Schoharie Partners To Find Lead Pipes

By Joshua Walther

SCHOHARIE - The Schoharie Village Board met with RCap Solutions during their employee meeting on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming NYS lead line report.

RCap Solutions describes themselves as a nationwide not-for-profit that is federally funded through the USDA, EPA, and the Department of Health and Human Services to provide assistance to rural and poor communities with their water and sewer.

Two representatives from the regional office, Candace Balmer and Jesse LaVigne, stood before the Board on Tuesday to explain what exactly they could bring to the table.

Giving background on the NYS lead line report, Mrs. Balmer said that in the wake of the Flint, Michigan crisis, every municipality across the country must fill out an annual form on identifying and fixing their own lead pipes, and this year’s deadline is October 16th.

Mr. LaVigne stated that Schoharie is already being aggressive in trying to find their lead lines, and so while he may not be needed as much in the field, he will assist in looking through available records and filling out the Village’s spreadsheet of information.

In addition to this main service, RCap will be available for other services at no cost to the Village, such as training for water and wastewater operators, help with asset management, and how to be more competitive in pursuing grants.

After their brief presentation, Superintendent of Public Works Ken Bernhardt vouched for Mr. LaVigne’s performance so far, saying that he’s already made a substantial impact in the process.

Alongside Mr. Bernhardt, the rest of the Village Board was ecstatic to find RCap’s assistance, especially Mayor Colleen Henry.

“The deadline was coming up quick. Then, like a couple of angels, we got a call from them and they helped us out a ton,” she explained.

With good wishes traded between the two parties, the employee meeting concluded with both sides looking forward to further partnership with one another.