Medora council hears wastewater repair plan and weighs a $20 rate increase to pursue $750,000 state grant

Medora town council members heard a detailed engineering and financing briefing on the town's deteriorating wastewater system and discussed pursuing a $750,000 state grant while phasing construction and raising utility rates to make an application competitive.

Consultants told the council they had completed most of the inflow-and-infiltration (I&I) design work and that an earlier preliminary engineering report had estimated a roughly $2.4 million full-scope construction cost; they proposed smaller project scenarios in the $1.3'$1.7 million range that would pair better with a $750,000 grant from the state.

The nut of the decision, advisers said, is how much of the original scope the town wants to fund immediately and how much to leave for later phases. The engineering lead outlined the core repairs: CCTV inspection of about 17,000 linear feet of sewer; CIPP lining where feasible; targeted excavation and point repairs where lining is not possible; replacement and elevation of pumps and electrical equipment at a lift station located in a floodway.

The grant specialist described the state grant timetable and requirements and urged resident outreach. "We can get up to $750,000 from OCRA," he said, adding that the program typically requires a near'final proposal, a public hearing, environmental review and resident letters to strengthen narratives. He recommended the council plan for a public hearing and to collect resident statements and a short survey to document sewer problems.

On funding routes, the financial adviser reviewed three paths: the State Revolving Fund (SRF), USDA Rural Development, and open-market bond issuance (including an option the adviser described as the World Water Financing Agency). He said SRF offers very low interest and forgivable-loan features but is highly competitive; the town's prior SRF score suggested SRF alone is unlikely to be the primary source. He described USDA as a longer, slower route that can issue "letter conditions" showing fundability but is currently backlogged.

On affordability, the consultants ran scenarios showing the full project could push sewer bills for a 4,000'gallon benchmark household from the current sewer charge of $40.37 to roughly $65'$68 if the town pursued the larger project in a single phase. To improve OCRA scoring, the grant specialist explained how local match and the combined water'and'sewer bill level contribute points: moving combined bills over a $90 threshold adds points to an application. "If we did a project of about that size, your rates would wind up somewhere around 65 to $68," the adviser said; consultants proposed an approach that phases work and uses a smaller immediate project plus a later true-up.

Council members flagged affordability concerns. One council member said residents could not absorb the higher scenarios and favored a lower short-term increase. Consultants suggested a compromise: an initial modest increase (the advisers estimated that a $6 increase now would push combined bills over $90 for scoring purposes), followed by a later true-up if the grant is awarded. The council signaled a preference to pursue OCRA Round 1 paired with rural water financing and to target an overall sewer-rate increase in the ~$20 range rather than the $25'$30 scenarios that would produce higher near'term bills.

Next steps listed by advisers were: finalize the grant calendar once OCRA posts it; hold a public hearing (discussed for the March council meeting); circulate and run a short resident survey; collect resident letters and mapped complaint locations; and confirm whether the council authorizes submission under Round 1 with a matched local share. Consultants emphasized timing: the OCRA round and the grant'application schedule will determine the bid and construction timeline if funds are awarded.

The council did not take a formal vote at the meeting; advisers asked the council to confirm the direction and to provide staff authority to begin outreach and finalize application materials. The consultants and staff said they would circulate the schedule, sample survey and draft narratives for council review ahead of the next meeting.