Selectmen hear West Swansea TIF advisory report recommending district, purchase of water company

The Swansea selectmen heard a final report from the West Swansea tax-increment financing advisory committee that recommended forming a TIF district, acquiring the West Swansea Water Company and staging infrastructure work to encourage commercial development along Route 10.

The advisory committee, presented by TIF member Steve Bridal, recommended three related warrant articles: (1) a $6.4 million authorization to purchase the water company; (2) creation of a TIF (tax increment financing) district to capture subsequent assessed-value growth; and (3) a $1 million borrowing authorization to extend piping along Route 10 to connect properties that committee members said are required to attract higher-value commercial development.

The committee said the purchase-and-improvement package is viable only if the town secures substantial grant funding and the state’s drinking-water loan program that the committee expects will provide a loan with approximately 40% principal forgiveness. "If you stretch the debt to 30 years, it would bring the annual debt service down to about $200,000," Bridal said in describing financing scenarios. "At 20 years and 4% interest, $3.6 million of net debt implies roughly $260,000 a year in annual debt service." The committee’s pro forma treats the 40% as forgivable principal; the smaller remaining principal is the town’s debt burden under the plan.

Bridal and others emphasized that the TIF alone would not generate the revenue needed to pay the debt unless piped water is extended along Route 10 to open sites for meaningful commercial development. "To bring in meaningful, high-value commercial properties, you need public water," Bridal said. He told the board the engineering estimates used by the committee did not originally include a Route 10 pipeline and that adding that pipeline is the key to making the TIF work.

Selectmen and committee members discussed staging the work: buy the system first, delay some or all improvements, or pursue the full package at once to capture the state forgivable portion of the loan. Staff said the state program could reallocate the forgivable portion to other projects if the town does not apply this year. A staff member summarized the committee’s three-part recommendation: purchase and approve the water system; form the district; and authorize up to $1 million in borrowing for pipe extensions that would drive property-value increases.

Board members also flagged risks. One selectman urged caution about placing a $3.6 million debt burden on a marginally operating system, noting the water system currently “charitably breaks even.” Other members favored moving ahead to public hearing this year to avoid losing the forgivable loan ranking. Staff told the board that if the board chooses to proceed, public hearings must be noticed by the end of the week to meet legal timelines for warrant articles.

The report also touched on broader grant prospects: participants said bringing the nearby Viewpoint mobile home park into a public water system would be a strong grant- and lender-positive factor, and the committee identified potential federal and state funding sources and a state loan program they expect to use.

The discussion ended with no formal vote to put the articles on the warrant at this meeting; staff requested direction from the board on whether to proceed to public hearing for one or more of the proposed warrant items so necessary notices could be posted.

The committee’s written report, included in the packet, also notes the town’s existing TIF will wind down in 2026–27 and that the district’s prior authorized but unissued bonding authority remains part of the town’s financial picture.

What’s next: staff asked the board to state whether it wants public hearings scheduled for the purchase authorization, TIF formation and the pipe-expansion borrowing so the hearings can be noticed.