The end is in sight for a lengthy project to upgrade Warrenton’s network of sewer pipes, but one substantial and costly step remains.
City Administrator Terri Thorn discussed the project …
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The end is in sight for a lengthy project to upgrade Warrenton’s network of sewer pipes, but one substantial and costly step remains.
City Administrator Terri Thorn discussed the project during a Dec. 15 board of aldermen meeting. She said construction crews have finished building a new sewer main on the west side of the city from south of Interstate 70, north to a lift station at Fairlane Circle. Now, the city just needs to connect that new main to the wastewater treatment plant to the northeast, across Highway 47.
To complete that last leg of the project, Thorn said the city will need to issue $5.5 million in additional bonds, a type of promissory note the city repays using tax dollars. Warrenton voters approved the use of bond financing to improve the city’s sewer system in 2014.
Thorn said $9 million of the approved bond funding was already used to upgrade the wastewater plant on Willow Road, complete an entire sewer main on the east side of the city, and build the first portion of the west sewer main. She said the city plans to issue its next round of bonds by April 1, 2021.
“About that time, we will be ready to actually bid out the project going from Fairlane out to the treatment plant, and it will complete that (project),” Thorn explained. She added that additional disinfection upgrades are also planned at the treatment plant in the same time period.
To issue bonds for a project, Warrenton must enter an agreement with the bond holders providing the financing. As part of that agreement, Warrenton shares operational and financial information with the bond holders. But, as Thorn pointed out, a significant change to that operation might be coming, one that’s out of Warrenton’s hands.
The city of Truesdale, after learning that Warrenton’s sewer plant can’t meet its growing needs, is seeking other options for sewer treatment. Taking their business elsewhere could impact both operation and financing for Warrenton’s plant.
Thorn said Warrenton needs clarity on what the future holds before making representations to potential bond purchasers.
“If, in fact, there are going to be changes, we must disclose those as part of these bond documents. We can’t issue the bonds and then a year later say, ‘Oops, we didn’t tell you that Truesdale’s no long going to be a sewer customer.’ It would cause some significant issues related to any future bonding,” Thorn explained.
Truesdale City Administrator MaryLou Rainwater told The Record that the city is currently seeking and engineering study to examine its options for sewer service. However, a USDA Rural Development grant to pay for that study has not yet been funded by the federal government. There’s no information on when the funding will be released, Rainwater said.
Thorn also commented that Warrenton is on the cusp of paying off several loan projects, making room for the next big project: upgrading the sewer plant’s maximum capacity.
“In 2023 we (plan to go) back to the voters asking for additional bonds. Those will be the bonds that will accomplish the capacity increase at the treatment plant,” Thorn said.
The city’s estimated time for completion of the treatment plant expansion is in 2027.
