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Council approves agreement with Army Corps for nearly $10 million in consent-decree sewer assistance
Summary
Meridian’s City Council authorized an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide approximately $9,000,960 in federal support for two sewer pipeline projects required by the city’s consent decree; the city must provide a 25% match from consent-decree bond funds.
The Meridian City Council on March 6 authorized an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to obtain federal design and construction assistance for two sewer pipeline projects required under the city’s consent decree, with a federal share described in meeting discussion as $9,000,960 and a 25% local match to come from the consent-decree bond.
Council members and staff said the city first pursued the funding through repeated meetings in Washington, D.C., and with the Corps’ Mobile district. City staff described an earlier authorization of roughly $10,000,000 and said Corps language changes required the agreement to return to council for approval but did not change the project funding amount on offer.
Why it matters: The work is tied to a court-ordered consent decree and to reducing sewer-system violations. Securing federal assistance reduces immediate local capital outlays but requires a local match and coordination on property access and design responsibilities.
City staff explained the agreement covers two separate sewer pipeline projects and will let the city access roughly $9.0 million in federal funds (the transcript referenced $9,000,960) while the city provides a 25% match. Staff noted some contract language was changed by the Corps and that the city will still need to resolve property acquisition and delineate responsibilities for right-of-way and related tasks before construction proceeds. A council member asked what portion of the funds would pay for design work; staff replied they did not have a design-percentage figure at the meeting but said they would provide it on request.
The council moved, seconded and voted in favor; the presiding official announced the ayes had it.
Discussion (not action): Council members raised procedural questions about the contract language changes and about matching funds. City staff emphasized the long federal-advocacy process that identified the Corps’ Mobile district as the local partner. Staff also described the funding source for the match as the city’s consent-decree bond.
Next steps and follow-up: Staff committed to provide the council with more detail on the split between design and construction costs and to proceed with the property- and permitting-related tasks required by the Corps’ agreement. No specific project schedule or start date was set during the meeting.
