Oxford voters approve $20M for sewer plant

Photo: Peter L. McGuire

VOTERS — It took more than 100 Oxford voters less than 20 minutes to approve four warrant articles at a December 12 special town meeting. Voters approved issuing a $20,225,000 bonds, amended the town's zoning ordinance and enacted a pawn brokers ordinance.

OXFORD — Voters approved borrowing more than $20 million to fund the construction of a waste water treatment plant during a special town meeting December 12.

More than 100 residents overwhelmingly approved authorizing the treasurer and selectboard chair to issue bonds for Oxford of $20,225,000. Less than a dozen voters opposed the article. 

Voters also approved an amendment to the town's zoning ordinance and enacted a revised pawn brokers ordinance.

The bond will finance the construction of a sewage treatment plant for the town, planned to be sited at Welchville Dam at the intersection of Routes 26 and 121. The project will be completed in two phases – a preliminary schedule puts Phase I completion by the end of 2013.

Representatives from Woodard and Curran, the engineering firm designing the facility, attended the meeting with a prepared presentation, but no voters asked questions about the borrowing.

The town intends to repay bonds with funding from its tax increment financing district, low-interest loans and grants.

In a phone interview last Thursday, Chammings said he wasn't surprised with the outcome of the vote, though, he anticipated a little more debate on the issue.

"You have a great board of selectmen who look out for the town and the townspeople see that," Chammings said. "They trust this board and that's why these votes go by so smoothly."

According to Chammings, the town now needs to start "chasing money" from U.S. Department of Agriculture and Community Development grants to finance the project.

The Department of Environmental Protection is still in the process of permitting the project and would be monitoring it from start to finish, Chammings said.

"I think they're very interested in the technology because it's kind of making some of the older systems look like dinosaurs comparatively," he said.

According to Chammings, Oxford is the first municipality in the state to install this type of treatment plant.

The vast majority of voters also approved a zoning amendment that allows construction of the treatment plant in the town's mixed use zone.

The pawn brokers ordinance prompted questions from one resident who claimed changes to the document discussed at a public hearing had not been put into the document.

Chammings responded that the town could fix spelling or grammar errors, but substantive changes to the document could not be made at the meeting.

Voters cannot amend ordinances during enactment but residents could bring the issue up again and amend the document during the town meeting in June, Moderator Ron Kugell explained.

The ordinance, requested by Police Chief Jon Tibbetts, is intended to allow the police department to track possible stolen property more easily.

Chammings has said the town anticipates more pawn shops in the future and the ordinance will help the police department handle the influx.