A Special Town Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 29 at 7:00 PM at Blandford Town Hall. The agenda for the meeting includes just two items: The water treatment plant’s ongoing Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) project and the FY24 budget for the Hampden County Retirement Board assessment.
Article 1: In March 2023, a Special Town Meeting authorized borrowing a little under $900,000 to undertake construction of an upgraded SCADA system at the Long Pond Water Treatment Plant. This project, in development since 2020, would address concerns with disinfection byproducts and other issues identified by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The cost of the project would be borne by Town water users and financed by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). Projects included in the CWSRF would need to be under contract by June 30 with slight extensions and 13% loan forgiveness possible.
Construction bids came back higher than anticipated in late May necessitating authorization of the additional funding of about $280,000 at a Special Town Meeting. The Town’s consultant, Wright-Pierce, has identified some additional potential savings to bring project costs back in line.
Article 2: This corrects a clerical error in which the Town under appropriated by a little over $4,000 the amount needed to pay the Hampden County Retirement Assessment. By making this correction, the Town can pay the full assessment prior to July 31, locking in about $1,500 in savings for prompt payment.