Poplar Street Pump Station Borrowing

At a glance

What: Two Mayor's requests about the Poplar Street project: authorization to borrow $3,143,557 and appropriate the same for added design, construction and equipping costs of the Poplar Street Pump Station (26-1487), and authorization to reduce the existing $89,332,819 borrowing appropriation for the project by $2,097,667.05 (26-1486).
Where it stands: The Finance Committee recommended both for approval on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 4-0 (Councilor Strezo absent).
Next: full Council vote.

Rich Raiche, Director of Infrastructure & Asset Management, explained that large projects carry contingency. After the contract was awarded and work began, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency changed its rules for disposing of soil containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Because the site was historically a waste transfer station and incinerator, a lot of excavated soil contained PCBs and had to go to a specialized facility in Ohio, raising costs beyond the contingency and affecting the schedule. The City negotiated a reduction of the added costs with the contractor and subcontractor.
About $2.1 million of ARPA funds allocated to the City remained unspent and faced spending deadlines, so the City applied them to this project. Mr. Raiche called the reduction request mainly an administrative step to allocate the ARPA funds, update the project cost and reduce the original authorization, as ARPA compliance requires.
Vote on each: Yes, Link, Hardt, Scott, Wheeler; absent, Strezo.
Related: on June 25, 2026 the Council approved a time-only contract extension to 9/5/2028 with Stantec Consulting Services for the Mystic River Outfall Sewer Separation design project (26-0869). See also Combined Sewer Overflow Control Plan.

Finance Committee minutes, October 20, 2026: https://somervillema.legistar1.com/somervillema/meetings/2026/10/4095_M_Finance_Committee_26-10-20_Meeting_Minutes.pdf
City Council regular meeting minutes, June 25, 2026: https://somervillema.legistar1.com/somervillema/meetings/2026/6/3962_M_City_Council_26-06-25_Meeting_Minutes.pdf
The minutes are the Legistar versions, which carry the City's notice that they are not the official version; check with the City Clerk before relying on them.

Both Poplar Street requests recommended for approval, 4-0.

Related Mystic River Outfall Sewer Separation contract extension approved.