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Glens Falls staff report 90% design on wastewater plant electrical upgrade; financing options still unsettled
Summary
City staff told the council the wastewater treatment plant electrical upgrade design is 90% complete and a staff workshop is planned Oct. 8, but state EFC grants appear unlikely and the city must decide whether to bond or seek EFC financing before bidding.
City staff told the Glens Falls Common Council on Sept. 23 that the electrical upgrade at the wastewater treatment plant is roughly 90% designed and that a workshop is scheduled for Oct. 8 to review plans and prepare bid documents.
A staff presenter said the city has pursued funding through the state Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) but was told the project “doesn't score well enough to receive funding” as a grant; staff said the city can obtain financing but not grant support because the project is not classified as a water-quality issue by EFC reviewers. The presenter said an EFC application and an upgraded engineering report were submitted on Sept. 12.
The presenter described the project's history and cost escalation: the electrical project “started out at 11,000,000 in '14 and '17,” and engineers later raised the estimate to about $20,000,000 because of long lead times, tariffs and conservative contingency factors. Staff said they expect to return to the council in late November or early December with front-end bid documents and funding options and that bids likely could be sought in early 2026 if funding is secured.
The replacement is aimed at a roughly 40-year-old electrical system at an operating wastewater plant; staff said the upgrade would add multiple power sources and backup generation to reduce outage risk. Staff noted two bonds (ESCO 1 and 2) are coming off, and when ESCO 1 drops off annual obligations would decrease by about $1 million, freeing capacity for new bonding if the council opts to bond the work.
No formal council action was recorded during the staff presentation. Staff described trade-offs between EFC financing — which carries program regulations and low-bid requirements — and the city's pursuing bonding or other state channels to gain more control over equipment selection and specifications.
