City outlines updated sewer costs

A major source of funding for the first phase of the Thompson Falls wastewater treatment project has been secured. The city council on Monday accepted a letter of intent to meet conditions for $4,419,870 in loans and grants from USDA Rural Development (RD).

The city sewer project includes updates to the wastewater collection system, connecting residences and businesses above the railroad tracks to the city sewer system and abandoning existing septic systems. The total cost for the first phase of the project will be $6.68 million. In addition to the more than $4.4 million in RD funding, the city will provide $66,000. The city has applied for other grants and loans for the remainder of the funds. The first phase includes improvements to the city’s wastewater collection system, as well as connecting 190 homes and businesses to the city system and abandoning the current septic systems for those services.

Earlier this year, the city held a public meeting on the project, outlining a 20-year planning period and a total cost of more than $24 million. In February, Great West Engineering had projected that with RD funding for 75 percent of the project, the estimated monthly bill for residents would be $45. At the council meeting on Monday, Mayor Mark Sheets explained the updated costs of the project. With the two RD loans totaling $2,592,000 (a $1,722,000 loan over 40 years and a $870,000 loan over 20 years), residents would pay a monthly sewage fee (the estimated $45), as well as an assessment of $298.46 on property taxes, in order for the city to pay back the loans. City council members expressed concern over the tax increase and asked that additional public meetings be held to inform residents of updated plans before the project continues.

Sheets explained on Monday that progression of the project is based on the other funding sources becoming available to the city. He noted that accepting the conditions of the RD funding did not mean that the city must accept them if other funding sources are not secured. However, the letter of conditions needed to be signed in a timely manner.

Dan Johnson with RD was at Monday’s meeting. “This is a very generous funding opportunity that’s being offered, and it may or may not be there in the future,” Johnson said of the RD loans and grants.

The council voted to accept the letter of the conditions for the RD funding, and will schedule public meetings to inform the public of changes to the wastewater treatment plan.

Also at the Monday council meeting, Mayor Sheets notified the council that the city was selected to receive a $22,500 grant for a growth policy from the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). Sheets said it would be up to the city to pay for the rest of the growth policy, which is estimated at a total of $30,000.

Also at the Monday council meeting, Sandra Kazmierczak provided a rundown of the city pool season. Kazmierczak said that the pool had a successful year, operating 10 weeks instead of the normal nine. She said that the colder weather in June caused numbers to be down, but that attendance picked up in July and August. A total of 3,140 people visited the pool this summer, according to Kazmierczak, and 200 children took their deep end test to be able to swim in the deep end of the pool. Swim lesson participation was down slightly this year, with 97 kids participating compared with 101 in 2017.

Kazmierczak also noted that participants from local schools was down because of lack of funding. She said that normally, schools purchase passes with federal grant money from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. However, Noxon Schools did bring 20 students to the pool for four weeks of lessons.

Kazmierczak said this was her 20th year for managing the pool, and she appreciates the continued support from the city, the council and the community.