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Monte Vista outlines $42 million wastewater project and utility priorities; funding gap tops $10 million
Summary
City staff told council the wastewater treatment plant bid opening was rescheduled for March 19 with current estimates near $42 million; staff outlined a funding plan that includes a USDA sequence, a $1 million DOLA loan, congressional directed spending requests, and engagement with bond counsel and an EPA-funded nonprofit to close an estimated funding gap.
Monte Vista —5 March 5, 2026 —5 City staff told the Monte Vista City Council on March 5 that bids for the city—s new wastewater treatment plant are now scheduled to open March 19 and that preliminary estimates put construction costs at about $42 million, creating a multi-million-dollar funding gap for the project.
Assistant public works staff and the city manager described the financial steps under consideration. The city has prepared paperwork for a $1 million loan from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and is working with bond counsel (identified in the meeting as Futac Rock) to structure construction financing that will precede USDA rural development loan funding. City manager and staff said they plan to pursue congressional directed spending and other grant sources, and are also working with an EPA-funded nonprofit to seek additional funding chunks.
Staff and council emphasized the scale of the funding challenge: if bids approximate the $42 million estimate, the city will be roughly $12 million short of identified funding sources. The city manager said the city can request congressional directed spending and planned to ask engineers to help write a $5 million request as part of that effort; staff cautioned that managing many $1 million grants would require administrative capacity the city currently lacks.
Beyond the wastewater plant, public works staff outlined other utility priorities that will affect budgeting: a pending water rate study (results expected within about a month), an RFP for an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) pilot of up to 100 meters (not budgeted and requiring council approval), manhole and collection-system rehabilitation to reduce inflow and infiltration, a chip-seal streets program budgeted at $187,000, and proposals for a multi-year master plan to prioritize street, water, sewer and storm projects.
Why it matters The wastewater plant is a core piece of infrastructure. A funding shortfall of the scale described would require the city to secure additional grants, restructure project scope, or consider bonds and rate changes to cover debt service.
What comes next Bids are scheduled to open March 19. Staff said they will continue to work with bond counsel, pursue grants and federal funding, and report back to council as financing options develop. The city manager noted that interest rates and loan sequencing (construction loan followed by USDA loan) will affect near-term interest costs.
Provenance - topicintro: SEG 673 (announcement of bid opening moved to March 19 and $42M estimate) - topfinish: SEG 1572 (city manager discussion of funding gap and grant requests)
Speakers This article draws on remarks by Mr. Vance (assistant/public works) and the city manager and reflects council discussion recorded in the meeting transcript.
