Wyoming Secretary of State Max Maxfield and Deputy Secretary of State Pat Arp got firsthand information about South Torrington Water and Sewer District’s (STWSD) need for funding to replace its sewage treatment facility during a tour Monday afternoon.

Maxfield said he is one of the five elected officials that sit on the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB). The STWSD has requested $8.4 million from the SLIB to replace its treatment facility. The SLIB will meet Thursday morning to review requests and decide which projects receive money and how much.

“It is scary,” Maxfield said of the treatment facility. “It could fail. We need to try to fix it while our heads are above water. I go out and actually see the projects on site. I am hoping this example will show the Legislature we need more money for infrastructure, but a project like South Torrington Water and Sewer District would never get this funding. A place like South Torrington cannot compete. The five elected state officials need to get more money to use through the SLIB. We need a fall-back safety net.”

According to Maxfield, the STWSD facility is. The pipes are aged and cracking, and sewage could get into the wrong place.

“At this point I support the action to alleviate the problem,” Maxfield said.

He said the amount of funding he will support depends upon other discussions by the SLIB on Thursday morning.

Maxfield also toured the Department of Corrections Medium Security Correctional Facility (DOC-MSCF) in Torrington and received an update on its construction status.

After touring the facility, Maxfield said he was impressed with the way it is laid out. He said he got the impression that a lot of thought and care had gone into the planning of the facility.

“Through creative management they have decreased the total cost of the facility and have been able to keep the project on schedule to be finished by the end of 2009,” Maxfield said. “It (the facility) is important for treatment and training. We need to do what we can to ensure the prisoners are only in there once. They need to get free of drugs and learn a trade while they are there.”

Maxfield said he was also impressed with the way the walls of the facility are being constructed.

“I sit on the State Building Commission,” Maxfield said. “We have been involved with this project from the start. I felt it was important to see the facility firsthand. I will be back again.”

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