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07/01/2019 04:12 PMIf residents vote to approve line item transfers within the Water Pollution Control Commission (WPCC) budget at a town meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 10, the town will be able to take a significant step toward solving some of its wastewater issues.
The town meeting, scheduled for July 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall, is to approve five line-item transfers that total $80,000. If approved, the $80,000 will be used to fund Amendment 7C.
Matt Kennedy the WPCC chairman, explained that Amendment 7C allows for the investigations of two properties near the downtown area for subsurface water treatment systems.
“It’s an awesome opportunity to hopefully find a way to help the downtown and spur economic development,” Kennedy said.
According to Kennedy, if a system can be successfully installed in the locations, the system would treat the wastewater and then dispose of it, similar to the system that some commercial venues use. However, this system would be a community system for use by the downtown area, not just one specific residence.
“Historically developers have considered the lack of a downtown sewer system an impediment to development. In this case, solving the identified problems with a community system, and also hopefully identifying some excess capacity, might not only help the existing property owners, but may allow for some level of growth, “said Kennedy.
The money to fund the project will come from decreasing line items within the WPCC budget.
A motion to decrease project administration by $11,000, policy development by $9,000, public outreach by $7,000, Stanton road GEO Tech by $10,000 and West Main #16 Geo Tech by $43,000 was approved at a Board of Finance meeting on June 17. During a discussion of the project at the finance meeting First Selectman Christine Goupil said “This is a project the Board of Selectmen endorses.”
At a June 5 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, the board unanimously approved amendment 7C for “study and design professional services.”
Per a consent order signed in 1997 with the Department of Energy & Environment Protection (DEEP), the town is required to address community pollution issues, the town has been studying areas around town for years to come up with solutions.
Kennedy said the WPCC has identified two potential spots for the subsurface testing, but declined to specifically point them out citing privacy concerns. One of the properties is on West Main Street near Post Office Square and the other is on East Main Street.
Assuming the town approves the money transfer, Kennedy said that the next steps will include installing mechanisms to monitor the water in the area and taking soil samples.
“We need to get the data to see if the land can handle the water,” Kennedy said.
“This is an exciting step for the town to move forward with a project that has been in the works for years,” said Kennedy.