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Town approves $18,500 Wright-Pierce contract to advance St. Paul Street water-main extension design
Summary
The council voted to contract Wright-Pierce for $18,500 to prepare preliminary plans and a cost estimate for phase 2 of the St. Paul Street water-main extension; work will inform grant applications and a 20% town cost share for congressional appropriations.
The North Smithfield Town Council on April 21 approved an $18,500 contract with Wright-Pierce to produce preliminary plans and refined cost estimates for the second phase of the St. Paul Street water-main extension.
William Dakota, superintendent of water and sewer, said phase 2 focuses on a section of town served by a neighboring system (Blackstone) where residents face low flows, summer water bans and limited fire suppression. "They have no fire suppression except on Saint Paul Street," Dakota said, summarizing conditions in the target area. Dakota said earlier work (phase 1) established a routing to bring supply from the Mendon Road area and that the Wright-Pierce assignment will produce a closer cost estimate to support applications for remaining grant funding and to define the town's 20% cost share required by the congressional appropriation process.
Council members and staff discussed that some affected streets are served by infrastructure that includes small-diameter or galvanized pipes and that portions of the service area historically tied to Woonsocket or Blackstone will require coordination. The administrator and councilors noted the larger funding gap for full construction and said the Wright-Pierce estimate will be used to shape a financing strategy, which could include SRF loans and principal-forgiveness programs for household service replacement.
The council approved the Wright-Pierce agreement and authorized the administrator to sign the contract. Wright-Pierce was expected to deliver preliminary plans and an updated cost estimate within about two to three months, according to staff comments.
Why it matters: The design estimates will determine grant eligibility and the town's approach to addressing longstanding service and fire-protection deficiencies for households in the project area.
Provenance - topicintro: s4817.685 evidence_excerpt: "Discussion by council about other action on Saint Paul Street waterline extension phase 2, miss Dakota."; - topfinish: s5596.395 evidence_excerpt: "Mister Cristo Barrow? Yes. Missus O'Hara? Yes. Mister Punchak? Yes. Miss Alves? Yes.".
