WOODSTOCK — Residents on Tuesday will vote on two bonds related to the town’s purchase of the privately-held water system that serves thousands of residents.

Tuesday’s vote includes two ballot questions: One bond would fund the purchase of the 358-acre Vondell Reservoir property for $1.6 million. The other would provide the town with $6.7 million for three infrastructure improvement projects.

If approved, the bonds would bring the total cost of the water system acquisition to $9.2 million.

Voting will be Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Woodstock Town Hall.

Tuesday’s vote comes after residents overwhelmingly voted to purchase the Woodstock Aqueduct Co. in October. The municipal water system in Woodstock has been privately owned since 1880. It had 777 service connections as of December 2023 and served an estimated 2,743 people, according to an engineering report. (The town has about 3,000 residents).

In meetings throughout November, the Selectboard discussed repayment options for the bonds and voted on a repayment plan at a Nov. 21 meeting.

If voters support the articles, the bonds would be repaid through a mixture of property tax, sales tax and meals, rooms and alcohol tax and water rates. The October purchase of $920,000 was paid for with the town’s unassigned fund balance and will not impact municipal tax rates.

The Vondell purchase, if approved, would be repaid by all taxpayers through property taxes. For 2025, the portion of the tax bill represented by this purchase will be $12.71 per $100,000 of assessed value and would decrease every year until the bond is repaid.

The property, assessed at $2.06 million, does not currently contribute to the water system, but it is owned by the Aqueduct Co., used for recreation, including hiking and mountain biking, and could be connected to the system if needed. It is a backup water source during droughts or other emergencies, holds conservation value and some of the property could be developed in the future, Selectboard members said in a recording of a November meeting.

“I personally feel that we’re not out of that (drought) danger and it’s a very valuable piece of real estate for the town to have,” Selectboard member Susan Ford said Nov. 14. “One of the problems Woodstock’s had is we don’t look to the future as often as we should.”

Community members expressed mixed opinions about purchasing the reservoir at the Nov. 14 meeting.

Woodstock resident Byron Kelly said he was “not convinced yet” that the town should purchase the Vondell Reservoir, adding “it’s a want and it may be a good want,” but that there are other water system improvement projects that the town should prioritize.

Resident Roger Logan said he came to the process “very much a skeptic of whether we should purchase the Vondell property” and has been convinced of its value.

“I think this is an instance in which our government is being forward thinking and looking to prepare for potential possibilities in the future,” Logan said, referencing Vondell’s development potential.

Repayment for the infrastructure bond — which town officials are seeking in order to fix long-known system pressure issues, among other problems — would be split between water users and nonusers.

In the first year of bond repayment, all taxpayers would cover 23% through municipal tax rates and water users would pay an additional 49.6% through water rates. The remaining 27% will be paid through a local option sales tax and local meals, rooms and alcohol tax revenue. The board kept repayment options flexible for future years.

“I’m sure this will make users unhappy and it will make people who aren’t on the water unhappy and when I was in litigation that usually was a sign of a good settlement,” Ford, who is a former lawyer and proposed this repayment option, said at the Nov. 21 meeting.

At the Nov. 14 meeting, many community members argued that water users should cover the majority of the bond payment through water rates.

“I agree that municipal buildings, nonprofits and hydrants should be paid for by all, but according to the (Woodstock Water Working Group) these entities make up only 7% of the properties using the water system … Where in Vermont is there a precedent for non-users paying for water systems that they will never be able to use?” Resident Deborah Newhoff said, reading a statement written by herself and her neighbors.

In meetings throughout October, the Woodstock Selectboard decided to include three capital improvement projects in the December vote, with an understanding that more improvements may be needed in the future.

The first is $5 million to upgrade the system’s water transmission main that runs from Cox District Road to Route 4 and into the village center, which is responsible for ongoing water pressure issues, according to a document explaining the capital projects.

The project is necessary to resolve ongoing issues with fire hydrant water pressure, Municipal Manager Eric Duffy said in an October Selectboard meeting.

“This is a project that the state has kind of hung their hat on that if the town shows progress towards this that they will not impose a moratorium on connections,” Duffy said.

The second project is $800,000 to install a suspended water pipe under the Elm Street bridge. It would replace a pipe that burst during heavy rain in July 2023 and left users with no potable water for almost two weeks. The pipe has been on the bridge sidewalk since July 2023, Duffy said during the Oct. 8 meeting.

“This is a very visible improvement we can make. It’s shocking to me, given how many visitors we have today and over the past month, that that pipe is still on the bridge,” Selectboard member Laura Powell said during meeting.

The last project is a $900,000 well replacement project. The well is one of three total and two functional wells in the system. By replacing it, the town can increase water flow and “create a reserve capacity within the system,” Powell said.

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Duffy, other town staff and members of the Selectboard will continue ongoing public forums and have scheduled two additional meetings.

■Wednesday at 10 a.m. city officials will be at Mon Vert Cafe and from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. there will be a special happy hour public session at the Woodstock Inn.

■Thursday, there will be an informational session at town hall at 6 p.m.

■Friday at 9 a.m., officials will be at Soulfully Good Cafe

■Monday at 9 a.m. officials will be at the South Woodstock Country Store.

Clare Shanahan can be reached at cshanahan@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.