Sewage expansion up for vote

Hayden voters will decide Tuesday if the city should borrow nearly $4 million to expand the sewage treatment plant.

But city officials don’t expect current users to have to pay for the expansion: The cost would be covered by connection fees charged to new users.

“Our anticipation is that new growth will continue to pay for itself,” City Administrator Jay Townsend said. The current connection fee is $5,932.

The city wants to take out $3.96 million in bonds, with the money paying for plant expansion and equipment maintenance as well as upgrades to remove more nitrogen and phosphorus from the water in order to comply with pending law changes from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.

The current plant can hold about 1.65 million gallons of sewage per day; the expansion would increase that to 2 million, making room for about 1,700 more households, Townsend said.

About 40 new sewage connections were sold last month, he said, and that will increase as construction season booms. Only 240 hook-ups remain, he said.

The $3.96 million in bonds would help pay for a portion of the total $8.35 million upgrade and expansion. The remainder would come from money already in the bank from previous capitalization fees and the monthly sewer fee, currently $19.60.

State law requires cities to ask voter permission before taking out bonds, even if no additional cost to existing users is anticipated. The city needs only majority approval.