Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Water Sewer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council schedules hearing on $32.9 million bond ordinance for Dawson and East Avenue pump stations
Summary
City officials told the council a previously published bond amount was changed after final bids; the council set a public hearing for Sept. 8 on an ordinance to authorize bonds to fund planning, design and construction of two pump stations.
The West Haven City Council scheduled a public hearing for Sept. 8 on a proposed bond ordinance that would appropriate up to $32.9 million to plan, design and construct new sewer pump stations on Dawson Avenue and East Avenue.
City Corporation Counsel Paul Dorsey told the council the change to the bond amount reflected a revised contractor bid on the state contract for the work. “The actual amount of the bid now for the work is, approximately, $32,900,000,” Dorsey said, explaining that the initial notice used an earlier, lower figure and that additional DEEP specifications increased cost. The project is planned to be financed with an 80% loan from the state Clean Water Fund (with a stated 2% interest rate in the draft) and a 20% grant request to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
The ordinance summary provided at first reading explained the proposed authorization would allow the mayor, finance director and bond committee to issue bonds or bond anticipation notes and to apply for grants and Clean Water Fund assistance; the draft calls for debt service to be paid from sewer usage charges and the WPCC budget. Because the bond amount changed from the figure published on a previous council agenda, the council recessed committee deliberations briefly to amend the communication so the updated amount would appear in the public notice and then scheduled the public hearing for Sept. 8 at 06:50 p.m.
Council members asked whether the new $32.9 million figure was final; city attorneys said the figure reflects the state contract and is expected to be the current amount but advised the council that, if further changes are required, the standard notice and hearing requirements would be observed. No vote was taken on the bond ordinance itself at the meeting; the council set the public hearing and directed staff to provide the ordinance and bond documents in advance of the hearing.
Why it matters: The bond would fund two major sewer infrastructure projects and intends to use state Clean Water Fund financing, which affects long-term rates and capital planning for the city’s sewer utility. The council must take formal action after the public hearing to authorize bonding and contract execution.
