The Village of Gays Mills Board received a report on the status of the Wastewater Treatment Project from Evan Chambers, a project engineer at Town and Country Engineering.

The proposed new Wastewater Treatment Plant to be built in the village is planned, but cannot presently be built because of cost. Town & Country is working with the village to find  funding in grants and loans to build the plant.

While some new treatment plants built in the state can meet the latest very low level of phosphorous discharge required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, others cannot. The treatment plant as proposed for Gays Mills will be a big step forward, but it will not include the filtration equipment to get to the required level.

With or without the completion of the treatment plant, Chambers pointed out the village will need to get credits for projects elsewhere in the area. These can be used as water trading credits to fulfill reducing phosphorous elsewhere to offset the amount the village cannot achieve at the current or future plant.

The village is seeking to renew its five-year variance with the DNR by using water trading credits from other projects it funds upstream from the plant.

Chambers Told the board they needed to sign up some new projects that might include rip-rapping streambanks to prevent soil erosion carrying phosphorous into the stream. Calculation of soil erosion reductions would show how much phosphorous is being kept out of the river and ultimately the village would get credit for reducing phosphorus with project to offset what is exceeding the current limit.

Chambers told the board he had soil sample lined up with potential partner and would know more soon.

“The village will need partnerships no matter what,” Chambers said.

Village trustees Art Winsor and Kevin Murray expressed concern that the partnerships would be a workable solution.

Winsor questioned, if figures obtained for the credits needed to comply with the lower phosphorus level requirements, were accurate. The trustee asked if was possible to overshoot with some sort of treatment and get more credits than needed.

Chambers explained, in the event that happened, the village could trade the extra phosphorus to another municipality that needed it.

Murray noted that the plant is no closer to being built than it was before the plant was created. He pointed out the cost of building the plant has skyrocketed year after.

In answer to a question, Chambers said the current cost to build the new sewer plant as designed is estimated to be $13 million and the village could not do it without getting 70% of cost financed by grants.

“You can’t get there without grant,” Chamber the engineer also noted that grant funding has dried up.

The variance the water trading credits obtain for the village keeps it going. Chambers said the village can’t afford to not get a variance and be found out of compliance and face large fines.

“We’re getting good results with what we’re doing,” Chamber told the board.

After some discussion trustee Larry McCarn made a motion to approve the Town & Country’s Scope of Service for the Final Phosphorous Report and Pollutant Minimization Plan. Winsor seconded the motion and the board passed the motion.

In other business, the Gays Mills Village Board:

 • approved Mara O’Brien as new lifeguard at the pool and learned the pool lost the services of two other lifeguards

• learned that Ray and Danielle Strong, the pool directors, will be available to serve as life guards

• heard that the plan is to open the pool on Saturday, June 7

• learned that the building inspector has been contacted to report on the nuisance properties at 200 Main Street and 208 Main Street

• approved a temporary Alcohol License for wine and beer for the Friends of Gays Mills for May 16 at the Community Commerce Center for the Alice in Dairyland event

• clarified the sewer hookup fee waive extension would be allowed for all hookups–not just for homeowners, who had filed an application with the village