Brookings council authorizes application for $1 million USDA grant to replace Easy Street water main
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Summary
City staff told council the Easy Street project would replace about 2,950 linear feet of aging water main; council authorized the city manager to apply for a $1,000,000 USDA Rural Development grant and said local water SDCs and replacement funds will cover the required match.
Brookings city council voted Feb. 26 to authorize the city manager to apply for a $1,000,000 USDA Rural Development grant to fund replacement of an aging water main on Easy Street.
City staff told council the Easy Street water line replacement is identified as a high-priority project in the city’s water master plan and would replace approximately 2,950 linear feet of pipe between Mardon Court and Fern Avenue to improve reliability, hydraulic performance and public safety. The staff presentation said engineering is underway and that construction must be completed by December 2027 to meet grant requirements. "The project will replace approximately 2,950 linear feet of water main," a city staff member said during the presentation.
The staff presentation said the federal appropriation was secured through congressional funding and that the formal application process must be completed within 45 days of the grant kickoff meeting on Jan. 12. City staff and the council discussed local match requirements; staff said the match will come from water system development charges (SDCs) and water system replacement funds already budgeted or reserved for capital improvements. "We do have funding available in our water SDCs and water system replacement funds for the match," a staff member said.
Councilors praised the work of staff and the city’s recent grant-writing capacity. One councilor thanked department leads for creating a grant manager/writer position and said the role has already paid dividends by securing funding the city could not have obtained through its regular budget. "This is an enormous amount of money for our community, and I'm so grateful," another councilor said.
Council moved and unanimously adopted Resolution 26-R-1286, authorizing the city manager to submit the USDA Rural Development grant application for the Easy Street water line replacement project. The resolution was approved during the meeting with no recorded no votes or abstentions.
What’s next: The city manager will proceed with the formal application to USDA and staff will continue engineering and budget planning to meet the grant timeline. If awarded, the city anticipates construction timing and match funding to be finalized as part of the next budgets and project contracts.
