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Salem Lakes board directs staff to pursue GO promissory note to fund $2M lift-station rebuilds as Clean Water Fund funding remains uncertain
Summary
Engineers described reconstruction of three aging lift stations and recommended above-ground valve vaults to reduce confined-space risks. Village finance advisers said Clean Water Fund loan money was not currently available; the board directed staff to pursue a 20-year general obligation promissory note unless state funding materializes.
Brandon Foss of the engineering firm hired to design upgrades described a plan to reconstruct lift stations 201 and 203 and to replace valves at 208. The existing stations are roughly 46 years old and use below-grade valve chambers that require confined-space entry. Foss said the project will reuse concrete wet wells while upgrading to submersible pumps and adding above-ground valve vaults and emergency generators to improve safety and maintainability.
"Eliminating the need for confined space entry into the underground vaults significantly reduces the risk of accidents and injuries," Brandon Foss said, listing additional operational advantages of above-ground valve vaults including easier access to valves and dryers, reduced corrosion, and improved electrical protection.
Todd Toews, the village's financial adviser from Ehlers, explained financing options. He said the Wisconsin Clean Water Fund loan program has been historically attractive but "for the first time in the program's history ... there has not been enough money to go around," and the village's application did not meet the funding threshold. Toews presented three main options: (1) obtain short-term or interim financing while awaiting possible future state funding and then refinance if state funds arrive; (2) lock in permanent financing now by issuing a 20-year general obligation promissory note backed by the village (with sewer revenues to pay debt service); or (3) issue sewer-revenue debt on the open market (more expensive and less practical than a GO note).
Board members discussed cost estimates (engineers estimated roughly $2 million–$2.5 million for the immediate lift-station program), equipment lead times (generators and panels can take months to a year), and contingency steps if parts for existing generators cannot be found; staff said one in-service generator is already obsolete. Trustees then directed staff to pursue the general obligation promissory note route to lock in financing and to return with bid-ready documents and a financing schedule. Several trustees noted that if state funding materializes the village could revisit refinancing options later.
No final long-term financing agreement was executed at the meeting; staff was authorized to continue planning under the GO-note path and bring back formal documents for final approval once bid numbers are available.
