Adams Approves Extra Wastewater Treatment Plant Funds
ADAMS, Mass. — Town meeting members at Tuesday's special town meeting approved an additional $2.37 million in funding for improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.
Members supported the funds 95-4, in addition to approving the three other warrant articles with little discussion. Town meeting gave the OK to just more than $5 million for the plant in 2021.
Town Administrator Jay Green explained the only bid for the project came in over this amount, necessitating the extra borrowing.
"The estimate was a little over $5 million, then a year later, in the bidding process, same scope, with inflation it went up to $6.5 million. That's approximately $1.4 million over estimate," he said. "The state requires that you add a 5 percent contingencies, so that's [another] $325,000 ... when you take the construction service cost of $597,000 and you take the one bid that we got a year after it was estimated at $1.4 million, that comes up to $2.3 million that you have in front of you tonight."
The total cost of the project is an estimated $7.42 million. Construction is already ongoing, as the project went out to bid earlier in the year.
Green said the plant can handle between 10 and 12 million gallons of wastewater flow a day, while the town only currently creates about 2.5 million. He said this should allow the town to operate the plant while keeping up with needed maintenance.
"These upgrades are structural. They're electrical. We're handling things that weren't done in the 2005 upgrade. They're doing some things that, what needed to be done in 2005, now are being done," Green said. "Whether we see it, I don't think so. But this creates redundancy and allows for much better preventative maintenance.
Selectman Joseph Nowak asked if the bond would prevent the town from getting any future grant funding for the project. Green said he was unsure but felt the town was getting the best deal possible. He also noted that the Adams expects to receive $378,713 in ARPA loan forgiveness and $499,901 in disadvantaged community loan forgiveness toward the project.
"That's why I say that $7.4 million is the total project cost. That's what the contractor gets, part of that goes to Tighe & Bond, the engineering firm. Our debt service will not be based on $7.4 million," Green said.
The Board of Selectmen approved the borrowing for the project at a meeting earlier this month.
Article 2 appropriates $15,000 from Cemetery, Parks and Grounds' Master Plan account to its capital account. The funds, appropriated in 2016, were leftover for a project that is now complete.
Article 3 releases free cash from two projects that had leftover funds. The first, for a water meter replacement, totals $9,583.04 and the second, for equipment in the assessor's office, totals $8,696.74.
Article 4 authorizes the Board of Selectmen to accept an easement to install drainage lines from lower Linden Street to Commercial Street. The area has been prone to flooding with the current drainage system, and the easement will come at no cost to the town.
The new drainage system has already been designed and engineered by Hill Engineers.
At the end of the meeting, town meeting member Bruce Shepley thanked the Board of Selectmen and town staff for their work.
"I would just like, on behalf of myself, to say thank you very much. It's encouraging. We're seeing an influx of good things happening here in Adams," he said.
Tags: special town meeting, wastewater,
