The village of Newark recently received $553,000 from the New York State Department of Health for water fluoridation at its water treatment plant.
Mayor Jonathan Taylor and administrator Stephen Murawski submitted a grant request in 2017 with help from MRB Group. A fourth round of funding through the state’s Drinking Water Fluoridation program became available, and the village board of trustees quickly supported an application.
“If there’s an opportunity to offset the cost of needed system maintenance or improvements, we will do everything we can to reduce the cost to our water customers,” Taylor said. ” We pursued the grant, and got it. This is a great day for the residents and water customers of Newark.”
“This announcement is great news for the village of Newark and local residents,” said State Sen. Pam Helming, R-54th District. “Mayor Taylor and the village of Newark board are terrific partners in government, and I was proud to support this project. As state senator, I will continue my efforts to drive critical state investment in local water and sewer infrastructure. These projects are important for the future of Newark, and will ensure that local families have access to safe, affordable water now and for generations to come.”
The funding required an application process, which included submission of an engineer’s report that outlined proposed improvements to the system. According to Shawn Bray, engineer at MRB Group, current operations and well-planned maintenance worked in the village’s favor.
“The state wants to be sure they are investing in communities with sound strategies for maintaining water infrastructure,” Bray said. “Newark has proven that good planning is beneficial, not only in making sure the village’s aging assets are properly maintained, but also in pursuit of opportunities like this to lower the expense to local residents.”
The funding will enable the village to relocate and upgrade its currently aging fluoridation equipment, increasing its efficiency.
“I am elated that Newark is focused on improving and upgrading its infrastructure, and that the village’s meticulous attention to maintenance was a factor in being awarded this competitive grant,” said Assemblyman Robert Oaks, R-130th District. “This project continues Newark’s strong efforts in improving and upgrading the village’s critical infrastructure.”
“We are very pleased to be able to announce this investment by the state in our community,” Taylor said.
Taylor thanked Helming and Oaks for their support, as well as his staff and MRB Group for their work in securing the grant.
“It’s rewarding on many levels, since we reduced the financial impact and increased what we can accomplish with limited local funds,” Taylor said.
The project will be part of the planned upgrades taking place at the village’s water treatment facility on Freshour Road in Shortsville. The village also received $3 million in state funding for the larger project through last year’s investment in water infrastructure, an initiative to address aging water systems and components statewide. The problem plagues many communities without the significant financial resources needed to replace water lines, filtration and plant buildings that outlived their intended lifespans. The village worked with MRB Group to design system improvements, implement new technology, increase efficiency and keep long-term operational costs as low as possible.
“The village of Newark and our water customers will see the benefit of these water system improvements for many years to come,” Taylor said.
*Original article online at http://www.waynepost.com/news/20180419/newark-village-receives-funding-for-water-treatment-plant
Print 
PDF