Most of our project funding is debt. Right now, Saranac Lake’s outstanding water and sewer debt is $21.9 million. Most, not all, of this debt is 0% interest, but it all must be repaid. Our accumulated debt includes such things as the LaPan Avenue sewer line, the Dorsey Street stormwater project, and the UV system at the water treatment plant. The latter grew in cost to $11.5M in 2021. The village secured $3.7 million in grants, leaving roughly $7.8 million as the amount due the Environmental Facilities Corp (EFC), New York’s water infrastructure bank. That’s how these projects go: there are grants, but most of the funding exists as debt to village taxpayers.

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Paying for abandoned wells

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We bonded $12.5 million dollars to move our water supply from McKenzie Pond to the single well we currently use. Two wells were drilled but one was unusable due to high iron. The one we use now is infiltrated by river water, causing seasonal spikes in salt content. We’d know more about that if the village made public the salt study we paid for. Like other issues here, transparency is lacking. There are 20 years remaining on that bond, which will continue to be paid, as it turns out, long after those wells are abandoned.

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The water’s not good

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Regardless of the salt study, we know the water’s not good because the village board voted to bond $22 million to return to McKenzie Pond as our water source. That vote was on May 28, 2024.

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WWTP bond

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A village board resolution in late 2023 authorized $34 million for wastewater treatment plant upgrades. Early in 2025, this was amended to $49 million. It’s the largest capital project in village history since sewer and water infrastructure was first installed during the tuberculosis “heydays” over a century ago. The village doesn’t intend to spend that much but they must first finance it before grants reimburse. The engineering firm SDA handles the grants, the scope of work, everything. When you look at it, the numbers don’t quite add up.

In summary, we’ve got $21.9 million in debt for water and sewer right now. Future (additional) borrowing of $22 million for water and $49 million for sewer has been approved.

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Plus $27.5M — whose math?

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The price tag for the Pius renovation will exceed $27.5 million. The village has around $8 million in saved money and promised grants. Therefore: 21.9+22+ 49+19.5 = $112.4 million in current and projected debt. The state limits the amount of debt municipalities can carry to 7% of the combined full valuation of its taxable properties. For Saranac Lake, that cap is around $25.4 million. Who’s doing the math here? The concept of “build it and the grants will come” makes no sense. We don’t have substantial grants (nothing even close to half) for much of the water and sewer projects and certainly not for the emergency services building during this federal grant freeze. We’re paying SDA to apply for other grants. Mayor Williams said, “We’re not going to pass, as a board, something that cripples Saranac Lake, just to get it done.” That said, 13 municipalities in the United States filed for Chapter 9 since the 2008 downturn. None of them planned on insolvency. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says a U.S. recession could still occur in 2026.

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Viable alternatives and roads unexplored

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Village Trustee Aurora White said residents worry the project could make their property taxes unaffordable. Exactly the point. The village is already unaffordable. Witness our declining school enrollment, the shortage of volunteer firemen and the rise in second home ownership (read: wealthy, out-of-town owners).

The police department is doing well at the old armory. It’s often stated that they cannot remain there long-term. However, contrary to statements by the current administration, the process to extend the village boundary to include the old armory has never been initiated and was barely even discussed. The process needs to be started now. That property could become part of the village, and bingo, what a great win it would be. It could also house the SLVFD — it was built for heavy vehicles. Why not initiate the process? It makes no sense to spend all this money without exploring every alternative.

The fire department, however, wants to stay where it is. So let them stay there. Build the new addition as has been planned for years. Otherwise, the village must pledge to sell the Broadway station along with the two adjacent empty parcels. Thus far, mum’s the word regarding the sale of the old firehouse. No transparency. It appears the village plans to build a new firehouse and keep the old one.

The rescue squad can remain adjacent to the fire department on Broadway, their present building replaced, or join the fire department in a new building or addition.

Tupper Lake has pursued the state for financial losses related to getting off Big Tupper Lake for their water. New York pushed Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake to wells and both have paid the price. Saranac Lake needs to follow Tupper’s example and not just concerning the wells. Check out Tupper’s fire and police building on Santa Clara Ave. They did a great job at one-third the price — for brand new. The old Pius High School is a white elephant — everything needs to be replaced and it’s not all budgeted. It wasn’t a great building in the 1960s: basic concrete block construction with little to no insulation on a crawl space. All the systems are antiquated and unusable — low voltage, high voltage, plumbing, heating — all of it. Seems like it would be more efficient to tear it down and build new. That way, we can get back to the ideal building size for us, which is 35,000 square feet, not 70,000.

“We’ve spent over $800,000 and [village residents] don’t have a commitment on how much we’re willing to spend,” White said.

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Dan Reilly lives in Saranac Lake. This guest commentary is the second of two parts. The first ran in Friday’s Enterprise.