MONTAGUE — A $2.5 million screw pump replacement, approval of easements for the replacement of the South Street Bridge and creation of a stabilization fund for utility installation are among the 21 requests on the warrant for Montague’s Special Town Meeting on Thursday.

The Special Town Meeting will be held in the Turners Falls High School auditorium starting at 6:30 p.m.

Screw pump replacement

Article 14 requests a vote to appropriate $2.5 million to replace the Clean Water Facility’s screw pumps, which are failing due to age.

“The Archimedes-style screw pumps are a critical feature of the plant, as they pump wastewater entering at the lower end of the facility to the upper end for treatment,” the warrant background explains. “Installed in 2002, the current Internalift screw pumps are at the end of their 20-year expected life.”

Most recently, something short-circuited in the screw pumps’ programmable logic controller, requiring the installation of additional timers as a temporary solution to regulate the apparatus’ operation.

“It just goes to show that it’s a critical system that really needs to get updated,” Wastewater Superintendent Chelsey Little said at a Selectboard meeting on Feb. 13.

The Clean Water Facility on Greenfield Road intends to finance the project through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Grant and Loan Program. This will fund between 35% and 70% of project costs as a grant, with the balance to be funded by a USDA loan. Additionally, the Selectboard has allocated $800,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to offset the projected loan cost. The grant program requires a full Town Meeting appropriation before applying.

South Street Bridge easements

Article 10 requests a vote to acquire easements necessary for the replacement of the South Street bridge over the Sawmill River.

The South Street Bridge has suffered significant structural deterioration in recent years. A replacement project is budgeted for fiscal year 2024 with an estimated contract cost of roughly $4 million, funded through the 2024 Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) Transportation Improvement Program. The project will entail a year-long closure beginning in late 2024.

“It’s going to be an inconvenience for sure, but the bridge needs to get done and I think we have a good, safe way to do it,” Assistant Town Administrator Walter Ramsey said in January.

The replacement bridge will be 58.5 feet long with two 10-foot lanes and abutments positioned farther from the river’s flow than is the case presently. The existing South Street Bridge was reduced to a single 12-foot lane of traffic in spring 2018 and has abutments that are largely in contact with the water below.

According to the warrant background, only one temporary construction easement is required on private property based on the preliminary design. This, however, is still subject to change.

Stabilization fund

Article 2 involves a vote to establish a Canal District Utility Improvements Stabilization Fund, which would hold $250,000 for utility upgrades in the Canal District.

The $250,000 that would be put in the account was paid to the town by FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. as “required by an agreement related to an exchange of easements in that area related to the Strathmore footbridge,” the warrant background states. Systems may include water, sewer, gas or electricity lines.

Montague has already spent $300,000 to install water, sewer and drainage systems at the site amid preparations for the now-canceled Fifth Street pedestrian bridge project, which was funded by a $2.3 million MassWorks grant.

Other articles

Other notable warrant articles involve appropriating $35,250 for consulting and design costs related to a prospective new library in Turners Falls, setting aside $80,000 and $100,000 sums for new utility trucks, allocating $230,000 to replace the roof of the Colle Opera House building that houses the Shea Theater Arts Center, and changing the town clerk and tax collector/treasurer positions from elected to appointed positions.

The full Special Town Meeting warrant and background information can be found at bit.ly/3Z6JFM9.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.

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