BOURBON – The Bourbon Town Council will have to make some hard decisions in the next few weeks as it tries to decide the most advantageous way to fund needed sewer equipment repairs.
On Tuesday, the council heard presentations from Shannon McLeod, Priority Resources Inc., and Megan Carr, Wessler Engineering.
McLeod has been exploring a number of grants for the town to apply for to fund projects to replace two lift stations, clay pipes and other sewer line problems. She outlined the pros and cons of each grant and how one might affect others. Carr has been involved in pinpointing the areas of concern as the engineering firm worked over the last seven or eight months.
Carr outlined how the needed work could be done in phases. She indicated that phase I could include replacing lift stations on the south and west sides of town. She said the lift stations in use now are undersized and past their expected use. According to Carr, they were designed to last 20 years and these have been in use for some 30 to 40 years. She said the problems are worse during the time of the year when thawing exists.
According to McLeod, phase I could cost $650,000.
Carr said a second phase could include more investigation using cameras to locate broken pipes and other problems. The total projects could mean a cost of $800,000 to $900,000 to complete.
The council will be meeting with McLeod and Wessler representatives to decide if they want to proceed with applying for grants in November or wait until January to begin the process and apply in May or June.
In other matters, the council voted unanimously to form a park authority. In prior meetings, Bill Keyser, Zoning Department, told the council that grants that could be applied for the park department needs usually require a park board listed. At this point, the park authority will consist of council members.
