BY PAT FARNELLI
Times-Shamrock Correspondent
The superintendent of the Elk Lake School District has agreed to a private property easement that will allow a utility company to hook up the campus to Marcellus natural gas by a mutually agreed upon deadline.
At last Wednesday’s board meeting, president Anne Teel introduced the topic of the Leatherstocking pipeline path, then turned the subject over to Superintendent Ken Cuomo.
Cuomo said that the school’s utility gas will still be pumped from the nearby Church Compressor Station, but that Leatherstocking Gas has been unable to contact the Church property owners so that they could grant an easement for the pipeline.
In order for the school district to make the transition to natural gas as scheduled by Dec. 30, the two closest adjacent properties were asked to grant easements for the Leatherstocking line.
“The location for the compressor station is landlocked, and the landowner who would have most impacted the project is not available,” Cuomo said. “Both adjacent property owners have agreed; I happen to be one of them,” Cuomo said.
He said that the pipeline “will be cutting across a corner of our property. There will be some remuneration at the going rate.”
Board member Arden Tewksbury said, “We appreciate you agreeing to this so that the project can be completed on time.”
Leatherstocking has agreed, in its contract with the district, that if the switch to gas as the schools’ main utility fuel is not completed by the end of 2014, they will pay a monthly late fee.
Elk Lake’s board of directors, Johnson Controls (Elk Lake’s Energy Savings Program contractor) and legal counsel added this stipulation to the contract so that the transition would take place in a timely manner.
“This company doesn’t like to write checks, so their goal is to have it here by Dec. 30, which is also our goal,” Cuomo said.
He noted that some pipes are already staged on campus near the gas pumps.
The board approved PLANCON H & K, and accepted the project into the minutes.
Cuomo said that the state has approved the project plans.
The board also approved a propane lease with Hiltz for the months of October and November. The district temporarily converted its boilers to propane in preparation to the switch to natural gas. Two payments of $5,500 were approved.
A legal fees agreement was approved, renewing a contract with the law firm Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams with a slight increase in rates.
Cuomo said that the firm had not increased its fees for several years.
During the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center meeting, the board approved the 2015 board meeting dates.
The SCCTC meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. The Elk Lake meetings will be held on the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. The July meeting for both Elk Lake and SCCTC will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 13. In December, both meetings are held on Wednesday, Dec. 2, starting at 7 p.m.
Cuomo, SCCTC director Alice Davis, and board member Jack Sible participated in a recent conference on vocational education. Davis presented at the conference on the topic of preparing students for work and higher education.
Cuomo said that Davis did an excellent job promoting the programs at the career center, and that several other schools have scheduled tours of the SCCTC.
A wheelchair van that had been previously traded in was re-purchased, as a need for it arose with a new student. Fortunately, the van was bought back at the same price it had sold for, $5,297, with several repairs made in the meantime.
Davis announced that the Skills USA and FBLA competitions are coming up soon, and a Challenge program has begun through Cabot Oil & Gas.
It was announced that board member Harold Bender was in a serious car accident, and board member Chuck Place reported that Bender and his wife are home from the hospital and recovering from their injuries.
Courses being offered for adults this fall include welding, auto inspection, ServeSafe food service safety, and the Licensed Practical Nursing program.
The EPA Lead Renovator Training course offered by SCCTC instructor Gary Fenton was approved for contract renewal with Broome County.
Be the first to comment on "EL superintendent grants gas easement"