WOLCOTT – Town officials have scheduled an informational meeting about the proposed wastewater system for tonight, Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 6 p.m., prior to a 7 p.m. select board meeting.
The meeting comes before a Tuesday, Sept. 10, re-vote on the plan and bond that has come about due to a petition signed by 78 residents requesting a new vote following initial approval. The project and bond request was approved to move forward June 11 by a vote of 125 to 75, but the petition requires a re-vote on the same question.
Both Jim Ryan, chair of the wastewater committee and Select Board Chair Linda Martin say funding for the project is fully covered with an additional 30% available to cover any contingencies. Ryan says Senator Welch is working on $1 million more from a federal funding allocation to ensure success of the project with no cost to the town. Martin says no bonding will be required because there is sufficient funding. The vote is essentially to confirm the town wants to continue with the project, she says.
Because $4 million of the project’s cost is covered by ARPA funding that must be used by September of 2026, work on the project’s design continues while project planners await a final decision from town voters. Martin clarified that there is no debt associated with the design phase so no approval is needed to continue with planning,
Wolcott Town Library
At the informational session, the wastewater committee expects to share the timeline of votes that have already taken place and passed, beginning with the school board vote in December, then a school floor vote and town bond vote on June 11.
The committee also plans to clarify some of the details on a slide presentation they have shared previously and new slides are being added to elaborate on flood resiliency, note minutes of their last meeting.
The Lamoille County Planning Commission will invite the consultant who helped create the Lamoille Flood Model to participate in the upcoming informational session. The committee hopes the consultant will help to explain how this project can improve flood resilience in the village, which benefits all town residents according to Ryan.
The September 10 vote will again ask voters if they will authorize the design, construction, and installation of a community wastewater disposal system within the Village of Wolcott at a total estimated project cost of $4,424,230. A further clause authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds or notes of the town in an amount not to exceed $1,124,000.00 is essentially irrelevant according to Martin as funding in that amount has been secured since the original warning was issued.
Ryan notes that many residences and businesses in the village are either in the flood plain, or north of Route 14, where there’s little room for adequate septic systems because of ledge as the terrain rises behind them.
The expected cost of $25 to $40 per month on residential properties is comparable to the maintenance costs for an individual septic system and the regular pumping required, with the added flood resilience and safety of a leach field being located off site, at the school, and 13 feet above the 500-year flood level, says Ryan.
Ryan expects the added cost for town buildings of $6 to $8 per year for each $100,000 of assessed value on properties in town will offset the current costs and risk to the town of having leach fields offsite and in the flood plain.
New septic tanks planned for the project will be located four feet below ground and ballasted to reduce the chance of their moving during a flood, adds Ryan.
With over 1,200 Wolcott voters and only 200 votes cast in the original 125 to 75 decision, either those for or against could rally additional voters to sway the September 10 vote.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
