Groton City to vote on bonding municipal, utility projects
Proposals outlined during public hearing
Groton — The City of Groton will hold a Freeman’s Meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, March 1, to vote on authorizing bonding for city and utility projects, from improvements to the Tyler House at Eastern Point Beach to upgrades to electric transmission lines.
People will vote on repurposing $600,000 in unspent bond money towards municipal projects that include replacing windows at the Tyler House; improvements to the landing, windows and doors at the Municipal Building; an asbestos abatement project in the communications room; renovations to the police locker rooms and repaving at the Company One firehouse, according to city officials.
They also will vote on authorizing $4.995 million in wastewater bonds for upgrades to Groton Utilities’ collection system, pump stations and wastewater facility; $7.47 million in water bonds for upgrades to Groton Utilities’ distribution system and the Brandegee Avenue standpipe; and $15.2 million in electric bonds for Groton Utilities’ transmission line upgrades, according to Finance Director Ron Yuhas.
The last item will be to vote on $4.25 million for electric bonds for “upgrades to the Bozrah Light and Power distribution system and various facility upgrades.”
City improvements
City and utility officials outlined the proposals during a public hearing this week, in which no members of the public spoke. City Mayor Keith Hedrick said the city planned to start a lot of the city projects last year, but they were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city is proposing improvements to the police locker rooms, asbestos abatement in a room for communications equipment and repav
ing the parking lot and fixing thresholds on two bays at the fire station on Broad Street.
Parks and Recreation Director Mary Hill said the city plans to complete the second phase of improvements to the Tyler House, which will include replacing 34 additional windows.
“This project started in 2018 so it would be nice to see it completed,” said Hill.
The city also is proposing to replace windows at the City Municipal Building, as well as the front doorway, and to fix the concrete on the front landing and install a heating system underneath the concrete to help melt snow and ice, Yuhas said. Hedrick said the heating system will help the city avoid using salt, which damages the thresholds and the concrete.
Hedrick said the capital improvement projects would be paid for through repurposing leftover bond money originally slated for municipal work and the Colonel Ledyard School.
Utility projects
For Groton Utilities, the $15.2 million electric project calls for upgrading transmission lines into the Buddington Substation and the substation infrastructure to improve the voltage and transmission capability across the service territory, said Mark Biron, general manager of operations, electric, water and wastewater for Groton Utilities.
He said ISO-New England is requiring the upgrade, and Groton Utilities will receive payment for the operations and maintenance expenses and ultimately earn an 8% return on investment.
For the water division, the $7.47 million over five years would include improvements to the water distribution system, meter replacements, and the replacement of the Brandegee
Avenue standpipe, a more than 75-year-old water storage tank, he said.
The $4.995 million, over 5 years, for the wastewater division would include upgrades to the wastewater collection system, from sewer pipe replacement to improvements to the wastewater treatment facility, according to Biron.
An engineering firm has been engaged to analyze the wastewater treatment facility and make recommendations, such as modernizing the treatment processes, he said. The firm also will explore options for the facility, including the feasibility in the long term of turning the wastewater plant in the city into a pump station to pump waste to the town’s facility, he said.
The proposed electric project for Bozrah Light and Power, at $4.25 million over five years, calls for upgrades to the distribution systems, such as installing new poles and wires for certain circuits and transformer upgrades for South Road, Route 82, Camp Moween Road, Stockhouse Road, Red Cedar Lake and other parts of the Bozrah and Lebanon service ares, according to his presentation.
Biron said the amount of money to bond for capital investments is factored into the rate structures for the utilities.
Hedrick said the meeting is slated to take place in hybrid format, with people either going to the Municipal Building or participating via Zoom. The city will have to verify that people are qualified to vote. People eligible to vote in the Freeman’s meeting are Groton City electors and people who pay more than $1,000 in property taxes to the city.
More information on how to join the meeting will be posted on the city’s website and Facebook page.