City manager updates commission on water-tower delays, meter replacements and airport funding; federal funds included in project mix

City Manager Silcott briefed the Ottawa City Commission on Jan. 29 about active capital projects and funding status, saying several projects are underway and that federal grant money is part of the funding mix for major initiatives.

Silcott said the Proximity Park water-tower project remains delayed pending a high-pressure pump installation that should be completed by December 2025; the pump will allow the city to fill the 500,000-gallon tank at that site and improve pressure across town. He said practical project use could begin in December 2025, with final completion estimated in the first quarter of 2026. Silcott said the city is using Proximity Park sales tax proceeds and a federal base grant to finance parts of the work.

On electrical upgrades, Silcott said the residential electric meter replacement program is in progress and on schedule despite some supply-chain issues; the city expects to finish residential and commercial (three-phase) meter upgrades by the fourth quarter of 2025. He said the meter work requires back-end software integration and mapping tools to track outages and uninstalled meters.

Silcott reported the water-plant evaluation is essentially concluded and that staff should present findings within about 60 days. The Penn Oak lift station upgrade remains on schedule with completion expected within about 60 days, he said. Commission-room upgrades are delayed but a timeframe is expected around March–April 2025. He also summarized projects completed in 2024, including stormwater and intersection improvements on Mulberry and Dundee, a city-park playground upgrade, the Northeast sewer lift station and water-line replacement on Elm.

Silcott discussed federal funding tied to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and said the city has received tentative allotments through the office of Representative Sharice Davids for several projects, including the airport. He said federal funds in that mix are treated as over-and-above the local 10% portion of some aviation grants, not as part of the local match. A staff member present confirmed the total projected cost for a three-phase airport project is roughly $2,600,000 for all three phases combined.

Silcott invited department directors and staff to answer detailed questions and thanked a federal field representative for attending the meeting. He also announced several personnel notes including the onboarding of Drew Murphy as golf course superintendent and Captain Donovan’s acceptance into the Executive Fire Officer program at the National Fire Academy.