By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN

BELLOWS FALLS -- Village residents approved $6 million in spending for two water projects at a special election held Tuesday.

Both projects passed by an almost 4-to-1 margin, allowing the village to apply for stimulus funding for upgrades to the waste water plant and renovations to the water line along Route 5.

Only 100 people came out for the special vote, which had to be held because the wording on the original ballot during the annual meeting in May was incorrect.

Village residents approved the waste water project by an 80-20 vote and the Route 5 project passed 79-20, with one blank.

The village has 1,874 registered voters and just more than 5 percent of the voters cast a ballot Tuesday.

The waste water plant project, which will increase the plant’s capacity and allow the village to accept more sewage from private septic systems, will take about a year.

Bids are due into town hall on Aug. 11 and the Village Trustees are expected to open the sealed bids for the waste water plant project on Aug. 31.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires municipalities to have their projects approved by Sept. 1.

"We’ve met all of the tight deadlines for stimulus funding and at this point we’re doing well," Bellows Falls Municipal Manager Jim Mullen said Wednesday.

The stimulus funding will cover one-third of the total cost of the project, which is expected to be about $3 million.

Work on the waste water plant should start this fall and be completed in about a year, Mullen said.

The village also wants to upgrade the 10-inch, asbestos-lined water pipe along Route 5 north of the village.

That project has not yet been approved by the state and Mullen said he hopes it is considered during the second round of stimulus funding, which should happen next year.

Projects that are engineered and approved by the voters have a better chance of receiving the federal help, Mullen said, and with the positive vote Tuesday, he said the village is in good shape to get the ARRA money when it is released next year.

"We did not make the cut the first time through but now we are in a good position," he said. "Now that the bonding has been approved, we are in great shape to compete."