ERVING — A Special Town Meeting on Saturday will seek to authorize a major addition to the Erving Center Wastewater Treatment Plant. The warrant also includes three articles regarding town accounting, and a purchase to upgrade emergency services equipment to current standards.
Town Meeting is Saturday at 10 a.m., in a large tent outside the Senior Center at 1 Care Drive. Face coverings and social distancing will be required, though groups who live together may sit together.
The addition to the Wastewater Treatment Plant comprises new equipment for solid waste disposal, and any necessary additions to house the equipment. The need for the upgrade is driven by Erving Industries, which is the largest single user of the plant and, since the 1970s, has kept an agreement with the town to manage operation of the plant and to pay for maintenance and any other associated costs, said Town Administrator Bryan Smith.
The cost of the additions will be determined by pending assessments of how many machines the plant will need, but at most the addition could be worth up to $17,940,000.
The cost would be paid entirely by Erving Industries, per the company’s agreement with the town, Smith said. The Town Meeting article would authorize the town to borrow the necessary amount, but Erving Industries would be responsible for repaying the loan, the interest and any fees.
“Even though the town would be taking out the debt, the promise to repay would be included as an amendment to that existing agreement,” Smith said.
Of the four other articles on the warrant, the most significant is a $75,000 appropriation to purchase new radios and other communication equipment for Erving’s public safety departments. This would reflect a county-wide move from an older communication technology to the technology that is now standard throughout Massachusetts, Smith said.
The three other articles are money transfers between town accounts, and payment for a late bill.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com.