City moves forward on major infrastructure funding request

The Lennox City Council met Monday, Sept. 28.

A public hearing was held for Resolution 2026-09-28-01 and Resolution 2026-09-28-02. 

“This is a public hearing on the resolutions that were listed as part of the application process for the state revolving loan fund. These resolutions simply authorize the City to apply for funding. What they do not do is approve the funding, accept the funding, institute a surcharge, or identify a repayment security or source. A final financing package will be developed if and when this application is approved by the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and only with the City Council’s approval,” City Administrator, Nate Vander Plaats said. 

“We know that the funding package will include some form of special assessment because that’s in the resolution that requires our review for financing public projects that was passed by this council in 2020, but I would also imagine that we’ll be using drainage funds, drainage fees, special assessments, a small amount of cash that’s dictated in our water and sewer rate study from a few years ago,” he continued. 

Mitch Mergen was available for any questions from the council and laid out a timeline of his services. 

“Once we have a survey of the area completed, we will be refining the design, looking at the budget and refining our costs along the way, working with city staff to assure that we’re addressing everything, and then ultimately coming back to you with the final design for you to consider and take to contractors. If you decide to pursue the project, we would then advertise it, bid it to contractors, and recommend a contract,” he said. 

“When we apply for the funding, can we find out then if we’re eligible for grants?” asked President Chad Swier. 

“They announce it with your award around January 1,” Mergen responded. 

Mayor Danny Fergen opened up the floor to proponents of the application. Hearing none, he asked for opponents. Mitch Marcotte was the first to stand to speak. 

“A proposed budget of approximately $10.7 million deserves careful public review. I’m not opposed to spending money on necessary city services, Lennox is growing and streets, ambulance service, parks, utilities, and employees all cost money. What my concern is is whether residents have been given enough information to determine which increases are necessary and which are discretionary and whether our priorities are in the right order. The city has stated that property taxes provide more than 60% of the general fund. The city has also told residents that the ambulance service has experienced annual shortfalls exceeding $125,000. At the same time, we have seen substantial city resources directed towards economic development and LADC in recent years. I think taxpayers deserve a simple accounting of how much city support is going to LADC and other economic developmental activities in 2027 including cash, property services, and transfers, and what measurable benefits has come back to the city from that support. Theres another reason I believe detailed budget information is important. The city’s 2024 independent audit found expenditures exceeded approximations in eight general funds departments and two secondary funds departments. It also found total expenditures exceeded the budget in both funds. That makes budget oversight especially important. The city has publicly said that financial transparency allows citizens to understand how tax dollars are allocated and to provide information in informed feedback. I agree, so before this budget is finalized, I’m asking the council to provide residents with a detailed comparison showing the 2025 actual expenditures, the 2026 budget, the project 2026 actual expenditures, and the proposed 2027 amount for each department and major program. The residents and city councilmen can clearly see where this $10.7 million is going, what is increasing and why. This isn’t about proposing necessary spending, it’s about making sure every taxpayer dollar has been clearly explained and its purpose and essential services come first,” he said. 

Alderman Bill Daugherty asked Mergen what percentage of gravel roads would be completed with this project. 

“I’d have to guess 60 to 70%,” Mergen said. 

“There’s been so much work done already. We need to finish this, we need to get it done. We need to get all the infrastructure where we want it. I have concerns just like the citizens of how we’re going to pay for it. Nobody wants their sewer rate or water bill to go up, but this is one option and I think we need to definitely explore it,” Swier said. 

Motion was made to approve resolution 2026-09-28-01 by Daugherty, seconded by Laura Thiesse, motion carried unanimously. Motion to approve resolution 2026-09-28-02 was made by Daugherty, seconded by Thiesse, motion carried unanimously.

Vander Plaats placed Building and Code Official on the agenda for further discussion. 

“I had a discussion with the City of Tea who was looking at hiring a full-time position and is interested in potentially contracting that position out. I also met with the other communities this afternoon to see where they were at and I was quite honest with them that the Tea option is preferable. They were going to go back to their respective councils and get a sense of appetite for moving forward. The largest concern I’m getting on our side is the amount of downtime he’s going to have to spend in transit. You will be losing a couple hours worth of efficiency each week just in transit,” Vander Plaats said. 

“I’m in favor of working with Tea if this could be the same kind of agreement we have with Hartford, I think it buys us time to work on logistical things including a vehicle and transportation time,” Mayor Fergen said. 

VanderPlaats will continue discussions with the surrounding towns and report back with future findings. 

VanderPlaats next asked for a CAPS program discussion. 

“Discussion at the September 14, City Council meeting indicated a desire to continue discussions on use of the CAPS program and new sales tax for significant equipment purchase. I was not at that meeting, but there was some discussions and questions that came up that I want to spend further time discussing. We recommended the new sales tax for the purchase of new fire department pumper and fire station expansion,” VanderPlaats said. VanderPlaats asked two questions when considering the program and that was what are the funding options without the CAPS program and are there other pieces of equipment or purchases to fund. “With respect to the first question, it’s a tough question as we don’t have a ton of $1 million pieces of equipment that we get to buy and I wouldn’t recommend using $1 million in cash for a capital purchase such as that,” he said. 

“This is kind of a one chance shot to get this funding, at least in for foreseeable future of the next seven years, so do you maximize the scope for the CAPS funding or keep it specific,” Mayor Fergen questioned. 

Swier asked how much the current sales tax revenue per year is. 

“Per penny we hope about $620,000 this year,” Vander Plaats said. 

Vander Plaats requested to keep the agenda item on future agendas for public comment and better understanding of direction.