At a special meeting next month, residents of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, will be asked to support an almost $21 million upgrade to the town's sewer treatment plant.
The facility along the Housatonic River hasn't received upgrades in at least a dozen years.
As Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon tells Berkshire Bureau Chief Josh Landes, it won't be the only issue for voters to consider.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Editor's note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Bannon: The primary reason the meeting was called is to approve a $325,000 grant for upgrades at the sewer treatment plant. Without that vote, the grant would expire before the annual town meeting. And in addition, what we'll ask for — and it's undecided how much — but, money for upgrades for the sewage treatment plant in addition to the grant.
Landes: That money could be in excess of $20 million. What would that look like for the town as far as borrowing and appropriation? What might that look like as you deliberate over this on the select board?
Bannon: The sewage treatment plan is run by an enterprise fund. The only people who are affected by this are the users, as far as rates. Even though all people will vote on this. All citizens of Great Barrington will vote on this. What it will look like, is if our plans have gone well over the last few years, is that money that we've held in contingency and increase in rates over the years will cover much of this.
Landes: Something we constantly hear about, both in Great Barrington and throughout the nation, is the rising cost of living. Are you concerned at all about pushback about the idea of rates going up for users of the wastewater system?
Bannon: If our plans have worked properly, the rates will continue to increase 12% a year, but no more than that because many years ago we increased the rates quite substantially to cover for this upgrade.
Landes: This comes at a time where the town is also working on this purchase of the Housatonic Waterworks. Is there any relationship as far as the perception of spending money on these these somewhat important infrastructure entities in the Great Barrington region?
Bannon: It's always a concern, but Housatonic Waterworks is a completely separate issue that we have been working on for years. So, I don't think these two are related at all.
Landes: When did you first become aware of the need for upgrades to the wastewater plant?
Bannon: The need for upgrades was anticipated many years ago when we did the increase in rates. This is a routine upgrade to the plant. This is not an emergency. We've probably waited two or three years longer than we anticipated, but this is definitely not an emergency. It needs to be done, but it's not a surprise.
Landes: Break that down for us. Why does this need to be done? What do these upgrades include, and what are they going to address?
Bannon: I'm not an expert, even though I'm also considered a sewer commissioner. But these upgrades are similar to your house. When your house gets 20 or 30 years-old, you need to do certain things to to improve the house, whether it's your furnace, your air conditioning, your refrigerator, and this is similar to that in the sewer treatment plant. It's past its usefulness and its timeline, and it needs to be upgraded.
Landes: As far as the dream for this, if these upgrades go through, are you hoping this will carry this facility for a number of years after this? Do you anticipate more upgrades to come in the future?
Bannon: There's always upgrades, but I anticipate that this will cover for decades.
Landes: Any last word on this? What do you want folks to understand about the special town meeting, both the grant acquisition and the the plan to upgrade the facility at the wastewater plant?
Bannon: I think the most important thing to understand is this is an anticipated upgrade. This is not an emergency, not a surprise. It's not from lack of upkeep. This is just something that happens as you go along in day-to-day infrastructure.
Landes: Lastly, how does the grant play into this larger effort? Does that have an implication for the upgrades? Will it lead to other funding for this project?
Bannon: Besides the grant, we are hoping to qualify for a low or no interest loan, which will be very helpful.
