Putnam/Danbury Agreement Could Provide A Big Economic Boost

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — A unique interstate agreement could mean an economic boost on both sides of the state line.

A plan expected to give an economic boost to Putnam County passed a major milestone this week when Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell secured an agreement from the City of Danbury to provide the sewage treatment necessary for the development of the Route 6 corridor.

"It is rare to get to work together across municipal and state lines, and I want to thank Danbury Mayor Dean Esposito for seeing the value in regional collaboration," Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell said. "Opening up that stretch of Putnam for development will create jobs for our residents and grow our tax base, and it will provide revenue for the City of Danbury."

Sewage access has long been an obstacle to Route 6 development because the road borders a protected NYC reservoir.

The Letter of Intent, signed by Danbury Mayor Esposito on Tuesday, broadly outlines the project in which a sewer line would connect 3.5 miles of commercially zoned land along the Route 6 corridor in the Town of Southeast to the City of Danbury’s sewage treatment plant, which has excess capacity. Danbury agreed to take 300,000 gallons of sewage a day from Putnam and charge no more than it charges other Connecticut municipalities that contract with it to treat their sewage.

"I’m excited to enter into negotiations on an historic inter local agreement with County Executive Odell and our neighbors in Putnam County," Mayor Esposito said. "This would be a significant benefit to both of our communities, and I look forward to continuing these discussions and moving this project ahead in the coming months."

The agreement could offer something of a population boom for both jurisdictions.

"This will benefit both Danbury and Putnam," said Vincent Tamagna, Project Manager for the project in the planning department. "There are many small parcels along that stretch of road. It’s not like anyone will be building a large mall or compete with Danbury, rather we will attract more people to support the region's businesses. In fact, the sewage may open up opportunities to develop more housing, which will mean more consumers to shop in both the City of Danbury and Putnam County."

County Executive Odell’s administration has pledges of around $5 million in federal and state grants for this project.

In 2017, County Executive Odell secured a $1.2 million state grant from Empire State Development funding to study the project. Subsequently, Putnam County got additional grants, including: $750,000 from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; $1,147,500 from Empire State Development; and $2.125 million from House of Representatives Community Project Funding (CPF).

"This is one of the largest opportunities we have had in decades to build on our economic infrastructure and environmentally improve a very important commercial corridor," County Executive Odell said. "We worked close with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and gained their support in improving and repairing many of the parcels of land that have failing or soon to be failing septic systems. This is a win for our environment as well as our future economic outlook."

With the initial agreement officially signed, the county’s consultants, H2M Architects & Engineers, can move ahead and conduct the studies necessary to determine the cost, design, engineering and construction plan for the project.

"H2M is proud to be a part of this important regional project demonstrating what can be achieved when you have interstate cooperation," H2M VP Jay Pisco said. "The sewer project is part of a bigger effort to bring other infrastructure improvements to the area. We look forward to working with Putnam County and Danbury to see the sewer project to completion."