Jay approves sewer treatment pump station/line to replace North Jay plant

JAY – Residents overwhelmingly approved a $3.9 million project to replace the North Jay Wastewater Treatment Plant with a pump station that will send sewage to Livermore Falls.

The plan is to replace the 20-year-old plant in North Jay with a line that will ultimately run along the Whistle Stop Trail to the Jay Plaza, where it would enter the system that is serviced by the Livermore Falls plant. The project, which would include a pump station and laying 19,000 feet of pipe, would avoid historic granite structures, environmentally-sensitive areas and coordinate with Maine Department of Transportation paving projects. Another option, which would have sent the new line over Jay Hill, would have required an additional pump station and would disturb more pavement.

The current North Jay station discharges into Seven Mile Stream. If it were to remain active, it would require a replacement equipment that would cost roughly $1.6 million to purchase and install. Twenty to 25 years in the future, Superintendent Mark Holt said Monday evening, the plant would require another $2 million in upgrades, including new concrete. Extending the timeline out 40 years and the North Jay plant would need an additional $3 million in upgrades.

The pump station option was more expensive initially, Holt said, costing up to $3.9 million. Upgrading it every 20 to 25 years however, would only cost $100,000.

While using a 20-year bond at 1.5 percent interest would result in annual payments of $225,900 for the pump station project, the town would realize $107,000 in annual savings in operations and maintenance costs associated with the North Jay plant. With those savings applied against the cost, Holt said, the project represented $26,000 in annual costs above the $93,000 the town would need to pay to upgrade the North Jay plant.

Those figures include the approximately $11,000 annual increase in Jay’s costs relating to the Livermore Falls Treatment Facility apportionment, as there would be a projected 2.9 percent increase in Jay’s usage of that facility.

Additionally, Holt said, the nature of the project would make the system more attractive for grant funding, as it removed the treatment plant.

The roughly dozen or so residents present overwhelmingly approved the project.

In other business, the board approved issuing a request for proposals for solid waste and recycling curbside pickup. The town recently completed a three-year contract with Archie’s; the new request for proposals will be sent to applicable contractors. The RFP asks contractors to propose a 36-month contract, followed by two, 12-month extensions. The proposals would be for a two-day pickup week, but may include alternate bids on a three-day pickup week and a two- or three-day pickup week for only trash, no recycling. The board will review all proposals on Jan. 14, as the municipal budget process gets underway.

Holt was recognized by a round of applause by the board and others in attendance after Chair Terry Bergeron announced that the superintendent had received the Lee A. Agger Environmental Training Award. The award was presented to Holt by the state’s Joint Environmental Training Coordinating Committee for “meritorious support and service in training environmental professionals in the state of Maine.”

The board also agreed to send a letter to the county commissioners in support of Greater Franklin Development Council’s request to receive $40,000 in county Tax Increment Financing funds. Those funds would match the $45,000 that GFDC had raised this year. Executive Director Charlie Woodworth said that he had approached Carrabassett Valley, Wilton and Farmington about the request and that all three of those towns had also indicated their support. The Jay board’s vote was 3 to 1 in favor of writing the letter, with Selectperson Tom Goding opposed. Goding said that he wanted to see GFDC’s work over the entire year prior to providing them with TIF funds.