NAHANT — The May 21 Town Meeting warrant will include an article to borrow $18 million to $20 million for sewer improvements — one of the largest infrastructure improvement articles ever placed before town voters, said Town Administrator Antonio Barletta.
“This article will secure the Town’s award of borrowing through the State Revolving Fund and be used to make necessary sewer infrastructure repairs over the next 10 years. The borrowing amount has been approved, and, with a yes vote, the Town can take advantage of favorable interest rates. Additionally, a benefit of the program is the borrowing doesn’t occur until the projects are underway, similar to a construction loan,” Barletta said on Tuesday.
The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to review the Town Meeting warrant at its Wednesday meeting.
The last day to register to vote at Town Meeting is Friday, April 29, starting at 12:30 p.m. Voting on Town Meeting articles is confined to registered Nahant voters. Town Meeting will be held in Town Hall, which is located at 334 Nahant Road.
Upgrading the town’s sewerage system has been a major financial focus for the town officials with the town awarded $16 million in low-interest, long-term loans through a state revolving fund.
“You don’t do the actual borrowing until you do the project,” Barletta said.
Town Meeting members voted last September, 137-0, to give the town permission to make its end-of-the-year deadline to accept the necessary funding from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).
The vote set the stage for repairs to the main pipe in the system built in the early 1980s and used to pump wastewater from the town’s Ward Road Pump Station to the Lynn Water & Sewer Treatment Plant. The main focus of repairs is on the pipe section located in Lynn.
Since 2017, the town has already spent $2 million on emergency repairs to its sewer infrastructure. In 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued an administrative consent order (ACO) to the town, requiring it to replace a portion of the pipe by the end of 2021.
The town then began to work with engineering service Wright-Pierce to review options for replacement of the pipe. After deliberation, Wright-Pierce concluded that the Lynnway portion of the pipe would be prioritized for repairs over the Nahant Causeway portion, due to its quicker deterioration.
“The number one priority has been to repair the Lynnway portion of the Town’s force main and that project is in progress. This additional borrowing will fund priorities 2 through 5 over the next decade,” Barletta said.
He said the warrant will also include articles focused on addressing climate change preparedness. The town article asks voters to authorize $500,000 in borrowing to leverage matching grant money to address climate-change-related threats, including storm surges and lowland flooding.
“The issue of flooding in the Lowlands is not only a public health issue for the residents in that area, but it is also where the Town’s main sewer pump station and the National Grid substation are located,” Barletta said.
Nahant is well positioned for borrowing thanks to its strong bond rating, said Barletta, and the budget he is outlining for town elected officials provides a strong financial underpinning for borrowing.
