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Residents press Methuen council to fund Echo Lane sewer; mayor carves $450,000 into CIP
Summary
Residents asked the Methuen City Council to add the Echo Lane Sewer Connection project to the capital improvement plan; staff said the mayor amended the CIP to move $450,000 from road improvements to fund the project without increasing total bonding.
Dozens of residents and several written statements urged the Methuen City Council to prioritize a sewer connection for Echo Lane, citing failing septic systems, undersized leach-field stone and possible contamination of a nearby aquifer.
The council heard a neighborhood speaker, Tom Geroso of 9 Echo Lane, and read letters from residents (Norman Barubi, Michael Hamill and others) describing homes built in the mid-1980s whose septic systems are now failing and which residents say would cost more than $30,000 each to replace. The letters said many homeowners are retired and on fixed incomes and pleaded with the council to include the Echo Lane project in the capital improvement plan (CIP).
City staff told the council that between the first and second reads the mayor amended the CIP to carve out $450,000 from the road-improvement project (reducing it from $4,000,000 to $3,550,000) to create a $450,000 Echo Lane Sewer Connection project. Staff said the total bond request for the CIP did not change and that an additional approximately $1 million remained available from prior-year CIP paving to preserve the overall paving plan. The mayor is expected to provide a written update to councilors tomorrow, staff said.
Councilors asked for clarity that the move would not delay planned paving work and sought confirmation that the city still had funds remaining from FY25 CIP projects; staff said those funds remain and the carve-out could be made without changing the total CIP bonding. Councilors also discussed next steps for public meetings and the timeline for design and construction if the project proceeds.
The council approved the CIP amendment (TR 2548 as amended) during the meeting; staff said the city will continue to coordinate timelines and follow up with residents about next steps.
What happens next: staff said they would follow up with the neighborhood and provide details on scheduling and design; the mayor will provide additional written updates to councilors.
