Trimont clerk reports $24.5M and $14.6M cost estimates as USDA infrastructure review submitted

City Clerk Kelli Harder told the Trimont City Council on June 16 that the city has submitted an updated Preliminary Engineering Report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of its infrastructure planning. Harder said the updated project estimate lists Phase 1 at $24.5 million and Phase 2 at $14.6 million, figures she emailed to the council.

The estimates came during the clerk’s report, when Harder also said staff had submitted the 2026 capital budgeting package to the state so the city can pursue USDA bonding if awarded. She said the council will be asked to hold a public hearing on infrastructure updates; the clerk will schedule that hearing to provide the public opportunity to comment on scope and financing.

Why it matters: the dollar amounts indicate the scale of the sewer/water or infrastructure work under consideration and frame the city’s bonding and Rural Service District decisions. The council separately approved changing the Rural Service District percentage to 30 percent during the same meeting, a decision that affects how project costs may be apportioned to district properties.

Council did not take a formal vote on bonding at the meeting; Harder’s report described filings already made with state and federal programs. The minutes do not specify a timetable for construction or a grant award; those steps will depend on agency review and any bonding approvals.

Next steps: the city clerk will set a public hearing on the infrastructure update and will notify the council and public when USDA or state responses arrive.