GOSHEN—Based on current information, the Village of Goshen believes it has the capacity to supply the $500 million Legoland project in the Town of Goshen with sewer and water services, the Village Board memorialized in a resolution on Aug. 8.
Mayor Kyle Roddey said they made the offer to Merlin Entertainments PLC, the parent company of Legoland, after making sure there was enough water and sewer capacity both now and in the future, accounting for build out in the village.
He said there also had to be some financial incentive for the village to consider it, and he estimated it would bring in over $900,000 annually.
Merlin will pay $9.20 per thousand gallons of effluent, and a unit charge of $272,000 a year, the resolution states. For water, the company will pay $6 per thousand gallons, and a unit charge of $19,000 per year.
Merlin, which is basing its numbers for Legoland New York on a similarly sized and seasonal one in Windsor, U.K., is estimating the park will use 236,000 gallons of water on a peak day, and about half that number for sewage.
That accounts for the aquarium the company hopes to add within 5 years of the park being built, Merlin’s legal council for the project, Dominic Cordisco, said.
Legoland is a Lego theme park targeted at ages 2-12. It is proposed for 153 acres of a 523-acre site off Harriman Dr. between Arcadia and Reservoir roads in the Town of Goshen. Merlin is hoping to start construction by 2017.
Roddey said Merlin would be funding the development of the village’s water source in the Town of Wallkill, “so this will be new water capacity,” he said, emphasizing the “new.”
Merlin also agreed to compensate the village for any studies it undertook, and will undertake, while testing the water and sewer capacity of the village, the resolution said.
The resolution also says that the village’s offer is subject to the completion of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) of the project, final engineering studies, and final contractual agreements between the village and Merlin.
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