Council adopts amended long-term control plan; approves loan amendment for Holden (Hobart) Park CSO project

The St. Albans City Council approved an amended long‑term control plan (LTCP) for combined sewer overflows and authorized a loan amendment to finance the Hobart (also referenced as Holden/Hope) Park CSO storage project.

City staff and the municipal engineer told the council the LTCP was updated after a review of alternatives and legal/coordination issues with the railroad. The principal change is removal of a previously planned Federal Street separation project and a pivot to a below‑ground, offline storage tank at Hobart/Hope Street sized to store roughly 500,000 gallons of combined flow. Staff said Stebbins Street separation work completed last year is already reflected in the updated plan.

Reid Winter, a design consultant with Aldrich & Associates (presentation), described the Hobart/Hope Street project as a final‑design‑stage plan that includes a 500,000‑gallon storage tank, new screening, a sewage pump station, sewer piping and a new outfall to accommodate overflow only in rare, very large events. The engineer said the outfall design was necessary because of elevation constraints and that the project will route the majority of the historical overflow through storage and treatment rather than into Stevens Brook and downstream receiving waters.

Councilors asked about overflow frequency and volumes; staff pointed to data showing a small number of storm events producing several large overflows (some exceeding half a million gallons) and said the proposed storage would intercept the majority of those events because the city’s CSO discharges from a single overflow point. Staff also noted the project’s environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and state funding requirements, including an environmental assessment and an associated public hearing. The project team said the state review is underway and that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) would be sought after the assessment.

At the meeting the council voted to accept the amended LTCP as presented (motion by Councilor Eric, second by Trudy Coffey) and later approved a loan amendment to finance the Hobart/Holden Park CSO project through the State Revolving Fund program. Both motions passed by council voice vote; the clerk recorded the LTCP acceptance and the loan amendment votes as 6–0 in favor.

Separately, the council held the required public hearing on the Fulton Clark CSO environmental assessment (related NEPA public‑hearing step). The consultant explained that the Fulton Clark/Fulton Clark (sometimes referenced as Fulton Clark/Holden) project will also include a 500,000‑gallon offline storage tank, screening and pump station and that the new outfall is only for the rare instance when the tank itself overtops. The consultant said the footprint will be below ground and that construction impacts to park surface use and vegetation will be minimized; staff said they will provide more detailed surface‑restoration plans to neighborhood stakeholders and sports‑program users.

Councilors and staff discussed related projects (Hungerford stormwater treatment on the trunk line, future separation segments after Hobart storage, and monitoring systems for pumps and alarms). Staff said construction timing will require right‑of‑way work and further design, with right‑of‑way acquisition targeted for the coming year and construction anticipated in 2027–2028 depending on funding and permitting schedules.

The loan amendment and LTCP acceptance move the city forward on meeting its state order and on securing State Revolving Fund financing for construction; councilors asked staff to continue neighborhood outreach and to return with detailed restoration plans and a public schedule.