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City outlines $1 million capital-outlay grant, plans for wastewater plant upgrades
Summary
City staff described how a $1 million New Mexico capital outlay grant will be applied to wastewater treatment plant upgrades (including $10,000 earmarked for art in public places), explained the project will target 51 deteriorated pits and a problematic Hagen Street line, and asked commissioners to authorize related resolutions and the grant agreement.
City staff told the commission the city had received a $1 million New Mexico capital outlay grant for wastewater treatment plant upgrades and asked the commission to authorize the related resolution and execute the grant agreement.
City manager Alvarez said $10,000 of the grant is allocated to art in public places and that staff hopes to use part of the upgraded facility as a public gallery space. Alvarez said the $1 million is part of a broader plan that began with a $4 million request to the governor as part of a roughly $5 million improvement strategy.
Tracy and other staff described the immediate engineering priorities: rebuilding 51 sewer pits that currently lack proper inflow protection and replacing a failing upper-line on Hagen Street that the crew and engineer believe is a primary cause of downstream system failures. Tracy said staff expects to move quickly to request-for-proposals (RFPs) or a cooperative contract once final documents are prepared.
Staff explained some earlier 2018 design work used fiberglass where stainless steel was specified; the new funding will allow the city to correct those deficiencies as part of initial engineering. The city indicated it also expects to seek additional funding (including possible water-trust-board or other grant requests) to complete remaining phases.
The commission approved the resolution authorizing the project and later authorized execution of the capital outlay grant agreement itself as a separate action. Staff said, if all funding falls into place, the upgrades could reduce or eliminate some planned future rate increases.
What’s next: staff will finalize grant paperwork, complete engineering plans and issue procurement documents for the initial phase (rebuilding pits and addressing the Hagen Street line).
