BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

CANTON -- The Canton village board has approved a bid for $700,200 from a Westport firm to install water and sanitary sewer lines under the river and up to the residences and businesses on Maple Hill along Tallman Road and Remington Avenue.

The village secured a financing deal through Community Bank last year for the project for $1.25 million and the municipality has more than $500,000 in grants for the project that will reimburse some of the project cost.

The subdivision on Maple Hill contains more than 30 residential lots, the majority of them yet to be developed and the Community Bank corporate office which employs about 70 people.

Water and sewer problems have been common at the site.

Extending village water and sewer service to the site has been in the works for several years.

Tisdale Associates of Canton is handling the engineering work for the project. The plan calls for carrying a village water line from a main near the old water treatment plant by the Canton Pavilion, under the Grasse River and up the grade of the hill to the subdivision on Maple Hill.

At the village board meeting Monday, June 15, Village Mayor Mike Dalton said the bids received by the village for the work ranged from $583,804 up to $1.530 million.

Dalton said the lowest bidder backed out. Manford Construction of Westport was the next lowest bidder with the $700,200 bid subsequently approved by the village board.

J.E. Sheehan and North Country Contractors were the next two bids.

"The review that was done by Tisdale Associates and Aaron Jarvis recommends the low bidder, Manford Construction, be awarded the project," Dalton said.

The mayor said the bid document requires completion of the work within 120 days once the contractor begins and Manford Construction has committed to that timeline the mayor said.

"Do we have any work experience with them?" asked Village Trustee Carol Pynchon during discussion of the bid at the meeting.

"They provided references and the references were checked with calls being made to the reference. Brien (Hallahan, village DPW superintendent) do you have anything to add to this?" Dalton said.

"I have not personally worked with this firm, but Aaron did a thorough background check which he always does. And that's what we have to go with. I think they are capable," said Hallahan.