LAKE HUNTINGTON — William Boucher wants his property to be annexed into the sewer district—now.

The request, to annex the entire 101-acre parcel, including 64 acres for the proposed Sullivan West High School, into the sewer district stunned Town of Cochecton Board members last Monday evening.

Surveyor George Fulton, acting for Boucher who was not in attendance, presented a new map of the property near Lake Huntington and requested that the entire acreage be annexed into the Lake Huntington sewer district before subdividing.

"This is a surprise to us," said Cochecton Town Supervisor Salvatore Indelicato. "We were expecting to subdivide the property first and have two requests for annexation." Indelicato stated. He said that it was the intent of the town board to deal first with the annexation of the school property in order to hurry it along and then consider the second section for Boucher. None of the property Boucher will retain currently falls within the current sewer district boundaries.

The Sullivan West School District is under a time constraint to meet a July 1 referendum deadline if it wants to take advantage of a higher level of state aid, which could result in saving several million dollars in reimbursement aid.

A source close to the negotiations who would not be identified said, "Boucher is making sure he gets what he wants out the deal. So much for his philanthropy."

To move the process along, the town board named the Cochecton Planning Board as lead agency for the annexation and subdivision. As lead agency, the planning board’s role is to make a recommendation to the town board who will then take action.

The school district will present its plan and request to the planning board at its next meeting on March 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Boucher, who lives near Wilmington, Delaware, is a long-time summer resident of Lake Huntington. In the past he had intended to develop the Lake Huntington property into smaller acreage plots. He abandoned the plan after the bottom fell out of the local real estate market in the 1980s.

Boucher has repeated many times that he has no immediate plans to develop the Lake Huntington site.

Indelicato said that he expects the town’s consultant engineer, Terry Kelly of Liberty, to present a report on the overall condition of the sewer district and specify whether there is any need for extensive repairs.

"He said he would have his report to us by the end of this week," Indelicato said.