The Town of Southborough Wastewater Study Committee on a virtual meeting organized leadership and agreed to pursue state grant support and technical studies to advance a wastewater plan focused on the Route 9 corridor.

Committee chair Al Hamilton, a member of the Select Board, said the group has met with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), consultants including Weston & Sampson and Lombardo Associates, and area developers as part of early fact‑finding. "Our primary target here is that we are trying to make the Town of Southborough more attractive for people to look to . . . their businesses in," Hamilton said, adding that lack of wastewater service is repeatedly cited by developers as a barrier.

The committee’s immediate procedural task is to file an expression of interest for the state’s multi‑agency "1 Stop" grant program; Claire Reynolds, who has been coordinating grant materials for the town, explained the EOI is a short submission (about 500 characters) that the state uses to direct applicants to the correct funding department and to screen proposals. "If you're going in completely the wrong direction, they will tell you or . . . which of the 12 departments under the whole 1 Stop umbrella will be the best one for you to apply to," Reynolds said.

Reynolds walked members through deadlines discussed during the meeting: the EOI deadline cited by staff is March 26 (for the current cycle) and the full application deadline referenced for several programs is June 4, with awards and contract starts typically resolved later in the year. She also noted some state programs and sample grants have required local matches (examples cited in the meeting ranged from 10% to 25% depending on the program) and mentioned a separate DEP asset‑management planning grant that can cover up to $150,000 or 60% of planning costs.

Members discussed next steps for a comprehensive plan—a planning phase the committee and consultants described as conceptual design work that typically includes siting options, alternatives analysis, and order‑of‑magnitude cost estimates. Committee members gave a preliminary ballpark of $100,000–$200,000 for a comprehensive plan; Hamilton and others said identifying a realistic planning budget would help match the project to the appropriate state grant within the 1 Stop process.

Sites and discharge options were a major discussion point. The committee identified several possibilities: parcels between the 495 ramps north of Route 9, parcels in and around the EMC/Madison Place area, and the potential for a regional facility shared with neighboring communities (Westborough, Marlborough, Shrewsbury, Hopkinton). Engineering participants noted DEP guidance effectively rules out new surface‑water discharge in much of the region and said groundwater discharge (leach fields, drip irrigation) is the likeliest disposal approach; soils and percolation rates will drive site acreage needs (participants estimated 10–30 acres depending on soils and design capacity).

Committee members also discussed alternatives to full public financing, including public‑private partnerships and private ownership/operation models used elsewhere. Kathy Cook (meeting participant) flagged private equity and infrastructure investors as potential finance partners; the committee noted Veolia and other private operators as possible technical/financial partners.

The group agreed to pursue immediate, short‑term actions: file the 1 Stop expression of interest, schedule follow‑up meetings with Weston & Sampson and Lombardo Associates to review prior reports and refine cost estimates, and identify potential grant writers or consultants to help prepare the June application. Hamilton said he will contact town staff and regional partners; Sam Cyrus and others agreed to contact Westborough and Marlborough sewer officials and other stakeholders.

Votes at a glance: the committee held organizational votes to name leadership. Members moved and seconded Al Hamilton as chair and Brian Shea as vice chair; both motions were approved in roll call votes during the meeting.

Why it matters: committee members framed the project as a tool to expand the town’s commercial tax base and help relieve pressure on residential taxpayers, pointing to an upcoming large school borrowing as a driver for exploring new revenue sources. The committee emphasized that the initiative focuses first on Route 9 and industrially zoned properties rather than town‑wide sewer expansion.

Next steps and calendar: the committee scheduled its next meeting for next Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to begin preparing the EOI and to host a briefing with Lombardo Associates. Members tasked staff to check grant‑consultant availability and to assemble existing studies and maps in a shared OneDrive folder for the committee to review.

The meeting record shows the group remains at an early, planning stage: staff and the consultants cited a multi‑month timeline for the application review process and estimated two to five years, or longer, from planning to construction depending on funding and permitting outcomes.