By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- The Potsdam Village Board of Trustees have taken a preliminary step toward amassing the $10.7 million they believe they will need for upgrades to the village’s wastewater treatment plant.

The board set a hearing date of Nov. 16 on the plan to borrow up to the full amount, “but we won’t necessarily borrow all that,” said Mayor Steve Yurgartis after Monday night’s meeting. “It’s a lot of money, so we’re hoping for a substantial fraction from grants and low-interest loans” that are usually available from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation, a government organization set up to help finance just such projects.

“We’re looking for about $2 million in grants and the rest in zero-percent loans,” the mayor said earlier this year

He said if the terms of the grants and loans are favorable, it’s possible that the sewer rate will remain the same or could actually go down.

“We need to have in place an approval to borrow before applying” Yurgartis said. A vote by the board granting such approval is expected during the regular board meeting after the Nov. 16 hearing, the mayor said. After that, citizens may petition for a permissive referendum on the matter. If there is no referendum, the board vote is sufficient to go ahead and apply.

“We don’t anticipate any concerns. I believe everyone in the community knows we’re due for a major upgrade at the plant. There’s been none in 40 years. It’s time.

“We borrowed money for the last upgrade, and in the next year that will al be paid back,” the mayor said. “It’s a continual process,” Yurgartis said, about as routine as regular maintenance. “We borrow, we upgrade, we pay it back, we borrow, we upgrade.”