Fate of sewer project in the hands of Aug. 18 Special Town Meeting

by John Osborn
 

Capital Committee votes to support article

If Town Meeting voters approve the additional borrowing that Harvard needs to upgrade its water treatment plant and extend its sewer to 74 private and municipal properties in the center of town, the annual cost of financing the project for the average taxpayer will be an additional $6 to $8 per year, town administrator Tim Bragan said this week.

Bragan reported these results at a meeting of the town's Capital Planning Committee on Wednesday morning as that group grappled with the pros and cons of supporting the additional $540,385 the town has requested to complete the project. If the spending is approved, the annual tax rate will increase by 1.3 cents per $1,000 of a property's assessed value, Bragan said. For the average home in Harvard, with a value of $561,000, that works out to $7.29 per year.

New numbers clarify the financial impact

The Capital Committee is one of three town committees whose support is generally thought to be crucial to the success of any request for borrowing. In addition to its effect on taxes, here's what town officials and residents now know about the likely financial impact of the additional spending (see chart below):

• The total estimated cost of the project will be $2,540,385, which is 27 percent higher than originally estimated. That number does not include the $337,000 the town spent in 2010 to do test borings for ledge in the town center and to redesign the wastewater plant to satisfy the demands of the state Department of Environmental Protection. Those invoices have already been paid by the town.
• The betterment fee that town center property owners will pay per "sewer unit" (typically a single-family home) will likely rise 9 percent to $18,530 per sewer unit, still below the $18,700 maximum promised by the selectmen in 2009 but above the original estimate of $17,000. Two Elm Street residents have asked that the amount be capped and are searching for a way to formally bind future sewer commissioners to that amount. (See related story)
• The state Department of Environmental Protection will let the town add the extra dollars it needs to the $2 million it was already authorized to borrow from a state revolving fund at 2 percent interest over 20 years.

These numbers have yet to be incorporated into the 10-year debt schedule the town uses to plan how to finance its various capital projects. But at the meeting Wednesday morning, Capital Committee Chairman George McKenna said he expected to have an updated schedule available when the Finance Committee met that evening.

"I'm going to be in favor of this no matter how [the number] comes out," said Capital Committee member Cindy Russo.

Earlier, she had noted that when the $337,000 for test borings and designs is added to the total cost of construction, the portion borne by the town is actually 45 percent, not 38 percent.

"That is more than the town was originally told it was going to be paying," Russo said. "I've had a little trouble with that. But I've come around, for myself, that the alternative…of not going forward is worse for the town than paying the 45 percent."

If the request for borrowing fails, the immediate effects will include the loss of all state funding for the project and the near certainty that the Department of Environmental Protection will order the town to fix its failed wastewater plant.

Bragan and members of the Capital Committee agree that the cost of fixing the plant would be roughly equal to the cost of going ahead with the sewer system: between $1.3 to $1.4 million. But the debt costs would be dramatically higher. There would be no state funding available for the plant repairs, and municipal debt currently costs between 4 and 6 percent for a 20-year loan, according to Bragan and others.

Failure to complete a town center collection system could also disrupt building plans around the Common. Plans to renovate Town Hall and Hildreth House would be limited to what's possible with existing or new Title V compliant septic systems. Ideas of leasing the old library to a business or non-profit would likewise be dampened.

The long-term sustainability of the Harvard General Store would be threatened by its inability to expand food services, according to Harvard General Store manager Amy Bernhardt.

And homeowners throughout the district whose Title V systems are in failure would be forced to make expensive repairs. As one Elm Street resident, Jared Wollaston, has pointed out, many gardens in the center of town would be replaced by mounds.

In the hands of Town Meeting

After roughly 90 minutes of discussion, the Capital Planning Committee voted 4-0 to support the additional funding. A fifth member, Peter Warren, abstained because he owns property in the center of town.

At this point, two of the three most influential town committees on matters of finance have said they support the Town Meeting warrant article. Selectmen will not vote until Thursday evening, but at a meeting to discuss the project earlier this week, a majority said they were behind it. The Finance Committee was scheduled to consider the measure Wednesday evening, after this article was posted.

Town Meeting will convene at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School.
 

Aerial view of the center of Harvard including most of the proposed sewer district. (File photo by Ellen Harasimowicz)