Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pease Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council authorizes SRF loan cap for Pease wastewater rehabilitation, citing grant and forgiveness opportunities
Summary
The Portsmouth City Council authorized participation in the New Hampshire Clean Water State Revolving Fund for up to $25,128,000 for Pease wastewater treatment facility rehabilitation, citing additional state grant and principal forgiveness availability and the facility’s regulatory-driven needs.
The Portsmouth City Council on Feb. 18 authorized the city to participate in the New Hampshire Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program for up to $25,128,000 to cover costs related to rehabilitation of the Pease wastewater treatment facility and rescinded an earlier $20,000,000 authorization tied to the same project.
City Engineer Eric Fiedler briefed the council, saying the project evolved from an industrial-user capacity request into a primarily regulatory-driven upgrade that requires electrical and backbone infrastructure improvements. Fiedler said DES and the state SRF program returned to the city with additional funding after some other communities higher on the state priority list could not meet matching obligations or schedules; the additional funds create an opportunity to include alternates in the contract such as demolition of an obsolete 1957 operations building and other site improvements at a reduced net cost to the city.
Fiedler said some SRF components carry principal forgiveness (he described about 20% forgiveness on much of the package, with a separate higher forgiveness rate for an energy component), and the practical borrowing obligation to the city could be substantially less than the authorized cap because of forgiveness and grants. Fiedler estimated the incremental borrowing exposure related to the additional authorization would be roughly $600,000 and that the deputy finance director estimated about $177,000 in additional net cost to the city under current assumptions.
Public comment during the hearing urged the council to consider the city’s debt profile and to ask for more detailed project descriptions and cost breakdowns before CIP and budget entries are finalized. City staff noted that sewer borrowing is not subject to the city’s general debt limit but that the CIP and budget process will incorporate project-level detail and rate impacts before final spending decisions are made.
The council adopted the SRF authorization by roll-call vote (eight yes, one absent). The authorization places the city in position to pursue low-interest financing and principal forgiveness opportunities that the state and DES make available; final design, bid packaging and CIP entries will determine the actual loan amounts the city executes.
