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10/14/2024 04:18 PMOn Oct. 9, Westbrook officials held the first of a planned series of public information sessions regarding a proposed town center wastewater plan. Similar sessions will be held throughout the winter.
In late 2023, First Selectman John Hall, Town Planner Peter Gillespie, and representatives from the engineering firm Jacobson & Associates presented a conceptual plan for a wastewater treatment solution for downtown Westbrook. Coming out of that meeting, attendees asked the Town to do more research into the cost to the taxpayer and the yearly fee for property owners for such a project.
Nearly a year later, the Town held a similar meeting to provide those updates.
The Plan
At the meeting, Gillespie explained the proposed plan but noted that it was conceptual and could possibly change. Hall reiterated that no decisions have been made and the meeting was for informational purposes only.
Gillespie said the initial conceptual plan calls for a gravity sewer collection system to service 50 properties in the proposed area. The sewer lines would be installed, and each property would need to be hooked up to the line. Existing septic tanks would be pumped out and closed.
Leaching areas would need to be established on the Town Green and in the rear of the Riggio Building. A treatment facility would be built, although Gillespie clarified that it would be a small treatment center, mostly underground, similar to what’s used at the outlets.
Currently, the area handles about 17,700 gallons of wastewater per day. Under the proposed model, that number would jump to about 31,000 gallons per day. Gillespie acknowledged that number was less than what the Town was hoping for, but the soil tests at the proposed leaching fields were not as promising as initially hoped. Still, the increased capacity would allow for more development in town.
The Numbers
The latest total cost estimate for constructing the proposed system was about $11,700,00. Furthermore, each property would pay an annual maintenance fee to use the service.
According to the 2024 presentation, the estimated average cost to connect each property to the system would be about $3,600 for each property. The annual maintenance cost to be paid by the property owners—assuming no assistance from the Town—would be about $2,008. Property owners would also need to pay $2,500 to pump out and close their septic systems. Gillespie stressed that the numbers are estimated average costs.
Those numbers are based on the number of equivalent dwelling units (EDU) in the area. An EDU is the approximate volume of water used by a single family. Since the area that would be serviced by the proposed plan is largely commercial, those properties would likely have more than one EDU.
Those numbers did not sit well with many of the meeting attendees. When it came time for public input, several speakers raised concerns about the annual fee. Gillespie and Westbrook Economic Development Coordinator Jim Crawford said that they had been doing outreach to property owners and had heard from multiple of them -particularly those that own single-family homes – that the annual maintenance fee was an unrealistic one to pay. Several speakers said that while they were in favor of revitalizing the downtown, doing so at the expense of the homeowners in the area was not fair. The town leaders agreed.
“We are very conscious that that is an unfair burden to place on owners,” Gillespie said at the meeting.
Hall, Gillespie, and Crawford said that they are investigating creative ways to pay for the project and potentially lessen the costs of the project. A number of state and federal grants for which the Town could apply are being looked at.
Next Steps
Hall and Westbrook Water Pollution Control Authority Chair Sidney Holbrook said that the Town is going to hold a series of similar information meetings over the next four to five months.
“We don’t want anyone in town to say they did not know about this,” Hall said during the meeting. The plan is to then go to town meeting to lay out the final proposed plan. After that meeting, the Town will have a referendum to see if residents approve the plan. Hall said that no dates have been set for the follow-up meetings, but the Town will advertise when one is set. Hall said the meetings will be held as the Town receives new information regarding cost estimates.
The History
The effort to revitalize Westbrook’s town center has been a goal for decades. The Town Center Revitalization Committee was first formed in 1997, and a 1998 report listed sewage disposal as a main concern for the area. Over the years, residents have reported that prospective businesses have decided to open elsewhere due to the constraints the lack of an adequate system places on the area.
At the meeting, Crawford says that an interested restaurateur approached the Town recently about opening a restaurant downtown but then was informed that due to septic capacity on the site, the business would only have 14 seats, which made it unfeasible to open in Westbrook. The business then opened in another town.
Even speakers who said they were opposed to the cost for individual property owners said they were in favor fixing the wastewater issue to bring development to the downtown area. Selectman Joseph Campbell, who said he was not speaking for or against the project, said the town has a large population of walkers and that it would be nice for them to have a restaurant or shops to go to.
Crawford explained that the Town’s lack of a wastewater system impacts everything from potential business developments to more mixed-use housing being available downtown.