OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Portland Town Supervisor Rich Lewis vowed to “aggressively to pursue grant funding” for the town’s Water District 2 project, which received a low bid of more than twice the cost originally budgeted for the project.

PORTLAND — The town will re-evaluate options over the coming months for a way to move forward with a water district project that came in at a price dramatically higher than previously budgeted for.

The town’s Water District 2 project will not move forward at this time due to excessive costs. The project pertains to residences from near the Portland Water Tower down to the town border, servicing residences along the shore of Lake Erie along Patterson Lane and Lakeside Boulevard at Van Buren Point.

“At this point, we can’t award this right now,” town Supervisor Rich Lewis said.

In 2018, the total project cost was budgeted for $2,601,000. The lowest bid received by the town for the project as of this April is $4,691,000, submitted by S. St. George Enterprises.

The original budgeted cost included a $301 annual tax assessment per unit. If the town is only awarded loans for the project – without grant funding – the annual debt service payment increases to $554.35 annually, over the course of 38 years.

“The only other option is to scrap it and the town is out all the engineering fees … all of the $116,000 we put into it, and then we still have an aging water system that’s not getting any younger … and not getting any cheaper,” Lewis said.

Lewis noted the town is seeking grant funding through Rural Development and the USDA. “We are going to try aggressively to pursue grant funding,” Lewis said.

Additional meetings and public hearings could be required at a later date regarding the project. The process is expected to take several weeks to reach a final resolution.