Lewiston council approves ordinance to place $25 million downtown infrastructure bond before voters

The Lewiston City Council on March 10 approved an ordinance authorizing a special bond election that would ask voters to approve up to $25 million in general-obligation bonds to finance downtown water, wastewater, stormwater and roadway improvements.

The bond ordinance directs a May 20 election on a plan staff and consultants say is intended to address aging infrastructure downtown. "Tonight we bring you this ordinance, that will request the voters to approve a $25,000,000 bond," Public Works Director Dustin Johnson told the council, summarizing the package and the public outreach planned if the council approved the ordinance.

City staff and consultants said the project scope grew as engineers examined downtown utilities and found multiple systems in need of replacement. Johnson said the overall concept estimate is roughly $33 million and that the bond ordinance would let the city combine multiple funding sources and phases; the bond ask itself is $25 million. "It may be less. It may be more. We have a lot of things to work out in the final design," he said.

Why it matters: council members and downtown business supporters said digging once to replace multiple aging systems would reduce repeated disruptions to downtown businesses and limit cumulative repair costs. Councilors and staff repeatedly noted the water and wastewater infrastructure in the downtown core is old and that unplanned failures could cause larger service interruptions.

Funding and timing: bond counsel and the city's municipal advisor explained the city does not need to sell all bonds at once. "You don't have to sell all the bonds at once...you will pay interest and principal on what you actually take out," Christine Stoll of Clearwater Financial and Stephanie Bonnie, the city's bond counsel, told the council in separate exchanges about financing options. They described options such as phased bond issuances, capitalized interest and bond anticipation notes to match borrowing to construction timing.

Public process: staff said the city will hold a kickoff public meeting on March 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers and additional outreach in neighborhood locations (the "orchards" was specifically mentioned) before the May election. Johnson said staff had already held town halls, property-owner interviews and open houses during project development.

Schedule: Johnson said full design will take roughly a year, with construction likely to begin in 2026 if the project proceeds on the current timeline. "We're looking 26–27 would be when we'd be looking to start construction," he said, but added the date depends on design, phasing and what is found in field investigations.

Council reaction and next steps: councilors spoke in favor of consolidating work to reduce business disruptions; one councilor emphasized fiscal caution and the need to answer voters' questions. The council approved the ordinance (first, second and third readings combined) to send the ballot question to voters. Staff and the municipal advisor will continue public engagement and refine final costs and phasing ahead of the election.

Public remarks at the meeting: several business representatives spoke during the public comment period in support of sending the bond to voters, saying a healthy downtown supports recruitment of professionals and tourism and that coordinated work would minimize longer-term costs.

The ordinance approved by the council establishes the special bond election and ballot language; it does not obligate the city to immediately sell all or any bonds. Details about final scope, phasing and precise borrowing schedules will be developed in design and financing steps if voters approve the measure.