Selectmen recommend $900,000 warrant article to cover Mill Street pump station cost increases

The Wolfeboro Board of Selectmen on Jan. 15 recommended and voted to place a warrant article authorizing an additional $900,000 in bonds or notes to cover cost increases for upgrades to the Mill Street sewer pump station.

The board heard a presentation describing the pump station as critical town infrastructure that moves wastewater to the treatment plant and said the facility was last upgraded in the 1990s. Town presenters told the board that engineering delays and bids above earlier estimates prompted the request for additional funds and that construction oversight and inflation were major cost drivers.

Nut graf: The warrant article asks voters to authorize $900,000 to cover increased project costs tied to prior warrant articles (article 15, 2022, and article 17, 2023). The request includes authorization for the Board of Selectmen to issue bonds or notes under the Municipal Finance Act and to participate in the state revolving loan fund (SRLF). The board recommended the article for the 2025 warrant and will present it to the budget committee and voters as required.

Brad Harriman introduced the item and turned it over to Steve Bridal for technical detail. Town presenters summarized prior appropriations and funding: previously raised amounts in 2022 and 2023, ARPA funds applied to the project and a reassignment of some ARPA funds that the presenters said left total available funds of $2,243,000. Presenters said they estimate the total project cost at a figure stated in meeting materials (the transcript includes a numeric reading that is unclear in places); the gap between available funds and the estimate is the reason for the $900,000 request.

Selectmen and residents asked for specifics about what drove the cost increases. Town staff said design changes were not a cause; the primary factors were inflation, higher construction market costs and the requirement — tied to federal and state funding rules — to retain third‑party construction oversight (presenters cited an oversight cost estimate of about $458,000). Staff also noted that grant and federal funding rules typically require award to the lowest responsible bidder, limiting the town’s discretion to select contractors beyond that standard.

The board voted to recommend the warrant article and then voted to place the article on the 2025 warrant. The transcript records aye votes; the advertisement of the article lists an estimated tax-rate impact of 0¢ per $1,000 of assessed valuation for 2025 and 2026 and an estimated 3¢ per $1,000 for 2027 (figures provided in the warrant-language read into the record). The warrant language also authorizes the Board of Selectmen to accept federal and state monies and to participate in the SRLF under RSA 486:14.

Ending: The article will be presented to the budget committee and then to town voters as part of the 2025 warrant. Town staff said they plan to bid the project in February with construction scheduled for fall to mid‑winter and will return with additional detail as required by budget‑committee and warrant processes.