JAY – The town may be undergoing a major renovation of the aging sewer system under Main Street, which would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Municipal officials just wish they had a choice in the matter.
Selectmen learned Monday night that a long-anticipated state project to replace storm water drains along Route 4, which doubles as Main Street for Jay, will be going forward later this year. With more than $60 million being pumped into Maine’s infrastructure by the federal government, the state is eager to kick-start a project that was originally planned in 2004. They hope to start June 2009.
However, the storm water drainage improvements are expected to wreck havoc with the town of Jay’s sewer line, and the local water department’s drinking water pipes. These systems were installed in the 1970s, and consist of brick-reinforced manholes and cement pipes.
“The water mains and sewer mains are in the path of destruction,” said Sewer Department Superintendent Mark Holt. “Basically, they said, you’re in our right-of-way.”
Even if the construction misses some mains, Holt reported, the actual work itself would probably be enough of a disturbance to damage the system. Such damage may not be detectable for months, creating a bigger problem later.
The timing of the project came as a shock to Holt, who had heard as late as last month that the state’s project was on hold until 2011.
The best, and really only solution, the board discussed was to replace that old sewer system with a new one. That way, the construction projects could overlap and cost less. However, the current plans the town has developed puts that project at $667,000, with the actual bids expected to come in even higher.
Livermore Falls, Holt said, was planning a $600,000 project of their own to mesh with the state’s plans. $180,000 of that is expected to be covered through a grant, but Holt said Jay was unlikely to get any such help, due to low sewer rates.
That would put the project squarely on the shoulders of Jay taxpayers. The state has apparently readied zero percent interest rates to help cover the project cost, but Holt echoed comments by selectmen when he noted that the town would likely not be conducting such an expensive project if given a choice.
“We’re not pushing this project,” he said. He estimated that when all bids were submitted and calculated, the project would cost $50,000 a year for 15 years.
Borrowing money for a project, even at a zero percent rate, requires a vote of the residents at a town meeting. Holt was instructed to search for possible grant sources for funding, in addition to applying for the zero percent rate.
