Town meeting planned for treatment plant

OXFORD — The town plans to hold a public hearing concerning a new sewage treatment plant within the month, according to Oxford Town Manager Michael Chammings on Monday.

A town meeting to approve borrowing for the project could come soon after the hearing.

According to Chammings, selectmen and many residents are in support of the project and the town would like to move it along quickly.

Several businesses are eyeing new development along Route 26, Chammings reported.

Both the developers and the town would rather see the development connected to a municipal sewer instead of construct individual leech field systems.  

"The growth is coming," Chammings said. "Whether people want it or not, the fact of the matter is the town is going to grow like it has been and we want to make sure we have the utilities to handle it."

Cost fluctuates

The town received a preliminary engineering report from engineering firm Woodard and Curran in early October and Chammings is currently reviewing the report and making alterations.

Woodard and Curran are currently working with the Department of Environmental Protection to permit the project.

The cost of the first two phases of the project, to construct the facility and build collection systems along Route 26 and through South Oxford was estimated at around $18.6 million in a Woodard and Curran report published in April.

In the preliminary engineering report, the cost of Phases I and II rose to over $23 million, including engineering costs, preliminary work and contingency funds.

Phase III of the project, which covers North Oxford, is not detailed in the report.

On Monday, Chammings reported the number had been revised again to $9,890,000 for Phase I and $10,355,000 for Phase II, $20.2 million for the project.

The change between the two numbers came from "tightening up" the estimates to fit the town's needs, Chammings said. Depending on any number of factors, the cost might go up or lower again. 

"These estimates will change as we go in and do surveying," Chammings said.

"Are we going to hit ledge? How many pump stations do we have to put in? As you're doing your surveying, you're going to come across these costs that are either higher or lower ... typically when they do engineering stuff they put it on the higher end ... so you know where you're at."

Although the cost might seem high, Chammings iterated that Oxford's Tax Increment Financing district placed it in a unique situation to finance the project without increasing property taxes.

TIF funds have already been dedicated to the project and would cover about half of the cost, Chammings estimated.

The remaining cost would be covered by grants, low-interest loans and user fees, Chammings said. 

There would also be no enhancement fees for property owners whose land would house the system, Chammings said.

He anticipated the cost of the facility could be paid down over a period of 20 years.

If voters approve borrowing for the project, the town could start the project.

"It's one of those projects that everybody wins at," Chammings said. "We're just in a unique position to be able to pay for this."