MARION — Selectmen issued a bond to borrow $7,252,294 of money that the last two Special Town Meetings had already allowed the board to borrow to improve its wastewater lagoon.

The state had issued a deadline for the town to line its primary wastewater treatment lagoon to prevent harmful chemicals from leaking out of it. However, the town fell behind on the Dec. 2019 deadline after it underestimated the cost of the project by $2 million.

A May 14, 2018 Special Town Meeting authorized $2,500,000 for the project, while a May 13, 2019 Special Town Meeting allotted $3,009,182 to line the lagoon and an additional $1,743,112 to upgrade the town’s filtration system.

Selectmen have appealed to their representative and state funding sources for a grant to help with the project several times. Town Administrator Jay McGrail confirmed after the Jan. 7 meeting that the state has said that Marion is still eligible to receive these funds, it is just likely that the grant will come through during fiscal year 2021.