Pleasantville hears preliminary engineering plan for water upgrades, financing and regulatory relief

Pleasantville city officials on July 18 heard a preliminary engineering report on potential water utility improvements that outlined financing options, the prospect of rate increases, and regulatory challenges tied to elevated chloride levels at the wastewater treatment plant.

Engineers Lenny Larson and Joey Whitehouse and Chip Schultz of Northland Securities presented funding scenarios and possible grant and loan‑forgiveness options. Schultz told the council that "what he has provided to the council is worst case scenario, it does not include any grant funds," and said the city could scale back the project to lower costs. Larson described grant opportunities and said the project may qualify for loan forgiveness in some programs.

Councilmember Aaron Hurt urged phasing the project to improve grant eligibility and suggested the city consider paying off some debt or using alternative financing sources so the water fund would not bear the entire burden and require a significant rate increase. Schultz recommended, if the city repays debt, prioritizing payoff of future debt because of differences in interest rates.

Larson said elevated chloride levels at the wastewater treatment plant are central to the urgency: as the community develops, more salt will be used to treat water and backwash will be performed more often, increasing chloride and creating compliance pressure. Because of that trend, the city was issued a compliance schedule in addition to its NPDES permit; Whitehouse said the city's actions to date "show good faith towards the compliance schedule." Larson said he will apply for disadvantaged community status for Pleasantville—arguing the cost is unaffordable to complete in a single phase—which, if granted, would extend the compliance schedule by about five years and give the city more planning time.

Larson also discussed the possibility of refurbishing the existing water plant if the city were to stop selling water to MCRW, noting reduced production needs could make refurbishment feasible. Larson said he would collaborate with engineers Joey Whitehouse and Emily Brinkman to prepare and submit the disadvantaged‑community application to the DNR. No council vote on financing, rate changes or a project scope was taken at the meeting.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: consultants will provide additional analysis on phased options, staff will pursue grant and loan opportunities, and Larson will begin preparing the disadvantaged community application for submission to the Department of Natural Resources.