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Nice to see they're meeting regularly....................hmmm if they were to meet irregularly would there be less odor?............

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Let’s hope city can manage plant as well as Veolia did

    With the recent announcement that the city of Schenectady will assume the responsibility of managing the city’s wastewater facility at the beginning of the year [Dec. 10 article, “City opts to run sewer plant”] come extremely mixed feelings.
    I had firsthand knowledge of the foul odors [from this plant when] I delivered the Daily Gazette years ago.
    Veolia did an outstanding job in both performance at the plant and keeping our neighborhood informed of pending maintenance that could produce some odors, with a timetable for when they might occur and addressing our concerns, if any.
    With confidence, my family and I returned to this North End neighborhood in 2004 and have not experienced any disruption to our lives from the foul odors that were common on a daily basis years ago.
    We all know of the fi nancial hardships taking place in our country today. It is not surprising our elected officials are looking for ways to cut expenditures, but hopefully this will not result in diminished quality of operation and appropriate investment at the plant.
City officials site significant savings that would be realized by running the plant [itself] and hiring most of employees who now work there.
By keeping the expertise of these employees, we expect that a positive direction will continue.
I wish to thank Veolia for its great performance and professionalism over the years and, likewise, the best of luck to city officials in their decision to take over the running of our facility.

CLAUDE DUTCHER
Schenectady

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Sewer plant odors, and city’s attitude about them, need monitoring

    Re Dec. 27 article, “Residents to track sewage plant smell”: Allow me to begin by echoing the praise and gratitude bestowed upon Veolia [Water] by my fellow neighbors in their recent letters.
    Not only did Veolia fulfi ll its responsibility to operate a clean and effi cient wastewater facility, it agreed to place a portion of its annual fee in escrow, pending the decision of the neighborhood odor control committee as to whether the fee was paid.
    Having resided on Van Vranken Avenue for over 25 years, I recall the odors that regularly permeated my neighborhood while the city maintained the plant and the condescending manner in which it dealt with those of us who were seeking a remedy.
That said, I commend the mayor for recognizing the potential impact the plant has on the surrounding neighborhoods (including The Daily Gazette on Maxon Road) and his pledge to establish an odor committee.
I must, however, take exception to the mayor’s characterization of the former odor committee as an “informal group.” Our committee, composed of members of the neighborhood, took its responsibility very seriously.
I look forward to the mayor fulfi lling his pledge to establish a “formal” committee and hope that it will be empowered to sanction the city should it fail to maintain the high standards developed by Veolia.

JOHN SKUMURSKI
Schenectady

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Fixing something that wasn’t broken in Sch’dy

    As a relatively new resident of Schenectady’s North End, living on Van Vranken Avenue for the past seven years, my family and I have had only rare occasions where the air quality was even slightly unbearable. This occurred only in the early morning or late at night.
    Over the past seven years, Veolia was outstanding in keeping the residents informed on any and all change.
    I do understand that in today’s economy, everyone has to cut costs and become efficient wherever possible. However, I also believe that if something isn’t broken, why try to fi x it?
    When the decision was made by past city leaders to have the operation of this facility contracted out, I hope it was done for the interests of everyone involved — to solve a problem, save money and find the best company with expertise in water treatment.
    I do hope that city leaders who decided not to renew Veolia’s contract are ready to keep up the same air quality. I hope they are as responsive to North End residents as Veolia was. Since our taxes are higher than in years past, we trust that with the city running the plant, the level of concern will be as genuine as Veolia’s.
    I want to believe that the decisions made by our leaders are for the good of everyone! In this case, the decision was made without any input of the residents affected.

    EARL L. MILLER
    Schenectady

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Whom do Anthony St. residents call for relief now?

    Feb. 15 and 16 — what’s that “delightful” odor outside my door? Oh, yes! It’s the sewage treatment plant on Anthony Street. How wonderful. Now where did I put that contact number for Veolia Water? Wait! They don’t run the plant anymore! Now what do I do?
    I worked at the end of Anthony Street for 25 years (1970-1995) and was there when the city ran the plant and dumped raw sewage in the lagoons. We gagged at work and closed up everything. Then there was the white powder on the cars once the incinerator was working again. I kept asking myself what do the residents do?
    So why did I buy in the Schenectady North End? I’ve only lived here for over a year and before I bought, the problem seemed solved thanks to third-party management of the sewage treatment plant. If there was a problem, we knew how to contact Veolia and action was taken.
    Where’s the monitoring system the city was to implement? Before Jan. 1 we were Veolia’s clients. They had to take care of the city’s needs or lose the contract. (Guess that didn’t work too well.) Now we are just another city taxpayer. If they need a monitoring system, why not hire me? I can give them the “sniff” test 24/7.
And what of all the savings to the city? Is that at the expense of the North End’s quality of life? Have we seen any benefi t in our property taxes or services? How about my land value, which has dropped so low I can’t even sell my home if I wanted to? Maybe I should just start calling around to the City Council and mayor to fi nd out what to do. I’m sure they’ll enjoy speaking with me. After all, I am a voter.

DAVID SCHOCH
Schenectady

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SCHENECTADY
City-run sewer plant saves $30K monthly
McCarthy: Takeover from Veolia positive
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    When the city took over the wastewater treatment plant last year, opponents questioned whether the move would actually save money.
    Now, figures from the fi rst 90 days are in, and the city says it is saving $30,000 a month.
    Even more will be saved in electrical costs with the plant’s new energy system, which harnesses methane to reduce the need to buy electricity from National Grid. Those figures will be announced at the beginning of May.
    “It’s going well,” Mayor Gary McCarthy said. “We’re in very good shape.”
    He had predicted the city would save $1 million a year.
    Superintendent Paul Lafond said much of the savings thus far comes from decreased overtime. When contractor Veolia ran the plant, the contract called for the city to pay all overtime. Now that the plant is under the city’s control, some shifts have been rearranged to avoid overtime, Lafond said.
    The city is also able to take in revenue from the plant, for the fi rst time. Sewage haulers throughout the county pay to bring their waste to the facility. Veolia was allowed to keep all of that revenue under the old contract.
    “So we’re saving in revenue we have now,” Lafond said.
    Also, the city runs the plant for a little less than it cost to pay Veolia to run it, he said.
    “Some of the savings is their margin,” he said. “No offense meant — they’re a private company. They have to make a profi t.”
    Veolia had proposed a new contract last year that would have allowed the company to also keep revenue from the savings in electrical costs. McCarthy refused, and after negotiations broke down, he said the city would take over the plant.
SOME WORRIED
    Neighbors had mixed feelings about the switch. Some residents had welcomed Veolia because they thought a private company would put an end to the odors that often emanated from the plant.
    Before Veolia was hired, residents said the smells were sometimes so bad that they could not sleep, even after closing their windows.
    Smells occur when the plant develops a leak or machinery breaks down.
    Some residents said Veolia fi xed odor problems quickly when they occurred, but other residents said the plant still produced so many smells that the city was unlikely to do worse.
    So far, residents said it’s too early to tell whether the plant smells worse under city management.
    Also unknown is the plant’s electrical savings, which may be significant. The city pays more than $700,000 a year for electricity at the plant, and the new methane power system that started this year was estimated to save about 30 percent of that electrical bill. The process also reduces the amount of materials workers need to add to the sewage sludge, saving the city an estimated $37,000 a year.
    But those estimates were written in 2008. The power system only just started running, four years later. The system collects methane from the sewage and uses it for power. It cost $5 million to build. Grants covered about half of that bill, and the city is still paying down a loan for the rest.