DEERFIELD — Two articles on the annual Town Meeting warrant Monday will ask residents to transfer money from sewer reserves.
Article 9 will ask voters to transfer $672,611 for general operation and maintenance of the town’s two wastewater treatment plants and Article 10 pertains to $130,000 for upgrades via the so-called Headworks Project.
Town Administrator Douglas C. Finn said Article 9 is written for routine maintenance that must be anticipated every year. The town has wastewater treatment plants in South Deerfield and Old Deerfield.
Finn explained the Headworks Project will allow the town to modernize and upgrade the South Deerfield plant with pipes that flow in certain directions and bypass specific parts of the facility.
Chief operator Keith Milne said the upgrades would also include a mechanical bar screen, which he said constantly removes non-digestible solids — such as plastic, dental floss, and sanitary wipes made from polyester or nylon — from sewage flowing into the plant.
Finn and Milne said a mechanical bar screen will save the town money, time and labor and will cut down on energy costs.
Finn also said neither article will affect taxes because the sewer system has always been funded through user fees.
The annual Town Meeting will follow a special Town Meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. at in the auditorium of Frontier Regional School.