Essex Junction council OKs placing $3.8M pump-station retrofit bond on April ballot, resubmits Clean Water SRF application

Essex Junction City Council on Feb. 12 voted to put a $3.8 million bond question before voters on April 8 for retrofits to three undersized or aging sanitary pump stations, and authorized staff to resubmit a priority-list application to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for design and construction funding.

Chelsea, a city public-works/sanitation staff member, told the council that West Street Pump Station (installed 1968, last upgraded in 1983) is undersized and needs full replacement, including an above-ground configuration, a new control panel, a flow meter and an emergency generator. Chelsea said River Street and Maple Street stations (installed 1973) have had no internal upgrades and are difficult to troubleshoot; the plan calls for new wet wells and submersible pumps and new controls.

Staff asked the council to place the bond vote on the April 8 annual meeting ballot and to allow the city manager to resubmit its Clean Water State Revolving Fund application so the projects could remain on the state priority list.

The $3.8 million bond request is composed of an estimated $2.5 million for West Street and about $1.3 million for a combined Maple and River Street project, Chelsea said. The West Street cost share with the Town of Essex was recalculated using pump run hours and known pump rates; staff concluded the current split is approximately 70% Town of Essex and 30% City of Essex Junction for West Street flows. Chelsea said the two projects may be bid separately to match cost-sharing arrangements.

Jess, a finance staff member, told the council that the state Clean Water SRF offers an administrative fee structure that is roughly equivalent to a 2% fee rather than a conventional bond interest rate; updated amortization schedules show a set annual payment of $232,396 under the SRF schedule. Of that annual payment, staff estimated the Town of Essex’s share for West Street would be about $107,041. Jess said incorporating the loan on the updated schedule improved the sanitation capital fund outlook versus earlier projections.

Council actions: a council member moved and another seconded a resolution of necessity to submit the $3.8 million bonded debt question for voter approval on April 8; the motion passed unanimously. The council then moved and approved a second motion authorizing the city manager to resubmit the Clean Water SRF priority-list application for the pump-station retrofit projects; that motion also passed unanimously.

Chelsea said the city will seek to update the 1975 two-party agreement with the Town of Essex after project specifics are finalized; the two-party agreement governs cost-sharing for shared collection systems and pump stations. Staff noted the SRF application must be on the state priority list by the stated deadline to preserve grant/loan eligibility.

What this means locally: if voters approve the bond question, the city would proceed with final design and construction; the sanitation enterprise would carry the debt service, not the city general tax rate. Staff said more detail about project timelines and billing impacts to sanitation rates will be provided as design and financing are finalized.

Both motions passed unanimously; staff said they will distribute bond-resolution materials and mail-ballot request postcards ahead of the April election.