HUDSON — Work on wastewater pump stations can begin in town with the passage of Article 5 at the 2024 November Special Town Meeting.
On Nov. 18, Hudson residents voted to approve the borrowing of funds to upgrade the town’s pump stations. Article 5 called for borrowing $6.71 million for the purpose of engineering services, replacement, rehabilitation and installation of equipment and facility upgrade within the wastewater pump stations in town.
At a Oct. 15 Finance Committee meeting, Director of the Department of Public Works Eric Ryder said the work had been delayed by the pandemic, and after speaking to Executive Assistant Tom Gregory, he explained the need to jump on these upgrades.
The pump stations in question were the Johnson Avenue Station, which would have $1.318 million of work done; the Farina and Municipal Drive pump stations, which would both have $1.55 million of work; the Central Street pump station, which would have $853,000 of work; and the Avon pump station, which would have $900,000 of work.
At Town Meeting, he said that the pump stations range from 30 to 40 years old, and upgrades are done with the guidance of an asset management program. The five aforementioned pump stations are “the most critical stations that need to be replaced.”
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The average pump station has a 25- to 30-year-old life cycle, according to Ryder.
Ryder said at the Finance Committee meeting that the failure of the Municipal Drive Station near Main Street would mean that there was no backup station.
Resident Paul Osborne asked if the upgrades would be funded by the Sewer Enterprise Fund, and Ryder confirmed the upgrades would be covered under the enterprise account funds.
In related news, Article 4 passed as well. It was a transfer of $210,000 from salaries to expenses within the Sewer Enterprise Fund budget for the DPW to enter into a multiyear agreement with Veolia for wastewater plant operations.
Articles 6 and 7 were a vote to appropriate the sums of $64,162 and $56,381 for maintenance work in the elementary schools. The former amount would be for the purchase and installation of a new intercom system at the C.A. Farley Elementary School, and the latter amount would be for the design, engineering and construction of a new boiler at Quinn Middle School.
The appropriation would be made through transfers from different capital amounts in the School District budget from older capital projects. Superintendent Brian Reagan said at the Oct. 21 Select Board meeting that both projects were for safety reasons.
Reagan noted that the public announcement system at Farley was “substandard right now” due to a tinny quality in a number of classrooms as it is conducted through the fire alarm. As for the boiler replacement at QMS, he said it is 10 years old, and the third boiler has not been working for two heating seasons.
At the Town Meeting, Len Belli, the facilities director for the Hudson schools, said that the Quinn Middle School was designed for three boilers to work in unison, and “one of the boilers is currently not working.”
As they are coming into the winter season, he said, “It needs to be replaced. If one more fails, we can’t operate on one boiler.”
Both articles passed at Town Meeting.
Article 12 was a citizen’s petition to reduce the use of polystyrene containers by food establishments in Hudson. It stated that polystyrene, or Styrofoam, containers and disposable utensils have “a negative impact on our environment and are a potential health hazard.”
The petition for the article was signed by roughly 150 people, according to Town Moderator Richard Harrity. Per the wishes of the proponent, it was passed over and will be considered for the Annual Town Meeting in May.
