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Noblesville utilities seek up to $26 million in bonds to fund major wastewater upgrades
Summary
Noblesville Utilities asked the council to introduce Ordinance 35-07-26 authorizing bond financing to fund headworks rehabilitation, a full rebuild of Lift Station 20 and about 3 miles of force main. The utilities director said the projects could cost about $36 million and that the issuance would use utility reserves so sewer rates would not change now.
Noblesville Utilities Director Jonathan Mergo told the Common Council on July 14 that the city is seeking authority for a bond issuance to pay for two major wastewater projects — headworks rehabilitation and a full replacement of Lift Station 20 — plus roughly 3 miles of force main to send flow directly to the treatment plant. “We anticipate could be a cost of up to $36,000,000,” Mergo said, and the ordinance requests bond authorization up to $26,000,000 with an anticipated issuance closer to $23,500,000 using a 10% contingency.
Mergo said the headworks project will replace equipment, improve electrical and HVAC systems and install an odor‑control system at the facility where sewage first enters the plant. He described the Lift Station 20 work as a complete rebuild sized for “ultimate build out” of its catchment area in the southwest quadrant of Noblesville Township, and said the force main will remove a prior pump‑and‑transfer step that contributed to local odor problems.
“We are a separate enterprise,” Mergo said when asked about funds, stressing that the strategic reserves cited are utility funds rather than general tax dollars. He told council the plan anticipates spending approximately $10,000,000 of the utility’s reserves as part of a strategy to reduce the size of the bond and that, based on current forecasts, “this bond … will have no impact to the sewer rates today.”
Mergo said both projects are under build‑operate‑transfer contracts with different contractors and that construction contingency needs were the reason for the requested authorization up to the larger amount. Councilors asked technical questions about service areas and interconnections with Hamilton Southeastern Utilities; Mergo explained that Hamilton Southeastern collects sewer from customers east of Bowdoin Road and connects to Noblesville’s system at Bowdoin Road and State Road 32.
The council moved to introduce Ordinance 35-07-26 (sewage works revenue bonds); the motion was seconded and the item was introduced for further consideration. No final bond issuance occurred at the meeting; the ordinance sets the authorization groundwork and details will return to council as the projects advance.
