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Greene County authorizes WSRLA application as water plant filters are rebuilt
Summary
The Greene County Board of Commissioners authorized county staff to apply for WSRLA funding and for the county administrator to sign loan documents after staff said rebuilding 12 existing filters exhausted contingency funds; staff said softened water readings have improved but are not yet at final targets.
The Greene County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 16 authorized county staff to apply for Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) funds and granted the county administrator authority to sign loan documents for sanitary engineering related to the county water plant project.
County sanitary engineering staff told commissioners the project now requires rebuilding 12 existing filters that were not anticipated when the project budget was set, and those repairs have used the contract contingency. "We have exhausted our contingency funds on the project, and we need to borrow a little more money to be able to do that," the sanitary engineering staff member said.
The staff member said the county expects the total project cost ultimately to remain below the original contract amount but that the WSRLA documents are necessary as a precautionary borrowing vehicle. "We do believe that once all the dust settles, we're still going to be under the original amount, but it's necessary to have these documents in place so that we can borrow the money should we need to," the sanitary engineering staff member said.
Commissioners also heard an operational update on water hardness. The sanitary engineering staff member said the plant has been running with softened water since Jan. 7 and that recent sample readings were "down around 12" grains of hardness, improved from figures in the high 20s earlier in the project. "Hesitate to really message that a whole lot yet because I don't want people to go out and shut their softeners off thinking we're at our final product when we're not," the staff member said, noting the county is posting periodic updates on its green forward website rather than real-time readings.
The board moved and seconded the authorization; the motion carried.
The board’s action allows staff to pursue WSRLA financing and to have administrative authority to execute necessary sanitary engineering loan documents, should borrowing be required to complete the filter replacements and finish the plant work.
Officials did not provide a final dollar amount to be borrowed; funding will depend on the final scope and any required approvals through WSRLA.
