The town of Clymer looked over some projected costs of the water system upgrade project, as they recently received paperwork back for it. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

CLYMER — The town of Clymer has received paperwork and total cost numbers for construction of the water system upgrade for the town.

Paperwork was received from the Environmental Facilities Corporation, who Town Supervisor Brian Willink said during the town’s August meeting, is assisting behind the scenes with the paperwork for the construction of the system. The total cost of construction for the project is $8,390,035.

“That includes the $750,000 bond that we took out last year to get going on the new water well and kind of get them some seed money to get started with, so that is rolled back into this number,” Willink said. “The WIIA grant that we got for $5 million leaves the total local share just short of $3.4 million at zero percent interest pay over 40 years.”

The estimated principal payment on that for 40 years is $84,750 annually. Willink said the total revenue budgeted for the system as of right now is $70,000.

“So, we’re going to have to keep that in mind as we start to move forward with this system and project,” Willink said. “We instituted the $10 meter fee, which will help, but we’ll probably have to increase that again, probably to $20.”

Willink added that he had not talked with the team members from Square Engineering, the engineers on the project, yet to see if they had any suggestions, but said the meter fee also brings in more than might be expected. They may be able to increase some usage fees too, he said, but added that this is something they will have to take a closer look at, as all of these numbers just came out. Willink said they will not take all of the money at once, and the town will not have to worry about the $84,750 annual payment for the first year; it will probably be something closer to $65,000 which the town has in reserve.

“Not necessarily great news for the water users, as they’re going to see some increased costs, but we tried to explain that right along,” Willink said. “Luckily, we’ve got the $5 million water grant because that will absorb a huge amount.”

Also connected to the water project as the town continues to bring more water meters online, Willink said something to think about is changing from a semi-annual to quarterly billing cycle. This will allow the town to bring the money in a little quicker and to catch people easier. It was noted that a quarterly billing cycle may also be more budget-friendly to the town’s water users.

“Comparatively, we are at or just above the average of other municipalities in the area that have water,” Willink said. “We’ve been well below for many years, so we’re kind of catching up… and just remember we’ve been operating this system for the last couple of years actually at a deficit. So, it’s not like we’re banking money and putting it away, it’s a zero sum game.”