Windham Looks at Rising Cost of Water

WINDHAM - Water in the mountains is frozen except for fast-moving creeks and streams, but the price of it could be flowing upwards in Windham.

That prognosis was given by town council member Ian Peters to his government colleagues, at a meeting earlier this month.

Water rates have not risen in Windham since before the pandemic, says Peters, who has been incrementally updating overall water district rules and costs the past eight years.

Billing is done bi-annually, in January and July of each year, including 333 metered accounts (charged for actual usage) and 32 non-metered users (charges based on applicable fixtures such as sinks, commodes, etc.).

While more discussions were planned for this week on the changes, the preliminary proposal is an across-the-board 15 percent increase on all fixtures for non-metered accounts.

There would also be an 8 percent rise on usage of 75,000 gallons or more for metered accounts which currently have a base rate of $81.48 for one gallon to 12,500 gallons, employing a sliding scale to 75,000 gallons.

Peters noted residents who own out-of-district properties are requesting to join the system. Talks on possibly setting a flat fee for them are slated.

Even as the cost of wet stuff could trickle upward, many daily operational aspects of small town life will remain the same as officials make all the designations and appointments required to conduct business:

Those choices include:

—Code Enforcement Officer/Building Inspector (Dominick Caropreso) and Registrar of Vital Statistics (town clerk Bonnie Poehmel).

Poehmel, in her yearly report, noted there were no recorded births in Windham while ten deaths were put on the record.

—Deputy Registrar of Vital Statistics and Bookkeeper to the Newton Fund (Jessica Leto), Ambulance Operations Liaison and the Town Officer in Charge of Parks (town supervisor Thomas Hoyt);

—Town Officer in Charge of Cemeteries (councilman Wayne Van Valin), Liaison to the Fire Commissioners and the Chamber of Commerce (councilman Kurt Goettsche,;

—Persons in Charge of Fixed Assets (Jessica Leto and Supervisor Hoyt), the Centre Property and Ambulance Community Center Contact for Entry/Key Holder (Jessica Leto and Carol Spear (Centre Property only);

Council members, in addition to their normal duties, serve on special committees attending to specific issues such as:

Audit (councilmen Van Valin and Goettsche), Building and Safety (councilmen Stephen Walker and Van Valin);

Fireworks (councilman Walker and Supervisor Hoyt), Communications (councilmen Ian Peters and Goettsche);

Highway (councilmen Walker and Van Valin, Communications (councilmen Peters and Goettsche), Building & Safety (councilmen Walker and Van Valin);

Union Negotiations (Supervisor Hoyt and councilman Peters along with police chief Richard Selner for police department talks and highway superintendent Robert Murray, highway department discussions.

As part of the reorganization, council members received the annual Dog Control Report from local dog control officer Bruce Feml.

The report often contains quaint entries, such as the call received in August, 2025, from a TenBrook Road resident about a lost cat. 

Feml, however, noted the woman, “called about an hour later to advise she had found her cat playing under a bush in the yard.”

In a more serious vein, at the end of October, Feml advised the town that due to changes in the State Agriculture and Markets Law, he could “no longer hold any stray dogs at my residence.”

Instead, the pups will be transported to Columbia-Greene Humane Shelter in Hudson for holding, Feml noted, further advising town council members to secure a contract with the Humane Society, which was done.

The agreement states that towns will be charged an impoundment fee of $40 for each 24-hour period up to ten days, after which there will be an added fee of $550.

It further states the Humane Society, “reserves the sole right to make all decisions regarding the dog’s disposition” and “regular standards shall apply for adoption of dogs retained longer than the stipulated period.”