WILMINGTON — Voters will be asked if the town should take out a bond or loan to extend water and sewer infrastructure along Route 9 East, a project seen as a way to foster economic development and create new housing.
At the annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, the answer will be determined by ballot along with elections. Other articles will be voted on in person, including one that will see if the annual meeting should continue to be held from the floor rather than completely by ballot.
Gretchen Havreluk, economic development consultant for the town, said a study conducted several years ago shows the water/sewer project is feasible. The town used federal American Rescue Act Plan funds it received for final design and engineering.
An informal survey found 13 properties that would connect to the system, Havreluk said. Another four might connect to the sewer and another three might connect to the water.
“We are not forcing people to connect because we feel like we can make enough funds to support this project,” Havreluk said at an informational meeting Monday.
New housing and economic development opportunities are anticipated. A new senior housing development is possible, Havreluk said. She noted five businesses will be retained, along with about 35 employees. She estimates redevelopment could bring in another 20 full-time employees.
At a meeting in January, the Select Board approved a resolution explaining how the project could span from Ballou Hill and 100 feet beyond the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s Deerfield Valley Campus health center on Route 100 South. Infrastructure will be constructed on state right-of-way and privately owned lands with legal easements. The price tag is estimated to be about $3.1 million.
Although the project will cost about $5.1 million, the town already received a $1 million federal grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission and a $735,510 state grant from the Community Recovery and Revitalization Program. The town also used $374,896 from ARPA funds.
“We have to stack it, in a way,” Havreluk said of funding at a board meeting on Feb. 20. “The grant administration on this is heavy.”
Havreluk said the town hired the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation to help manage the NBRC grant. She expected Aldrich + Elliott to wrap up an engineering study by the end of February.
“The people I am talking to are going to be voting for this,” she said. “I don’t want to jinx it.”
Board member Tony Tribuno said he believes the community will appreciate having more services available after the project is completed. Residents have raised concerns that new units might be turned into short-term rentals instead of long-term housing.
About 29 lots are anticipated to have access to the new infrastructure, Board Chairman Tom Fitzgerald said.
“It’s the only way we can expand,” he said. “We can’t go the other way.”
Town Manager Scott Tucker said a loan may offer some forgiveness and a bond would have a good interest rate.
“Municipalities get better rates than you would for your mortgage,” he said.
