RIPLEY — At their regular meeting on Oct. 8, Ripley Town council members scheduled two public hearings to take place on today at 7 and 7:15 p.m., respectively.

The first public hearing is to review and approve the agreement between area municipalities and Spectrum cable company. The second public hearing will be to approve the tax cap override.

In 2017, Ripley council members approved designating the village of Mayville as the lead agency in negotiating with Spectrum. The agreement for the coming year has been finalized and needs approval by the participating municipalities.

Also at the meeting, Supervisor Douglas Bowen provided an update on the town’s ongoing water and sewer projects. Both projects have been in the works since 2015.

Bowen reported that the Water District 5 project is pretty much finished. The health department and other agencies have “signed off” on the project, Bowen said. Works crews are mostly cleaning up areas that settle when it rains, he said.

At the town board meeting on September 10, residents of Ripley’s Water District 5 expressed dismay over their inability to hook up to municipal water. It was anticipated that hookups would be completed during the summer, however, water testing caused delays.

Bowen told board members that water testing was complete and residents of Water 5 are hooked up and meters are being installed. “It’s been a long process,” he said.

Bowen also informed the board that construction has begun on the Sewer District 2 project. The town has sent a letter to residents in the area regarding the construction, he said.

The board passed a resolution officially establishing the Town of Ripley Sewer District No. 2 in August 2016. There were several delays in getting the project underway, including a government shut-down and the COVID-19 crisis.

At their meeting on May 14, Ripley Town Council members awarded the bid for the long-awaited Sewer District 2 project to J.D. Northrup Construction Inc. for $2,201,750. The bid from J.D. Northrup was considerably lower than all other bids received, he said.

Construction began this week, Bowen said. All of the residents in Sewer District #2 received a letter informing them of this and things are moving forward, he said. “Finally, we’re getting there,” he added.

Ripley’s Sewer District 2 and Water District 5, which were initially discussed in 2014, are part of a four-phase project to upgrade and expand the town’s sewer and water system.

In other business, Bowen told board members that the Chautauqua County Land Band has to rebid the demolition of the property at 135 West Main Street because of a lack of clarification in bid specification.

The town had repeatedly tried to get the owner of the property to comply with local codes and regulations. Ripley finally took possession of the property at 135 West Main Street on July 15, 2019, when it came up for sale due to unpaid taxes.

“We wanted to get it cleaned up and that’s why we bought it through the tax sale,” Bowen said. After cleaning up the property and assessing the soundness of the building, it was determined that the structure should be demolished.

In response to the frequent inquiries from the public concerning this and other properties in the town, Bowen reminded everyone that the progress has been on hold because of New York Pause regulations.

In response to questions from the public, Bowen said that the demolition of the structure at 135 West Main Street is on hold because of New York Pause regulations. “It’s at a standstill until the governor says it’s okay to move forward,” he said.

The town took possession of the property at 135 West Main Street on July 15, 2019, after repeated attempts to get the owner to comply with local codes and regulations.

After cleaning up the property and assessing the soundness of the building, it was determined that the structure should be demolished.