By John Estridge
On Monday night, February 1, Liberty Town Council members heard about different possible funding mechanisms for an estimated $2.1 million water line upgrade for three separate parts of the town’s water system served by the Liberty Water Department.
Representatives from Wessler Engineering LLC, Baker Tilly US LLC and Kleinpeter Consulting Group all pulled from their respective areas of expertise for possible funding and the scope for the project planned for 2022.
The project is planned for three separate parts of the area. It includes: Eaton and Lane streets in Liberty and Hoffman Road, Duffy Lane, Parkhill Drive and Avondale Court west of Liberty off both sides of Indiana 44. Eaton and Lane streets are several blocks from each other.
There is a need for this project because these specific water lines have been problem areas for the town’s Water Department. In many instances, the type of lines currently present do not allow for repeated repairs.
Mike Kleinpeter, president of Kleinpeter Consulting Group went first.
He said the town can apply for an Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) grant, which can be as high as $700,000. It is a very competitive application process with 2021 deadlines for the applications in June and November. His company and the town should try for the June application cycle, he said.
Kleinpeter then explained the process to apply for a grant.
There is a need for an income survey. While his company has completed a survey for the entire town, that cannot be used in this instance. That is because where the three water line repairs and upgrades are planned are not contiguous with each other, and it does not involve the town’s water customers as a whole.
Thus, during the month of February, residents in the respective areas should receive a green letter in a Kleinpeter Consulting Group envelope. Inside the envelope will be an explanatory letter on town letterhead signed by LTC President Matt Barnhizer. It talks about how the town is seeking an OCRA grant for water line improvements, and the town needs the resident to fill out the green piece of paper that is also in the envelope.
Once filled out, it can be mailed back in free of charge, Kleinpeter said.
Other items needed for the grant application include a preliminary engineering report, an environmental study, proof of a local match secured in place and site control. The latter means all the rights of way or easements secured. Since the town is going to utilize its current right of way, it means the site control is already complete. The local match is also in place, and Wessler is well on its way to having the preliminary engineering report completed. Kleinpeter said his company will make sure the environmental report is completed.
He said the grant application includes a point system of grading the applications. An application must register 450 points to qualify. Kleinpeter went over all the areas that register points as it relates specifically to Liberty and came up with 524.8 points. He said in a usual application cycle that should be very competitive.
According to Kleinpeter, OCRA awards a grant to the community with the highest point total and then systematically goes down the list for the next highest point total and so on until the grant money is exhausted. If the town does not receive a grant on the first cycle, OCRA representatives will critique the application and tell the applicant which areas need improvement before it is submitted for the next grant cycle.
Applications are due June 25, and grants will be awarded by early August. If Liberty is awarded the grant, Kleinpeter’s subsequent timeline has the project going out for bid in March 2022 with construction beginning May 2022.
Next up was the project’s scope from Adam Sitka, an engineer from Wessler Engineering. He said the plan is to replace two-inch lines with four-inch ductile-iron lines along Hoffman Road, four-inch asbestos-concrete lines with six-inch ductile-iron lines along Duffy Lane, six-inch asbestos-concrete lines with six-inch ductile-iron lines along Avondale Court and Parkhill Drive, four- and six-inch lines with eight-inch lines along Eaton Street and two-inch to four-inch ductile-iron lines along Lane Street.
He also had projected timelines for the council members. If Wessler is allowed to start the design engineering prior to the grant award, then construction could begin in the first quarter of 2022 and be completed in the third quarter of the same year.
The final piece to the puzzle was from the Baker Tilly representative, Alex Hill. He talked about the financing of the project other than grant money.
If the town is able to secure a $700,000 OCRA grant, then the town would have to pay $1.4 million to do the entire project.
Hill said Liberty’s town government is blessed with a nice amount of money in the General Fund. This, the General Fund could loan the Water Fund money to do the project. This would be the least expensive way for the town to go as it would be an interest-free loan. Any bonds or loans the town could secure for the project would include interest payments.
Subsequently, whichever way the town decides to go with funding, there will have to be a rate increase to offset the increased costs. Hill said currently the Water Fund is in a break-even type of situation. Thus, it will have to have increased revenue to pay for this upgrade and possible future upgrades.
He suggested 2-3 percent price increases to the water bill in this year and next year. This will include public hearings prior to when the proposed rate increase goes into effect. The representative wants to look at the final 2020 numbers before he makes a final recommendation, Hill said.
Clerk/Treasurer Melissa Shepler said she had closed out the 2020 books on February 1 so Hill can see the books anytime he wants to in order to get the process started.
Barnhizer said he is concerned about how material costs have increased sharply in the last quarter of 2020 and possibly material costs could continue to go up. The consultants said it is impossible to be able to predict how much a possible increase could affect the bottom line for the project.
However, Kleinpeter said Baker Tilly may be able to figure in a cushion in order for the town to be covered if the construction costs increase between now and when the project is put out for bids.
https://www.riversidecandleandco.com/
