MIDDLETOWN - The city will ask residents to vote on more than an additional $10 million worth of bonds items from two different projects during the November general election if they are approved by the Common Council during their meeting Tuesday night.

The common council will vote on whether they want to send a bond of $8.6 million, to be used for repairs to the city's sewer system, and a $2 million bond to be used for open space land acquisitions, to a vote during the Nov. 6 general election.

The rising debt the city has acquired through the issuing of bonds and the payments on that debt has become an issue that Councilman David Bauer, who voted against the most recent bond proposal for road repairs, has become increasingly vocal about. He said the city's debt services will soon become a major issue and the city should reevaluate the way it issues bonds.

The road repair bond was for nearly $10 million. Voters will also be able to accept or reject that for bond when they enter the voting booth in November.

If approved, the proposed $8.6 million bond will be used to replace and repair underground waste water and storm water pipes, mostly in the area west of Pamecha Pond. The pipes were installed between 1930 to the mid-1950s. Most pipes have a "workable age" of 80 years, the oldest pipes would be replaced and the newer pipes will be repaired, said Guy Russo, director of the Water and Sewer Department.

The project is one of three that the city Water and Sewer Department has planned and is designed to keep waste water and storm runoff from mixing and to keep both from backing up and overflowing.

Most of the planned work will take place underground, but $1.4 would be used to resurface selected roads that need to be dug up to access pipes underneath.

The city has been working on their sewer system for about 20 years and has greatly improved it from eight to 10 years ago when, during any given rain storm, people's basements would overflow with both storm and sewer water, Russo said.

The work is now being done well upstream of the Connecticut River and fixing leaky pipes upstream will help reduce the mixing of sewer and storm water down stream.

"This project is a continuation of years worth of work," Russo said. "And after 20 years of work, the end is clearly in sight."

Russo said if the bond for the project is voted down, the work will have to be done at a later date with a higher cost, but added, "The people of Middletown understand the importance of infrastructure and have never voted down a sewer project like this one."

The other bond item that the Common Council will vote on is for $2 million for the acquisition for open spaces. The ordinance would approve taking out a bond for the purpose of acquiring open space or the development rights to open space.

Each individual acquisition would come back before the Common Council for approval.

The money spent on land would also have to be matched by 65 percent at the state level and 50 percent at the federal level.

This would create about $6 million in funds to purchase open spaces from the city's investment of $2 million, said Sheila Stoane, chairwoman of the Conservation Commission.

Any large bond item of that size needs to go to a referendum and if they are not voted on during Tuesday's meeting they will not be on the November ballot due to time constraints in printing the ballots, said Giuliano.