Council to Vote on Purchase of Site for Water Treatment Plant

The site has been chosen and the price negotiated. Pending confirmation by the City Council, the location of Woonsocket's new water treatment plant will be an 18.9 acre parcel of land belonging to City Council candidate Roland Michaud and his wife Suzanne on a combined five lots located off of Jillson Avenue and behind . The sales agreement specifies a purchase price of $390,000. 

The decision comes as a result several years of discussion and debate, input from engineers from Camp Dresser and McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM,) and June findings of a seven member . After examining 10 potential locations for the facility, including detailed cost analysis for each site, the property was the board's exclusive choice. 

Woonsocket is under deadline by RIDEM to upgrade the facilities, improving the quality of the city's drinking water and eliminating pollutants that are currently discharged into the Blackstone River by March of 2013.

"When we started down the process, the city was looking at two options," said board chairman Jim Cournoyer. In January, before the board began meeting, the city was considering two primary plans to replace the current plant on Manville Road: a temporary or a permanent . Both options were ultimately dismissed in favor of a permanent plant located within city borders.

"I sat in on every single meeting," said City Councilman Daniel Gendron, who served as a council liason for the board. "It is overwhelmingly the best choice. For one thing, it is in the city. I have always been a firm believer that the most valuable resource this city has is our water supply."

Though the pipeline option was eliminated early in the group's discussions, the North Smithfield site, which would have created a facility just half a mile from the city's current plant, looked promising. In meetings with Mayor Leo Fontaine, however, officials in North Smithfield requested a tax base for the facility of $500,000 to $600,000 with an escalation of up to $1 million per year. Additionally, the town was only willing to negotiate a short-term agreement, which could have left Woonsocket vulnerable to future price increases.

"We did a very calculated comparison for all of the components in making the site usable," said Gendron. "This is the best site for now and future use - it's much more flexible."

An appraisal of the Michauds' property ordered by Fontaine showed a fair market value for the site of $460,000. At $390,000, board members look at the proposed contract as bargain. The complete purchase and sale agreement can be found online at mywoonsocket.com in the agenda for tonight's meeting.

There are several potential access options for the land, which will require some improvements before the facility can be built. "There's no site in the city that wouldn't be some inconvience, but this site has the least impact on residents, which is something we considered," said Cournoyer.

In addition to voting on approval of the contract, the City Council will also vote on an ordinance to approve borrowing up to $26,000,000 from Rhode Island Clean Water Finance Agency or other lender for financing the facility.

The City Council meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on the third floor of City Hall.