WOODSTOCK — The Selectboard is scheduled to meet Wednesday night to approve a town-wide vote next month where residents will be asked to approve the purchase of the town’s private water supplier, Woodstock Aqueduct Co.

At an informational meeting on Monday night, Municipal Manager Eric Duffy said the Selectboard supports acquiring the utility, which has been privately owned since 1886.

“The Selectboard views owning the water company as vital and necessary to the future of Woodstock,” Duffy said in a recording of the meeting.

If approved during the Oct. 29 vote, the town will purchase the water company and its assets, including equipment and other resources, for $920,000. This sale will not cost taxpayers anything up front, Duffy said, because the town has collected grant funding and the remaining cost will be covered by the undesignated fund balance.

If the purchase is approved, the town would hold another vote in December on whether to purchase the Vondell Reservoir, which is also owned by Woodstock Aqueduct, and to approve related capital improvement projects. The 352-acre reservoir is currently owned by the Aqueduct Company and is used for recreation but could be used in the future to support the town water supply.

By purchasing the company, Duffy said, the town hopes to ensure there is a stable water service, provide town-wide fire safety and to support future growth and development.

It “means we have safe water not only today but in the future for our kids, for our businesses, for our tourists to keep Woodstock going and having people want to live here,” Duffy said.

Issues with the private system that serves over 770 connections were thrust into public view in July 2023 when flooding damaged distribution pipes and left users without potable water for 10 days.

The Selectboard has been looking into the purchase since last summer. Long-term repairs have still not been completed, including a section of pipe that is still sitting on the sidewalk near the Elm Street Bridge in Woodstock and needs to be installed. In January, the Selectboard gave Duffy permission to formally study purchasing the system.

If the town had owned the water system when the flooding occurred, things likely would have played out differently, Duffy said on Monday. Repairs could have been completed more quickly and funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which the private company does not qualify for, could have been used. Duffy added that the town repaired other damage from the same flood and has been completely reimbursed by FEMA.

There are also public safety issues with the current system. Many of the town’s fire hydrants have insufficient pressure and no longer meet state requirements.

This poses a public safety issue and the hydrants need to be repaired imminently. Duffy emphasized that this and other capital improvement projects are necessary to maintain a functional water system.

“These projects are going to get done whether we own the water system or the Aqueduct does, the difference will be how much it costs,” Duffy said, emphasizing that the town would qualify for grants and low interest loans to decrease cost.

Pressure issues have also caused developments in Woodstock to be denied access to the water system, forcing them to forgo development or to build new wells.

If the purchase is approved, some of the capital improvement projects residents would vote on in December are state mandated. If the Oct. 29 vote is successful but the December vote to allocate funds for capital improvement is not, the Selectboard will have to pursue other options to pay for them.

Many residents at the meeting agreed that something must be done about the town water system, and several emphatically supported town ownership.

“I cannot think of anything more important than the water for the economic development of the future of Woodstock,” village resident Peggy Fraser said.

But questions remain, even among those residents who said they supported the project. One sticking point was the purchase price reached by Duffy and the Aqueduct Company: $920,000.

Village resident Keri Bristow said the whole ordeal feels like “we’re being held hostage,” because town residents are being presented with little choice but to pay off water company debts. She also questioned Duffy’s assertion that purchasing the system would be at no cost to the taxpayers because many residents have likely paid fees that ultimately contributed to the undesignated fund balance.

Another resident, Ed Esmond, echoed this sentiment and argued that purchasing the system for any amount of money feels like rewarding bad behavior.

“We’re going to be buying basically a jalopy, and we’re going to spend $10 million on capital improvements plus paying for it, and we’re still going to have a jalopy,” Esmond said.

Duffy explained that the $920,000 would only cover the company’s existing debt and would not include any profit for existing owners.

The Woodstock Aqueduct Co. is worth between $3.2 million and $4.1 million, Duffy said.

All of the company’s debt has come from purchases and investments that help run the water system, Duffy said. Residents on and off of the water system are already paying for these debts through water and hydrant fees. Additionally, the aqueduct company requested to double rates in May to cover debt and address their financial situation, meaning residents will continue to pay these debts regardless of whether the purchase goes through.

An engineering study of the water system conducted in October 2023 suggested that capital improvements are necessary to address current flow issues. Some capital improvement projects have also been mandated by the state of Vermont. However, which projects the town will prioritize and how much these will cost are still to be determined, Duffy said.

Capital improvement decisions are included in the second half of this process, which Duffy said gives residents more time to understand proposed projects, ask questions and make informed decisions.

Duffy and the Selectboard are making themselves available in locations around Woodstock to discuss the Aqueduct system and capital improvement projects multiple times a week between now and the potential December vote. These meetings will be posted on the town website, townofwoodstock.org, as well as the Listserv and Sub stack.

Clare Shanahan can be reached at cshanahan@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.