Montville council OKs deal with Rand-Whitney

Montville council OKs deal with Rand-Whitney
By Jeffrey A. Johnson
Publication: The Day

Agreement ends legal spat for 2 years

Montville - The Town Council approved a two-part agreement Wednesday night aimed at ending a long legal struggle between the town and Rand-Whitney Containerboard over sewer usage fees.

Despite several councilors voicing skepticism about parts of the agreement, the council voted 5-2 to enter into a two-year plan with the Foxboro, Mass.-based paper manufacturer, whose chairman and chief executive officer is Robert Kraft, the New England Patriots' owner. Councilors Howard "Russ" Beetham and Ellen Hillman were opposed.

Since Rand-Whitney opened a facility on Route 163 in 1995, the town and the paper company have clashed in court on several occasions, with one court-ordered settlement costing taxpayers $11.7 million plus interest in a breach-of-contract lawsuit.

"This war stops now," Councilor Dana McFee said, jokingly quoting a line from the classic mafia movie "The Godfather."

Under the first part of the agreement, the Water Pollution and Control Authority will charge Rand-Whitney the same monthly commercial rate for its sewer usage fees as it charges other commercial users, such as Mohegan Sun casino.

The second part of the agreement calls for the town, the WPCA and Rand-Whitney to explore upgrades and infrastructure improvements to a wastewater treatment facility on the paper manufacturer's grounds.

This part of the agreement prompted the most hesitation from councilors. If the WPCA and Rand-Whitney proceed with new treatment options, the WPCA is expected to use a $5 million grant authorized by the state Bond Commission for upgrades to the treatment facility.

Councilors and Bruce Chudwick, the town attorney, also questioned what would happen if the treatment facility upgrades cost more than $5 million.

Matt Auger, attorney for the WPCA, argued that upgrades to the facility would be beneficial because the WPCA would greatly improve its wastewater treatment process - easing the burden of rate payers - and the town would save approximately $700,000 annually by using the upgraded facility for sludge disposal.

In two hours of discussion, Auger also said several times that the agreement required good faith from both sides.

"Like it or not, the town and Rand-Whitney are a married couple that cannot be separated until the year 2054," Auger said of the 43-year wastewater treatment agreement between the two parties.

Jim Cobery, the attorney for Rand-Whitney, said moving to a commercial rate would cost the paper manufacturer between $200,000 and $300,000 more per year in sewer usage fees, but the company stands to save substantially in legal fees. Rand-Whitney would pay the WPCA about $1.75 million annually under the new agreement.