Council backs digester project funding plan while flagging grant uncertainty

Council debated and approved Amendment 7, which aligns the budget to proceed with planning and bidding work for a proposed wastewater digester project and establishes a financing framework. Administration outlined that the $9.5M–$9.55M project would be funded by a mix of sources: an ADEC loan of about $3,000,000 (of which up to $2,000,000 may be forgivable if conditions are met), roughly $4,000,000 in federal appropriations currently pursued through the congressional delegation, and approximately $2.5M from local transfers or general-fund sources to complete the funding package.