Allenstown sewer officials are again working on a $15 million plan to dramatically upgrade the wastewater treatment plant that serves the town and neighboring Pembroke. They said the plan will likely be ready for a vote next March.

The state Department of Environmental Services halted all new hookups to the plant – which has been reaching its maximum flow capacity regularly since 2002 – last year.

On Monday, May 7, Allenstown Selectman Tom Gilligan urged sewer officials to use “simple math” to market the $15 million plan.

Sewer officials contend Pembroke would be responsible for about 52 percent – or $7.8 million – of the cost of the sewer upgrade. And the sewer commission’s engineer, Michael Trainque, of Hoyle Tanner and Associates, said he’s hopeful more than 50 percent of the project’s costs could be covered by a combination of grant money.

Thus the end cost to Allenstown’s taxpayers could be far less than the $15 million price tag, which will undoubtedly cause some sticker shock, said Gilligan.

“Three-and-a-half or $3 million is a lot easier to stomach than $15 million,” he said.

Trainque said the design hasn’t wavered much from the $15 million plan offered to voters in March of this year in a defective warrant article. The warrant article was deemed “defective” by a town attorney since it didn’t include any recommendation from selectmen, a necessary step for municipal bond requests, according to state law.

Selectmen Chairman Sandy McKenney has maintained she didn’t want to vote on whether to recommend the plan in March because it was so pricey and she wanted to leave the decision up to voters.

Despite the “defect” – and a “no” recommendation from the town’s budget committee printed on the ballot – 164 residents did vote in favor of the plan, compared to 350 “no” votes.

Allenstown Sewer Commission Chairman James Rodger said soon after the last election that he saw all the “yes” votes as a small sign of encouragement for the plan, especially with all the confusion leading to the vote.

Sewer officials and selectmen also seem to agree that the cost of upgrading the plant will only increase with time, especially if that upgrade stems from a lawsuit from neighboring Pembroke or mandates from state and/or federal environmental agencies.

Trainque said the upgrades are not a question of “if,” but “when.”

Said the plant’s superintendent, Dana Clement, “We’re required to take (Pembroke’s) flow, so they’re just going to sue us.”

But McKenney warned that the sewer plan, by nature, will be a tough sell locally. She said she’s heard from both sewer rate payers and people with private septic. The rate payers don’t feel they should have to foot all of the bill, she said, and non-rate payers wonder why they should have to contribute to the project.

So no matter how the town proposes to repay its share of the bond, she said, “You have this little war going on.”

Sewer officials said they hope to soon begin informational sessions about the current plant and its potential upgrades.

They also said they hope to offer informational CD-ROMs or DVDs than can provide tours of the plant. Several officials joked about the odor of the current plant.

“Get a little scratch and sniff that goes with that CD,” said selectmen’s administrative assistant Kelley Collins.