TUPPER LAKE – The village and town of Tupper Lake, with help from the Development Authority for the North Country, recently applied for more grant money to extend water infrastructure to support the Adirondack Club and Resort property development.

The most recent grant application, directed at $250,000 from the Northern Border Regional Commission, would supplement the $500,000 left needed to fund a $1.5 million expansion of water infrastructure for the ACR, which would increase water usage with its proposed addition of 650 housing units and a 60-room hotel. Village Mayor Paul Maroun has said before that an expansion of water and sewage would increase revenue for the village and that the resort will have a positive impact on local taxpayers.

Maroun negotiated a contract with DANC last June for assistance with renovating the town and village’s water infrastructure. DANC’s director of engineering, Carrie Tuttle, said they’ve so far assisted in “grant applications for funding, coordination with the engineering consultant and assistance and coordination with regulatory agencies.”

The village has already received a $1 million pledge from Empire State Development for this project. According to Tuttle, they’re still waiting on a preliminary engineer’s report to detail improvements and get a better idea of how the project will move forward.

Funding for the ACR expansion is separate from the larger and more immediate effort to overhaul the town and village water systems for increased water quality and cost savings. This $6.2 million leg of the project involves replacing the surface water treatment plant on Big Tupper Lake with groundwater wells.

“Right now we get water from Big Tupper Lake and Little Simon pond,” Maroun said. “To bring that water in, you have to chlorinate it and filtrate it, and it’s a costly thing. Over the years, the DEC has tried to get away from surface water and get to underground water. They feel it’s clearer, cleaner, better for us, and it doesn’t cost as much to purify.”

Tuttle said $2 million for this part of the project will be funded by a grant from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation. Village and town water rate payers will cover the remaining $4.2 million as part of a 30-year, zero-interest loan.

“Right now, that part of the project is finishing up with design,” Tuttle said. “Once those plans are finalized, then that project would be ready to go out to bid, presumably late fall.”

Maroun added: “We currently have wells being analyzed for output. There are two wells with an option for a third, which should suffice the village, town and mountain with all of its developments.”