Town submits water-tower grant and outlines engineering, backup plans

Town officials told trustees they submitted an application to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) for repairs to the municipal water tower and discussed contingency plans and engineering needs.
Staff reported the application (a figure of about $119,000 was mentioned in the discussion) was filed before the program deadline and that the OWRB review may allow some flexibility for prior reporting errors. Trustees discussed two backup options if the OWRB funding does not come through: (1) pursue a rural-water program that staff said has a high probability of award and does not rely on census figures; or (2) accept a contractor's short-term repaint of the tank interior for under $15,000 to extend service life by a few years.
An engineering assessment prepared for the OWRB by an engineer (referred to at the meeting) included drawings and a cost estimate; trustees said the engineer (identified in the meeting as Matt Poe) wrote the report and planned to include his fee in the grant estimate. Trustees discussed a cited $15,000 line item as the engineering/drawing fee and the need for pipeline and pipework corrections inside the tank to reduce stagnation.
Trustees noted the OWRB application deadline was fast approaching (the clerk referenced a September 26 deadline for related backup actions) and asked staff to continue coordinating with the engineer on drawings and cost estimates. No final procurement action was taken at the meeting; trustees directed staff to follow up on OWRB feedback and explore the rural-water alternative if needed.