Walden trustees push for grants to fund sewer upgrades, urge rehab-loan outreach

At a meeting of the Village of Walden Board of Trustees, trustees said they will pursue county, state and federal funding, including an upcoming Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application, to help finance required sewer improvements and relieve pressure on local taxpayers.

Trustees heard that staff had contacted Senator Scufist to seek state funding for sewer upgrades and that department heads are preparing candidate projects for the board to prioritize for the CDBG application. Staff also reported ongoing work reconciling audit numbers and IWS billing to ensure state and federal grant audits are aligned.

Board members raised the sewer plant’s ongoing maintenance needs and said those repairs and routine flushing, jetting and meter work are budget priorities. Staff noted the village has not yet received final state loan or grant approvals for some sewer work and has partially covered maintenance costs in the current budget.

Trustee Lynn asked for greater outreach on the village’s rehab-loan program after hearing that nine people applied and seven loans were granted to date. Trustees discussed multiple outreach channels — the village website front page, social-media posts, the library, and handing brochures to the code-enforcement officer for distribution to property owners with violations — and asked staff for a brief, periodic report on program metrics (applications received, approvals, denials, outstanding balances).

What happens next: staff will finalize project candidate lists for the CDBG application and return to trustees with specific project proposals for prioritization; trustees requested follow-up reporting on the rehab-loan program.