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Alma announces large SRF awards; city staff outline wastewater plant priorities
Summary
City staff said Alma secured Clean Water State Revolving Fund financing that includes loan forgiveness and detailed potential wastewater plant upgrades; staff outlined projects such as clarifiers, tertiary filtration and lab upgrades.
City Manager Eric told the Alma City Commission that the city was offered substantial state revolving fund financing for water and wastewater improvements and that staff will work with engineers and EGLE to finalize scopes and bonding terms.
Eric said the city received a Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) offer that includes roughly $18,245,000 in low‑ or no‑interest loans and about $2,255,000 in loan forgiveness (grant). He said staff expects an agreement from EGLE in November and that the package will help finance major improvements at the wastewater plant and other projects identified in the city's capital list.
Public works and city staff described likely priorities: clarifier and filtration work, lab upgrades, and investigation of tertiary filtration to improve treatment capacity and support industrial development on the east side of town. Staff said a full suite of desired upgrades had been estimated in the past at $20 million or more and that the SRF award and forgiveness greatly improve the city’s ability to do more than piecemeal repairs.
Staff said some items already budgeted (computer upgrades, smaller filtration components) will be combined with SRF funds to maximize improvements. The manager said this round of loan forgiveness is limited statewide and that the city’s prior fiscal actions and rate adjustments positioned it to accept the funding when it became available.
No formal action was required; the commission received the city manager’s report and asked staff to return with more detailed plans and a comparison of the SRF package versus private bonding to quantify savings for ratepayers.
Staff emphasized that the SRF funds are time‑sensitive and that the city will continue work with engineers to establish final project scopes and bonding mechanisms for presentation to the commission.
