A public hearing is planned on March 10 during the regular meeting of Milford City Council related to a planned referendum on April 26 for water infrastructure improvements on the north side of town. This referendum would allow the city to issue debt to cover the cost but would not increase taxes or utility rates.
“Staff identified the need for growth driven water improvements as far back as 2020 and earlier. The improvements include water tower, water production and water treatment,” Lou Vitola, Finance Director, said. “The project was included as part of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) but the need as materialized as we march forward with the Milford Corporate Center.”
Vitola explained that the cost of the project is best financed through long-term debt and that it could have been covered with surplus impact fees which the city does not have. The payment of the debt would be covered with future impact fees which would eliminate the need for a tax increase or an increase in utility costs.
“Nonetheless, it does have to go to a special election which is scheduled for the same date as the regularly scheduled council election, Saturday, April 26, 2025,” Vitola said. “There are a series of public notices and public hearings that have to be held. So this resolution is the first action that’s required, which would be to set the public hearing date for March 10. At that time, we will have public hearing on the project and the referendum process, and the second resolution that will then set the date of special election for April 26.”
The city plans to include notices in additional papers and post it in public areas in order to provide the information to as many property owners as possible.
“This project should fall in the $6 to $7.5 million range,” Vitola said. “We’ve got additional not-to-exceed allowances to prevent contingencies related to the work on the site, especially because this is situated right at the Milford Corporate Center.”
The motion passed unanimously.
