Middleton hires Clearwater Financial to advise on proposed $68 million wastewater bond; $12,000 initial retainer approved

The Middleton City Council on Jan. 15 authorized the mayor to sign an initial master services agreement with Clearwater Financial LLC for up to $12,000 to provide municipal advisory and financial services in advance of a voter-approved bond for the city’s proposed wastewater treatment plant.

The agreement will fund advisory work over the coming 12 months to help the city select bond counsel, refine financing options and prepare for the debt-authority vote that will be required before the city can issue bonds to pay for plant construction.

Jason Van Gilder, Middleton’s public works director, told the council the retainer would let the city “begin to work with us on this project” and that Clearwater would later be asked to submit a separate, more detailed contract for bond origination work once the structure is defined. Van Gilder said the current project estimate is “in the $68,000,000 range.”

Council members asked for clarification about the retainer and the possible downstream costs of bond structuring. Council members raised concerns about the firm’s fee schedule for large financings and the potential for additional advisory or origination fees once bond issuance work begins. Van Gilder said the $12,000 is budgeted and intended to cover initial advisory tasks; ongoing or transaction-specific fees would be negotiated later.

Council members and staff also discussed technical and programmatic risks that could change project scope and cost. Van Gilder and other staff described an associated land-application pilot — described in the meeting as a six-acre demonstration of an effluent land-application recycle system — and stressed that elements not included in the current design (for example, tertiary filtration, chillers or cooling towers if required) would add cost beyond the $68 million estimate. The council noted that the pilot’s final size and state regulatory requirements remain a moving target.

Van Gilder said staff are pursuing outside funding where possible, including applications to the state revolving fund (SRF) and other federal programs; he told the council that statewide SRF funding rounds distribute roughly $10–$13 million across the state and that the U.S. Army Corps grant programs the city has considered are typically around $2 million. The mayor said the city had so far received $40,000 in grant funding toward the project.

Councilmember discussion ended with a motion to authorize the mayor to enter the initial master services agreement with Clearwater Financial LLC for an amount not to exceed $12,000. The motion was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote.

Next steps described by staff include using the adviser’s work to select bond counsel, refine repayment structure and bring back more detailed contracts and cost estimates for the council’s approval before any bond sale or election.