City to take Stateway Plaza sewer main by eminent domain

The city of Watertown will begin the process of taking land and a privately owned sewer main that connects into the city's system near Gaffney Drive from the owners of Stateway Plaza using eminent domain.

Purchasing the main will open up land owned by Vision Development, Alexandria Bay, that now cannot be developed because it does not have access to a public sewer line. The company's principal, Patrick M. Donegan, has submitted plans to construct a hotel on the north end of his property, which runs along the east side of Interstate 81.

On Tuesday night, council members scheduled a hearing for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 to solicit comment on the move.

The city is proposing to take:

■ A 25- and a 30-foot-wide sanitary sewer easement at the north end of the Stateway Plaza that runs from Gaffney Drive to property owned by Vision Development.

■ An 8-inch main, manholes and other sewer infrastructure within the easement.

■ A 600-square-foot piece of property owned by Stateway Plaza that will become a city right of way in an area called the Gaffney Drive Extension.

"This has come about because we haven't been successful negotiating a price for that sewer line," Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham said. "While eminent domain isn't always a popular item, I certainly support this."

If the city chooses to take the property from Stateway Plaza Shopping Center, Montreal, using eminent domain, it must have the property appraised. The city will have to pay fair market value for the land and infrastructure, as determined by a judge.

City Manager Mary M. Corriveau said Tuesday that the city has not yet had the property formally appraised.

"To further accommodate commercial development in this area, Staff is recommending that we take steps to make the private sewer lines public," Mrs. Corriveau wrote in a letter to City Council members, "We are also recommending that the City Council consider obtaining title to a portion of lands located at the intersection of Gaffney Drive and Commerce Park Drive. This acquisition will allow public access through this area and allow us to maintain the area."

The city has pledged to spend about $715,000 to purchase and upgrade sewage mains along Gaffney Drive and near Stateway Plaza, acquire the privately owned main and upgrade a sewage pump station on Gaffney Drive.

The city has said it would cost about $90,000 to purchase the east-west main from the Stateway Plaza owner.

Earlier this year, the Jefferson County Local Development Corp. board approved a $100,000 grant to the city for those improvements.

Tuesday night, the council also met in executive session with attorney Jonathan B. Fellows, Syracuse, for about 85 minutes to discuss pending litigation. The city historically has retained Mr. Fellows's services concerning a case in which former officer Michael K. VanWaldick shot a Calcium man on Dec. 4, 2008.

A State Supreme Court judge has set Nov. 1 as the start date for a case being brought by the victim against the city concerning that incident.