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04/16/2019 12:00 AMAfter years of struggling with poor water quality, project hiccups, and financial road blocks, the residents of Mulberry Point, Tuttles Point, and Long Cove can now see the starting line for the water main construction project. On April 12, town officials signed the construction contract and are preparing for a pre-construction meeting.
The water main extension project, which is being undertaken to address unsafe levels of salt (from seawater incursion) and coliform bacteria (from insufficient septic capacity) in Mulberry Point, Tuttles Point, and Long Cove, had its share of challenges in 2018: Construction bids came in well above budget, and even then the low bidder dropped out, leading the town to send the project out to bid for a second time. The town acquired a new low bidder, but the overall project cost jumped significantly, from a planned $3.4 million to $6.5 million.
For the project to move forward, the town had to find a way to cover that anticipated $3.1 million difference. In December 2018, voters approved a $3.1 million special appropriation at a town meeting, keeping the project moving forward.
The news got a little better later that month when the Board of Selectmen (BOS) reviewed a third round of bids and unanimously awarded the construction contract to low bidder True Blue Environmental Services, a construction and environmental services company based in Wallingford, for a total of $4,894,710.
The town formally signed the construction contract with True Blue in April. Now that the document is signed, First Selectman Matt Hoey said the goal is to keep things moving.
“The short answer is ‘as soon as possible,’” he said of the start date. “We have a pre-construction meeting set for May 6 to kick it off with the timeline and put everything in place.”
However, as construction gets underway, the town still has work to do to try to bring down the overall cost of the project.
How We Got Here
The water main extension project was approved at referendum on May 31, 2017, with an expected cost of $3.4 million, garnering 1,004 “Yes” votes to 122 “No” votes. Prior to the referendum, the town announced that, of the 145 homes in the area that could be served by the water main, 83 percent of residents signed formal commitment letters to connect with the main, well exceeding the necessary commitment level and pushing the project forward.
Residents in the service area will pay all expenses for the project, including initial soft costs. In January, the town signed a service agreement with the Connecticut Water Company (CWC) that outlined the financial rate of contribution from CWC. The rate of contribution from CWC is dependent upon the percentage of the 145 homeowners in the area who commit to the project. With an 83 percent commitment rate demonstrated by residents who sent the water company signed commitment letters and financial deposits, CWC would contribute $1.5 million.
At the time, the total project budget was roughly $3.4 million, so after the CWC contribution, homeowners who were direct beneficiaries of the water main extension expected to pay the remaining $1.9 million project costs.
When the project was first approved at referendum, it was—and continues to be—understood that no taxpayer money would be put toward this project. Grants, funding programs, contributions, and homeowner assessments would cover all costs.
In the budget approved at referendum, the total cost per unit was $11,731. Now the town says it is looking at a worst-case scenario of $28,848 total cost per unit with the current contractor. The updated figure includes all soft costs to date, a significant project contingency, and the three solid external funding sources.
Before the first low bidder dropped out, the town secured $1.25 million in state funding. When the low bidder dropped and the town was without a formal contract, the state dropped the grant down to $450,000, but said the town could come back and ask for more once a new contract was signed. Currently, Hoey said he is working with state officials to try to secure more grant funding.
“State Representative Sean Scanlon (D-98) and State Senator Christine Cohen (D-12) have reached out through their respective channels and I had the opportunity to meet with a representative from the [state] Office of Management and Budget earlier this week,” he said. “…I had the opportunity to speak with him about the kinds of challenges that we had relative to finance…It was a positive conversation. He fully understands the challenges that this is creating for the affected residents.”
Hoey said he has also reached out to U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D) to see about federal funding opportunities for the project.
“We are going to take advantage of whatever we can,” he said.