Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Town Council to consider Medway & Millis Sewer Capacity Transfer Proposal - 09/02/26

On the Town Council agenda for the Wednesday, Sep 2 session is return of the excess sewer capacity item from earlier this year.

--------------------

August 28, 2026
Town Council to consider Medway & Millis Sewer Capacity Transfer Proposal - 09/02/26

To: Town Council
From: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
RE: Medway & Millis Sewer

After a meeting between representatives from Millis and Medway the Franklin Town Councilors Dellorco and LeBlanc, and Franklin Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, communities agree to the following proposed rate and number of gallons being transferred, as follows:

150,000 gallon transfer to each community;

At a rate of $10.50 per gallon;

All other language from the previous draft agreements remains unchanged (except some tweaks by the lawyers highlighted in yellow).

Staff have attached 3 tables of data that were requested:

Table 1 - Projected sewer flow versus usage.

Table 2 - Outstanding development in the pipeline (Title V projected capacity versus expected). Please note, with all permitted or pipelined development, the Town expects 100,339 Gallons Per Day (GPD) of sewer flow, which represents nearly
800-1,000 units of housing and more commercial development.

Table 3 - Historic flows for the past 20 years.

If approved, some of the benefits to Franklin include:

$3,150,000 million in combined revenue to stabilize sewer rates and provide for capital investments into the system to make it better;
 
Reduces the sewer operating budget by about $98,000 in Franklin’s annual capital assessment from the Charles River Pollution Control District (CRPCD), further stabilizing the need for a rate increase due for the operating budget;

Over time, as Millis and Medway use their capacity, we expect Franklin’s Annual O&M assessment from CRPCD to decrease by more than $225,000. This will be a long term, gradual change.

Enables the town to further control development, while still having a surplus amount for decades to come.


11.        PRESENTATIONS / DISCUSSION -

a.                Update on the Sewer Capacity Transfer to Medway & Millis

i. Town Administrator Memo on Sewer Transfers

     Data Request: Table 1 - Current Residential & Commercial Flows

     Data Request: Table 2 - Ongoing, Approved, Anticipated Development

     Data Request: Table 3 - 20-year historic sewer flows

     See Legislation for Action #12a. (Millis)

     See Legislation for action #12b. (Medway)

     See Legislation for action #12c. (District Amendment)

You can find the full agenda - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09022026-2482