DIXFIELD — A.E. Hodsdon, a Waterville engineering firm, told the Board of Selectmen on Monday evening that the $1.8 million upgrade to water, sewer and drainage systems on several streets was a success — and there’s about $180,000 left from the loan.
Engineer Al Hodsdon said the reconstruction of High and Pine streets, which was awarded to C.H. Stevenson Inc. in May 2015, is “just about complete.”
“There’s only a few minor things that need to be completed, but for the most part, it went very smooth,” Hodsdon said.
The project was approved by voters during a special town meeting in July 2013.
Among the items left to be addressed are water ponding at High and North streets and at the narrow section of sidewalk in front of the new retaining wall on High Street, Hodsdon said.
“C.H. Stevenson is planning to come back this spring to fix those issues,” he said.
The reconstruction project involved improvements, including water main replacement, storm sewer replacement, sewer replacement and road surface improvements on parts of High, Pine, Rowe and North streets, project engineer Nick Champagne said.
“There’s some more good news,” Hodsdon said. “There’s still about $180,000 left over from the $1 million loan you guys took out with the Maine Municipal Bond Bank.” He said the reason is “mostly because we got very good prices from C.H. Stevenson.”
“We had scaled the project back a little bit, to fit within the confines of the budget, and the prices came in even better than we expected,” Hodsdon said.
Selectman Eugene Skibitsky asked Hodsdon if the town was obligated to use the money solely for road reconstruction, or if it could be used for water and sewer.
“I think it can be used for anything the town thinks is necessary,” Hodsdon replied. “It comes from the bond bank, so I don’t think it really has any red tape attached to it. It’s like borrowing money from a bank to repair your house — it doesn’t matter if you fix your windows or fix something else.”
Resident Dan McKay asked if the money could be placed in a road reserve account, or if the town could use it to offset some of the deficits in the sewer budget.
“I think you could check with the bond counsel (Lee Bragg) to see if the money can be used to offset sewer issues,” Hodsdon said.
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