations over the “grandfathered” status of existing homes in Shelburne, Colangelo said, is the number of bureaucracies at play.

In addition to the two municipalities the Champlain Water District (the region-wide utility which must account for the use of the water it supplies) and the Shelburne Water Commission (an independent body that will ultimately vote on a deal) must sign on, Colangelo continued.

“It’s not quite as easy as me and Kevin Dorn sitting down and shaking hands and coming to an agreement,” he said.

Alternatives to a contract with South Burlington for storage at the Dorset Street tank exist, said Joe Duncan, chief engineer at Champlain Water District.

Cumulatively, Shelburne’s three water tanks have more than enough storage for the entire town’s foreseeable needs, Duncan added, but they can’t gravity-feed Spear Street’s higher reaches.

With enough money, engineering prowess and power backup, Shelburne could pump water uphill from an existing tank to the Kwiniaska highlands, Duncan said.

Or, he added, the town could physically raise the structure of a tank to a suitable height; or build an entirely new tank at a higher elevation.

Colangelo is holding out for a negotiated settlement.

“It’s the most attractive option because it’s the one that’s currently in play,” he said. “It’s just a matter of working out a solution that is fair and equitable. Our working relationship with South Burlington is strong.”

Dorn, too, sounded cautiously optimistic.

And the developer who had hoped to break ground early next year on the first phase of construction at Kwiniaska?

Chris Snyder declined to comment on negotiations between Shelburne and South Burlington.

Colangelo offered a clue.

“He’s been as patient as he could be, under the circumstances,” he observed. “My hunch is, he’s probably more agitated than he lets on. But I should let Chris speak for himself.”

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or joelbaird@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp.