Dalton Officials Consider Tool to Navigate Aging Infrastructure Costs
DALTON, Mass. — The town's aging infrastructure remains a top concern for many officials, with recent discussions focusing on water, sewer, and stormwater systems as leaders begin evaluating how to tackle the costly work while protecting taxpayers from an overwhelming financial burden.
During the Select Board meeting in July, Capital Planning Committee Chair Thomas Irwin, who also serves as a Finance Committee member, advocated for the purchase of a subscription to Waterworth, a financial planning and modeling tool.
"Their vision was to help municipalities make better long-term infrastructure investment and utility rate decisions by replacing disconnected spreadsheets with a single living financial planning model," he told the board.
The Select Board tabled the discussion and decided to vote on the proposed subscription — whether it's the one-year plan or the discounted three-year plan — during a meeting in August.
The town's drinking water system experiences regular water main breaks, particularly during the winter months, Irwin said.
While the stormwater and sanitary sewer systems are not under pressure, they face their own challenges, including increased infiltration during rainstorms that raises sewer treatment costs and compliance concerns where stormwater lines run beneath sanitary sewer lines, Irwin said.
Waterworth has several subscriptions to choose from but the main two discussed were the three-year and one year models.
The three-year model, which costs $19,184 upfront but has a 12 percent discount and freezes annual increases during that period. The one-year model costs about $6,600 for the first year.
According to prior correspondence with the Fire District, one of the water department's high priority projects is replacing that water main that runs under Main Street, which would be an approximate $7 million bond, Town Manager Eric Anderson said.
"So, we all know that that's a huge financial liability on the town," he said.
The single-family water rate has been $160 since 2011, however, because of the need to improve the town's water main infrastructure, prices are anticipated to increase.
"There's a bunch of stuff that needs to be started, and start working on water main improvements and right now, we don't have the funding for it, especially with the debt that we already have for the two tanks, and the dam, and the Don Elser Pump Station," Water Superintendent Robert Benlien previously said.
"I think we need to start being proactive and I think this is a good start to get us going in the right direction to have the funding available if we do decide to take debt on or work on saving up some money so we can do the smaller projects."
The district had contracted Tighe and Bond to conduct an asset management study in 2022, where it was recommended that the district increase its water rates by 5 percent a year over five years, he said.
This should raise enough funds to take on the needed infrastructure projects, Benlien said, cautioning that the projections are a few years old so the cost estimates have increased since then.
The Fire District is looking to help update sewer and water infrastructure as well as update its fees for unpaid water bills. More information here.
While the Fire District oversees water and the town oversees sewer, the two systems are closely connected, making coordination between the governing bodies essential. Irwin said he is in communication with Benlien to ensure the water main data would be incorporated into the Waterworth system.
Going forward the town will have a number of high-cost capital projects, particularly for water and sewer infrastructure, therefore the town needs a clearer understanding of how those projects fit into its overall financial picture, including potential bonding and affordability, Anderson said.
"I look at the infrastructure challenges and I struggle to know how we come out of this with a lot of these things without bankrupting the town," he said.
"So, one of my priorities is getting enough information to make technical decisions about what we can and can't afford, what set of infrastructure needs it the most, and where we apply our resources."
Anderson said Waterworth has "clearly crafted a good tool" designed to help the town take a 20-to-30-year look at its major infrastructure systems and understand how future projects could affect rate structures, when rates may need to be adjusted, how those changes fit into the Pittsfield intermunicipal agreement, and how to responsibly set rates while preparing residents for the cost of major projects.
While the board agreed it was time to address the town's aging infrastructure, members were unsure how to proceed while complying with state procurement laws.
Board member Tony Pagliarulo raised several questions, including whether consulting services of this nature require a competitive bidding process, whether the town has enough up-to-date data to incorporate into the software, and the importance of including the Fire District in the conversation since it oversees the Water Department.
"I just want to mull this over some more in my mind before I give it a stamp of approval. Have questions answered. I mean, this is good work, but you know here we have to talk about sewer and water," he said.
Irwin cautioned waiting too long because it takes three months to upload the town's data to the software and the information is needed to better inform the Capital Planning Committee's report. If a vote on the system is made in August, Irwin said it may give him enough time to upload the info.
During the annual town meeting in May 2025, the Capital Planning Committee was established to develop a practical, prioritized five-year capital improvement plan — a model inspired by the town of Lee's committee.
The plan will address several areas, including bridges, culverts, municipal separate storm sewer systems, roads, sidewalks, the Complete Streets plan, buildings and grounds, vehicles, equipment, and more, with members aiming to have it completed by mid-January ahead of the budget season.
Tags: capital planning, infrastructure improvements, software,
