Stratford Town Council to Vote on Controversial WPCA Regionalization Tonight

The Stratford Town Council will hold a special meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall to vote on the proposed sale of the town’s sewer plant and the regionalization of the Stratford Water Pollution Control Authority with the Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority.

Prior to the vote, the WPCA Committee will vote on the proposed sale of the SWPCA assets to the GNHWPCA and the Ordinance Committee will follow with a vote on an ordinance regarding the sale referred from the Town Council.

The Connecticut Post reports that a rally protesting the proposed move will be held at 6:30 p.m.

Mayor John Harkins has said that transferring ownership of the waste treatment plant would pay down $37 million in debt that remains from a $61 million upgrade at the plant that was completed in 2009, according to the Post.

In his State of the Town address, Harkins said that by merging the water pollution control authority with Greater New Haven, the town can “ensure lower sewer rates, lower taxes, and improved services moving forward. Sounds too good to be true, not really. It’s just common sense. Why are we in the business to begin with when we do not operate any other utilities? Not electricity. Not gas. Not oil.”

However, several in town have not been supportive of the plan. About 25 people spoke out against it at Monday night’s public hearing at Flood Middle School.

Terry Masters, who heads the group that is staging the protest rally tonight, said at the public hearing that it didn’t seem wise for Stratford to sell a “gem” and the town should be invested in making sure people are safe, according to the Stratford Star.

Read the Star’s coverage of the public hearing here.

Read more about tonight’s vote at the Connecticut Post here.