AUBURN - The city is one step closer to possibly changing the way it deals with communities that receive its sewer and water services.

Auburn City Council voted unanimously Thursday during a business meeting to hire New York firm Amawalk Consulting Inc. to help assess the needs of the city's water and wastewater systems.

As part of the agreement, the firm will examine where the city needs to invest in the system, how it charges its customers and surrounding communities for services, and the costs it incurs due to the current system.

The city will pay $50,000 to Amawalk, who will subcontract to Conestoga-Rovers & Associates Inc. to assist in the project. According to the resolution, city officials are in the process of securing a grant to fund the study. If the grant falls through, the project will not proceed.

The city council approved in April a resolution to hire a representative from Amawalk, Robert Game, for a year-long period to advise city staff on operation of the water treatment, wastewater treatment and hydropower programs. The company also recently finished a review of the process through which the city accounts for and bills for those services.

City Manager Mark Palesh said during the council meeting that this study will be the next step toward determining the future of Auburn's water and sewer systems.

“There is a disparity in how these fees are allocated,” said Palesh, who added that a

handful of representatives from surrounding towns have shown support for this project.

According to the proposal from Amawalk, the study will examine the following: the future demand for water and sewer services within the city and outside communities, a 10-year projection of cash flow needed to improve and maintain the city's water and sewer systems, and a projection of the cost responsibility and rates for customers within the city and other communities for those services.

The study is scheduled to be completed by September, according to the proposal.

During the meeting, Councilor Thomas McNabb said the city has a sewage and water treatment plant running at capacity. But the surrounding towns continue to develop without considering the consequences and effects on the infrastructure.

“We pay millions of dollars, they pick up the benefits and we pick up the bills,” McNabb said.

Councilor William Graney said after the meeting that the city will be able to re-negotiate many of its contracts with surrounding towns and villages in 2010.

“I think they realize the position we're in,” Graney said of the surrounding communities. “We just need to get the data on the table and then bring it to the towns.”

In other news:

• City council barely passed a resolution authorizing an update to a 2003 study on the efficiency of the Auburn Fire Department. Councilors voted 3-2 to pass the measure, which will allow the city to pay MMA Consulting group $12,000 to conduct the update.

The department has changed since the first study was conducted, according to the proposal. Staffing has increased, a regional hazardous materials team has been developed and one of the stations has closed.

City officials have also proposed a study that will look into building a centralized fire station to house the entire department. That proposal was tabled earlier this month and will be revisited during a work-session.

Councilor Matthew Smith voiced his opposition during the meeting to the update, questioning whether or not the city would be able to pay for any of the study's proposed upgrades.

“The bottom line is what can we afford to do,” Smith said.

However, Councilor Gilda Brower responded by saying the study could help the city maximize the resources that it can afford.

“It would be good to have the better information.” Brower said.

Mayor Michael Quill also voted against the resolution.

• TLC Emergency Medical Services will continue to provide Auburn residents with ambulance services. City councilors unanimously approved a resolution to enter into a contract with the Cortland-based company.

• The city has received a $492,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to construct a substation for its methane digester power plant project. Engineering services will cost $94,687, and council approved a resolution to pay Eco Technology Solutions for those services.

• Auburn residents will no longer have to construct a sidewalk on a new driveway if that driveway exits onto a street that does not have sidewalks. Councilors voted to amend the city code that calls for all new asphalt driveways to also include concrete sidewalks.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.