Project Summary

The Town of Montgomery, population 1,200, includes Montgomery Village and Montgomery Center located along the clear waters of the wild and scenic Trout River. Village and Center homes and businesses are on tightly spaced lots, served by on-site underperforming and failing septic systems with no room for replacement systems. Montgomery’s future requires community wastewater management to protect the pristine Trout River and a recreation-based tourism way of life. Hoyle Tanner’s water resources and transportation teams completed a joint study for the Town for a new wastewater collection and treatment system as well as streetscape improvements to address traffic and pedestrian safety challenges in the Village and Center locations. 

Hoyle Tanner assisted the Town with applications and approvals for a USDA Rural Development SEARCH Grant and engineering planning funds to complete a Preliminary Engineering Report to investigate and solve Montgomery’s wastewater management challenges. Hoyle Tanner’s work included collaboration with the Town’s wastewater committee to identify needed wastewater capacity and develop community wastewater engineering alternatives.  

The proposed streetscape alternatives considered vehicular and non-vehicular traffic including facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. The design included on-street and potential off-street parking, plantings, lighting, stormwater treatment, wayfinding, public art opportunities, and the redesign of the Route 118 and Route 242 intersection in Montgomery Center. Our team worked closely with the Town to understand the potential benefits and associated costs with taking Class I Town Highway ownership of a portion of State Route 118. With such an important opportunity for the Village and Center, we worked closely with the Town and its residents to guide them through Local Concerns and Alternatives Presentation public meetings which established the goals and boundaries of the improvements project. We also met individually with property abutters to listen and work with them towards solutions that fit their business needs while offering safe solutions for pedestrians and motorists. 

It was important to build community consensus so Hoyle Tanner assisted the Town in developing a social strategy for project messaging including generating Town website content that was used to answer residents’ questions and concerns in one place. In addition to the online campaign, Hoyle Tanner also assisted the Town with creating informational flyers that were distributed at community events in the month prior to the Town bond vote. Due to the community engagement and education, the residents passed a bond vote for $18.75M.   

Due to the Town’s limited population, it was imperative that Hoyle Tanner assist the community with preparing applications for grant funding to make the project affordable for the community. The wastewater collection, treatment and disposal system total project cost is currently estimated at $11.8 million with approximately 94% of the wastewater system total project cost  covered by outside grant funding; the Town’s share is 6%, funded through a CWSRF loan.  Hoyle Tanner also performed a financial analysis and assisted the town with implementing a local options tax to pay back the 6% CWSRF annual loan payment and reduce the future wastewater system operation and maintenance costs.  Further, we also assisted the Town with securing a $2.8M Congressionally Directed Spending authorization which the Town will apply to the projectHoyle Tanner is currently completing the Wastewater System Preliminary Engineering report and will be advancing into final engineering and construction for the 2023 season. 

After the completion of this work, Hoyle Tanner prepared the Transportation Alternatives Grant application that was awarded to the Town in 2021 which will provide key funding for the next phase of the streetscape design. This innovative streetscape and wastewater project aimed at environmental sustainability and results from the outstanding leadership of the Montgomery Selectboard, volunteer Wastewater Committee and the cooperation and support of the USDA RD, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Water Investment Division, and Wastewater Program staff, Vermont congressional delegation and many others.