Swanton water bond fails again Written By Leon Thompson Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Just 10 percent of voters cast ballots SWANTON VILLAGE –– Voters here on Tuesday again rejected an $8.75 million plan to renovate the municipal water system.     Just 10 percent of the village’s 1,300 registered voters cast ballots on the measure, and for the second time this year defeated it, 82-58.     In June, about 15 percent of eligible voters defeated the proposed bond, which would have started upgrades to the water system and doubled the price users pay for water in the first year.     Armand Messier, village trustee, wondered this morning why voter turnout was so low, considering the board’s boost in spreading word about the vote via newspaper articles, public hearings and public access television programs.     “I’m not sure if this defeat is really about the water system, or if people just didn’t want to come out and vote the second time around,” Messier said.     Messier and other village officials have fielded concerns about water bills rising in an iffy economy, ever since they first floated the bond proposal.     Although several areas of the water system need attention, the treatment plant is first on the list to receive necessary upgrades, according to village officials.     The plant went into service in 1979 and was designed to have three water filters, but only two 500,000-gallon filters were installed, allowing for 1 million gallons per day (GPD). The plant reached capacity in 1989.     Trustees then voted to install water meters at about a quarter of the cost of a third water filter. The plant returned to its 1979 figures and allowed the village to hook new customers onto the system.     With three decades of life on it, and no major improvements during that time, the filtering capacity needs expansion, village officials have said. The water treatment plant needs two, one million GPD-capacity filters to comply with state regulations.     Messier said some voters wanted yesterday’s ballot divided into three articles: about $4.5 million for the water plant, about $2 million for the transmission line from the reservoir to the plant, and the remaining costs for distribution lines on village streets and town roads.     The project is probably eligible for federal stimulus dollars, but trustees need bond approval – in some way, shape or form – before submitting an application for funds.     The average quarterly bill for a Swanton water user is about $40, which is incredibly low when compared to other water customers in Vermont. With bond approval, that total would have doubled.     Currently, the average annual water bill statewide hovers around $400. In Swanton Village, that average is about $160. And with some of the lowest – if not the lowest – electric rates in the state, Swanton residents have enviable utility bills. But even in that case, it is easy to balk when talks lead to rate increases in the current economy. “There’s some fear associated with that,” Messier said.     Messier said trustees will now “go back to square one and prioritize the whole project.” In his mind, the plant is first on the checklist.     The board is now researching whether a municipality, under state law, can bring more than two bond votes before its electorate in a calendar year. Most likely, Swanton voters will not face the issue again until Town Meeting 2010.

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