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Ennis accepts TWDB funds and OKs engineering task order to replace lead service lines
Summary
Commission approved TWDB principal forgiveness and low‑interest financing and authorized a task order to Friese & Nichols for lead service line inventory and replacement engineering; staff said the TWDB package provides about $3.04M with roughly half as grant/forgiveness and the rest as subsidized loans.
The commission approved a suite of actions to comply with EPA/TWDB lead service line requirements: authorization to issue certificates of obligation for inventory and replacement work, approval of low‑interest subsidized financing for the replacement component, acceptance of principal‑forgiveness (a TWDB grant) for about 51% of the program, and award of an engineering task order to Friese & Nichols.
Andrew Friedman, the city's financial adviser, described the TWDB package: "Principal forgiveness is just a straight up grant," he said, and noted combined funding will cover inventory and replacement components with subsidized interest around 2.44% on the loaned portion. Staff explained the City applied for roughly $3,040,816 in total funding, with approximately $1.6M in subsidized or zero‑interest loans and the remainder as grant assistance. The commission approved the certificates for the inventory portion and the low‑interest loan for replacement, and later authorized task order No. 10 with Friese & Nichols for engineering services not to exceed $1,018,055.
Commissioners also approved a related resolution to accept TWDB loan forgiveness for both inventory and replacement components. Staff emphasized the program's regulatory driver—EPA/TWDB requirements to inventory and replace lead service lines—and noted a coordinated approach involving grant forgiveness, subsidized loans and professional engineering oversight.
