POTSDAM — Town residents along Route 56 north of the village, and any other town resident, will get a chance to hear a comprehensive overview of where the Route 56 water and sewer districts currently stand.

Following numerous comments and questions by a handful of district residents at recent town board meetings critical of the project to establish water and sewer service to the Route 56 corridor, the town board has decided to host a meeting to cover all the details as they stand right now.

The meeting will be Thursday, June 20 at 6 p.m. at the Potsdam town hall, 18 Elm St.

The meeting can also be streamed on Zoom at https://tinyurl.com/3y8hu8z8 .

Formation of the districts to improve infrastructure and encourage development along the Route 56 corridor north of the village has been years in the making. Expected project costs however have ballooned leading several residents in the districts to raise concerns.

The price tag for building the water and sewer lines and reservoir for the district are projected at almost $15 million. AAround $1 million has already been spent on design work from Canton-based firm C2ae from a $2.5 million bond the town obtained to pay for the upfront work of the project.

To offset that expense, the town has secured about $7 million in grants and is looking for more.

The districts were originally approved by a district vote, and residents there will be required to vote on the project again due to the greater than anticipated costs after the town secures bids for the work.

Residents raising concerns are mainly upset about the cost and want the town to pull the plug right now instead of moving forward. However, if the town were to do so, the residents of the district, around 80, would be on the hook to pay off the design work bill spent thus far, with no grant money to reimburse the expense.

Representatives from the firm C2ae that is handling the design work for the project will be presenting at the informational meeting and will be available to answer questions on the project.