NOVEMBER 11, 2024|
Photo – Town of Saratoga logo – Courtesy Town of Saratoga website
In Saratoga, work to replace the water lines along River Street is nearly complete. With project wrapping up, town leaders are planning for the next big project.
In 2019, Carbon County voters approved the creation of the 6th Penny Special Purpose Tax. The additional revenue generated by the tax is earmarked for specific infrastructure improvement projects in each municipality.
Saratoga residents voted to use the money to replace the outdated water mains running beneath Spring Avenue and River Street, along with six other projects.
After numerous delays, the Spring Avenue water line replacement was completed last summer. The next phase, on River Street, is scheduled for completion next spring.
The majority of the work is finished. Only paving remains to be done. In October, the Saratoga town council voted to allow the contractor, Cheyenne-based Rocky Mountain Sand and Gravel, to put the finishing touches on the project next year.
Saratoga officials are setting its sights on the next major project. During the November 5th town council meeting, Public Works Director Emery Penner highlighted the urgent need to replace the sewer lines beneath the North Platte River. Penner suggested using a State Revolving Fund grant to finance the river line replacement and 6th Penny funds to pay for additional repairs on the west hill.
The Wyoming State Revolving Fund, referred to as SRF, offers principal forgiveness as part of its financial assistance for water and wastewater infrastructure projects on publicly owned systems, such as the sewer lines in Saratoga.
Penner explained that work on the hill can begin next spring using the 6th Penny Tax. The river crossing project still needs to be designed, and construction is unlikely to begin until 2026.
The town will need to foot the bill until enough 6th Penny Tax is collected. The public works director suggested taking out a loan to cover the remaining costs of the projects.
To ensure the town’s sewer and water enterprise fund isn’t depleted by the loan payments, Penner recommended raising the yearly sewer rates by an additional 64 cents.
Town ordinances already include an automatic three percent increase in annual sewer fees to cover the cost of maintenance. Penner recommended raising the rate by an additional half a percent. To change the yearly fee, an ordinance amendment is needed, requiring three readings at three separate public hearings before being adopted. Penner said he is likely to present an amended sewer fee ordinance at the next Saratoga town council meeting on November 19th.
Returning to the state of the sewer system, the public works director described a recent inspection of one of the pipes running beneath the river. Penner said the pipe is very damaged.
Councilman Mike Cooley said the sewer lines were installed in the mid-80’s, making them roughly 40 years old.
Penner said he is preparing the state-required environmental reports to allow him to begin work on the sewer projects next year.
