Greenfield workshop outlines $111.3 million plan to replace aging wastewater plant; rate study goes to council Oct. 14

Greenfield City staff told roughly two dozen residents at a community workshop that the city needs to replace its nearly 50-year-old wastewater treatment plant and is seeking a funding package that could total about $111.3 million.

Paul, a city staff presenter, said the proposals are intended to fix failing treatment basins and meet state water-quality permits. “We need $111,300,000,” Paul said, describing two broad funding scenarios and noting the city must pass a sewer rate study to be eligible for large state grants.

Why it matters: the existing plant, built about 1978, is beyond its expected useful life and is operating at or above its permitted daily average. City staff said the plant’s daily permitted flow is about 1.2 million gallons; current average flows are at or slightly above that limit and two developments coming online would add an estimated 89,000 gallons per day when built. Workshop participants repeatedly pressed officials on how the cost and the protest-ballot process would affect renters and people who do not receive utility bills directly.

City staff described three financing scenarios. The “best case” assumes a large state grant of about $75 million plus a low-interest state loan of roughly $36 million; staff called that the lowest-cost outcome for ratepayers. Under a “worst case” scenario staff said the city would rely mainly on loans: a state loan up to $50 million plus additional market-rate borrowing. The exact market-rate loan amount was not specified at the workshop. Paul said the city will still have to borrow money under…