Perry council approves CDBG application, $600,000 local match and design work for major water projects
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Summary
The City of Perry approved a CDBG grant application package and funding commitments to rehabilitate its water treatment plant, and authorized engineering design work to ‘kill out’ aging mains and replace critical components, moves meant to reduce frequent breaks and position the city for principal‑forgiveness lending.
The Perry City Council on Monday approved the city’s fiscal‑year 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application package to rehabilitate the city’s water treatment plant and authorized related engineering work to address recurring distribution‑system failures.
Council voted to adopt a citizen participation plan, adopt Resolution 2025‑O5 to apply for the CDBG grant and adopt Resolution 2025‑O6 to commit $600,000 in leverage funds for the CDBG application; the council also appointed Maria Woodward of Park Hill to prepare and submit the application. The council separately approved a professional services agreement with Cimarron Valley Engineering to design a multi‑block “kill out” project to isolate and retire old mains looping parallel to newly installed lines.
Why it matters: Council and staff described the items as steps to reduce recurring main breaks and to meet state funding requirements that can include principal forgiveness and environmental study prerequisites. The city is pursuing multiple funding tracks (CDBG, DWSRF/OWRB programs and local match) to limit indebtedness while addressing a backlog of failing mains and water‑treatment deficiencies.
Key details: City Manager Nate (city manager) told the council that the CDBG package includes the citizen participation plan and the $600,000 local match. Chief Financial Officer Meredith (chief financial officer) said the city must have audit materials available to qualify for grant deadlines; staff cited a May 1/May 2 timing for documents tied to some grant processes. City Attorney Bryce (city attorney) and engineering consultant Matthew Coe of Cimarron Valley Engineering gave technical and financing context.
Costs and fees discussed: Council members were told the CDBG grant‑administration fee is typically 8% of the grant (the presenters cited $48,000 on a $600,000 grant), and the environmental study required for some state loan/principal‑forgiveness programs was estimated at roughly $30,000. Coe said the sludge‑box stand‑alone project has an estimated cost of about $1.2 million. Staff described several borrowing scenarios: roughly $5.5 million in one scenario (annual debt service about $370,000), a $4.3 million scenario to keep annual debt service under $300,000, and scenarios in which principal forgiveness or CDBG awards would reduce annual debt service to the low‑ to mid‑$200,000s.
Timeline and sequencing: Staff said the environmental study required for principal‑forgiveness consideration takes about 90–120 days; CDBG awards typically occur in August; the city must submit certain application materials in late spring to be competitive. Coe said the sludge‑box project could be brought online by late in the year if funding and permitting align, and the kill‑out design work could be completed in phases to allow staged construction.
Engineering work approved: Council approved a professional services agreement with Cimarron Valley Engineering to design the water main kill‑out project (the design contract includes survey, plans and phased bid packages). Coe described the kill‑out scope as identifying services on old mains that run parallel to newer mains, isolating and abandoning the old mains, and reconnecting individual services to the newer mains so the city can better isolate failures and reduce the number of service outages.
What the council approved (summary): Adoption of the citizen participation plan; Resolution 2025‑O5 authorizing application for FY2025 CDBG funds to rehabilitate the water treatment plant; Resolution 2025‑O6 committing $600,000 in leverage; appointment of Park Hill consultant Maria Woodward to prepare/submit the CDBG application; and a professional services agreement with Cimarron Valley Engineering for the water main kill‑out design. Each of those items passed on roll call votes.
Outlook: Staff said the city will continue to pursue multiple funding sources (CDBG, DWSRF principal forgiveness, OWRB loans and other grant programs) and will phase design and construction to limit annual debt service while addressing immediate compliance issues identified by the sanitary survey.