Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $11,780,000 for the purposes of constructing the necessary upgrades and making improvements to the Waste Water Treatment Plant as follows;
Headworks Upgrades;
Aeration Tank Upgrade
Primary Clarifier Number 1 Upgrade;
Gravity Thickener Number 1 Upgrade;
Plant Water System Upgrade;
Primary Sludge Pump Upgrade;
Thickened Sludge Transfer Pump Replacement;
Polymer System Upgrade;
Septage Handling Improvements;
Operations Building Improvements;
Maintenance Garage Improvements;
and SCADA System Improvements.
Such sum to be raised by the issuance of municipal bonds or notes for a period not to exceed thirty (30) years under and in accordance with the Municipal Finance Act (RSA 33); and
To authorize the Board of Selectmen and the Town Treasurer to issue and negotiate such bonds or notes and to determine the rate of interest thereon in accordance with the Municipal Finance Act (RSA 33); and
To authorize the Board of Selectmen to apply for, contract for, accept and expend any Federal, State or other available funds toward the project in accordance with the terms and conditions under which they are received and to borrow in anticipation of the receipt of such funds and or the issuance of such bonds or notes as provided in the Municipal Finance Act (RSA 33); and
To authorize participation in the State Revolving Fund (SRF) (RSA 486:14) established for the purpose, and to authorize the Board of Selectmen to apply for, accept and expend such monies as they become available from the Federal and State Governments; and
To authorize the Board of Selectmen to implement such cost effective solutions as are presented in the future that they deem to be in the best interest of the Town that may result in a lesser amount of expenditure than is authorized by this warrant article; and
To authorize the Board of Selectmen to take any and all actions necessary to carry out the project in the best interest of the Town of Hampton? (3/5ths vote required)
What it means: A Facility overview conducted by Wright Pierce and completed in September of 2017 identified two types of needs for the Hampton Wastewater Treatment Facility: aging infrastructure and capacity concerns. Article 7 as amended at Deliberative Session addresses the first of these by funding upgrades in the most critical equipment, buildings and software that allow the town to process wastewater from drains and toilets in town.
Those in favor say: The Wastewater Treatment Facility has been on the “critical to address” list for some time. Wastewater treatment is by nature a corrosive process. Inadequate HVAC over decades has left the buildings and equipment in poor shape. The issue will not go away, pushing the work forward will make it more expensive to accomplish down the road and will put the town’s ability to process wastewater at risk in the interim.
Those against say: No one spoke against Article 7 at the Deliberative Session, but there is concern that homeowners who do not have direct access to the town’s sewer facilities (mostly on the west side of town) will be taxed at the same rate for the upgrades as those whose wastewater is carried directly to the plant. (All waste, including that from privately owned and maintained septic tanks, is processed at the town’s WWTF although not with the same volume).
Fiscal Impact: Fiscal Impact Note (Finance Dept.) Since the above bond would not be issued until later in 2018 or even 2019, the first, estimated principal/interest payment of $770,500 will not occur until late in 2019. The total of the bond’s principal and interest payments over a 30-year period at an interest rate of 2.25% are estimated to be $15,888,275. The average Hampton home valued at $408,000 will be assessed an additional $80.78 per year during the life of the bond. (Take your property value divided by 1000 and multiply by .198 to get your specific tax impact.)