Southborough wastewater committee finalizes grant application plans for Route 9 and downtown

The Town of Southborough Wastewater Committee on Wednesday agreed to press forward with two grant applications: a planning grant for the downtown district and a Route 9 sewer planning/design application that would fund hydrogeologic and preliminary permitting work.

Committee members said the downtown request will be a $50,000 planning grant to support a master plan, while the Route 9 proposal will fund hydrogeologic investigations, test borings and preliminary permitting to identify plant and disposal sites. Anna Wojcick, a staff member supporting the application, said the team has been revising application text and will upload documents to the SharePoint site for review.

The committee described why the work matters: the town lacks wastewater treatment capacity in key corridors, which members said has limited private development and economic activity. Al Hamilton, Wastewater Committee member, told the group he had briefed the Select Board and secured its support for both grants and “the concept of providing a 25% match” should the town receive awards. The committee also reported legislative support: Representative Kate Donahue offered to write a letter, and the Select Board chair, Andrew…