The Harpers Ferry Town Council unanimously approved a final draw of $530,178.17 from the town's CNB bond to close out remaining construction and associated costs for the WPA water distribution system project.

Council action came after staff updated members on final bills and remaining balances tied to a WDA grant and bond financing. Deb, a town staff member, told the council the town expects to use the full remaining WDA grant for the scheduled PRV vault installation and to draw bond funds to cover the balance; the final Terra Works bill for the PRV vault is expected to arrive in December once installation occurs in November.

The council also voted to reassign payment for a Greenridge meter pit clean-out project from the town's renew-and-replace account to the bond proceeds and approved up to $37,000 from renew-and-replace for Greenridge work orders '25, '26, '27, '28 and '29. Council members said the reallocation would preserve renew-and-replace funds while allowing immediate work on meter pits and several recent leak repairs.

Steve, a town water-department staff member, reported that staffing shortages have limited the department's ability to respond to emerging leaks; Greenridge provided quotes to address four recently identified leaks as a single mobilization. Staff and council discussed grouping repairs to reduce mobilization costs and the trade-offs between paying per incident and batching work every few months.

Councilors were briefed on the accounting summary: the combined project accounts show remaining balances from the grant and bond; once the PRV vault invoice is posted, staff expect to draw against the bond and leave roughly $260,000 available for other distribution-system projects. Council authorized the bond draw so the loan can be closed and principal-and-interest payments will begin as scheduled.

Separately, staff updated the council about the town's meter replacement project and AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) rollout. Staff said the U.S. EPA review is delayed by agency staffing; meter shipments are now expected to begin arriving in January with an installation rate staff estimated at roughly 400 meters per month. The AMI system will require three collectors ('poles') to gather meter signals; staff said siting, power and reliable connectivity (Internet or cellular) for those collectors must be resolved and that the FCC licensing process could add a 60-day lead time. Town staff said the system is designed to be AMR-capable on deployment (drive-by reads) and can move to full AMI via software and collector activation.

Councilors directed staff to gather bids and siting information for potential uses of the remaining bond funds and to return with recommendations. No conditions restricting the use of the remaining funds were added by the council during the vote.

Actions recorded at the meeting match the votes on the record: final draw of bond proceeds approved 5-0; reallocation and the $37,000 authorization for Greenridge work orders approved 5-0.