Page 12 - 2025 Brighton VT Annual Report

completion of the Wastewater Treatment Facility. The town is currently coordinating between the
engineers, construction company and five different funding organizations to finish this $8.6 million
treatment plant.

The town has also begun work on final design for the $9.6 million Water Treatment Plants Upgrade.
Applications with two funding sources are currently in process and waiting for approval. Additional
sources will be pursued as the design process continues.

The town received a $500,000 implementation grant from the Municipal Energy Resilience
Program(MERP) to make energy efficiency upgrades to the Municipal Building, Railroad Depot and Town
garage. There are a multitude of projects which include adding electric heat pump/ac units to the town
and depot offices, new heat pump hot water heaters, lighting upgrades in both the library and the depot,
additional insulation and air sealing at all three buildings. These projects will all be going to bid very soon
with construction taking place this summer.

The Town Hall will be repainted this year along with replacement of rotten wood trim pieces and the
canvas covers on the building awnings. The town set money aside for this painting project a few years
ago but given the increase in costs over time, an additional $10,000 is included in this year’s budget to
ensure adequate funding.

The Brighton Town Plan is due for renewal in 2026 and the planning commission has been hard at work
along with our consultant from NVDA to update our plan so it reflects the goals of our community while
incorporating the various state laws that have been enacted since our last plan was passed eight years
ago. They will be holding several community meetings over the next few months to gauge feedback
on proposed changes and educate the community on how to take advantage of the state-sponsored
incentives available once the changes are made.

The downtown project will once again rise up the project priority list as we wind down our work on the
Wastewater Treatment facility. The primary driver of this project is the 100-year old water main that runs
from the corner of Birch Street, up Cross Street, under the railroad tracks and then up Mountain Street to
the north reservoir. That line was identified in a study from nearly ten years ago as requiring replacement
within 5-10 years or else fire suppression capabilities in the downtown could be affected. Failings at our
treatment plants pushed ahead of this project but it is imperative that we get it moving forward. This is
a very expensive and disruptive project that will take a huge number of funding partners, each with their
own set of requirements, in order to complete without overwhelming the town with its cost. Part of the
strategy with this project is to address the other infrastructure needs in the downtown simultaneously,
which gives us a number of advantages. First, by replacing the crumbling sidewalks, stormwater system
and making improvements to the Cross/Railroad/Main/East Brighton Road intersection, we unlock a
considerable amount of pedestrian and roadway grants. Second, by improving the aesthetic appearance
of the downtown, we unlock economic development funding sources. Lastly, is dealing with the
disruptive factor for town residents, visitors and the businesses located in this area. This project involves
completely digging up Cross Street which will most definitely have a negative impact over the short-
term. Doing all these infrastructure projects simultaneously saves money in mobilizing work crews and
equipment and limits the negative impacts of construction in the downtown to one season as opposed to
three or four over a short timeframe.

The town also located an abandoned underground fuel storage tank at the old town garage and has been
notified by the state that it must be removed and the area tested for contamination. We must contract
with an authorized vendor to safely remove the tank and check for any contamination. We have included
$10,000 in this year’s budget as a placeholder for the cost of this tank removal. Bids will be sought in

10 Town of Brighton, VT