By SALINA POST
Saline County Commissioners are scheduled to consider tentatively approving water/wastewater infrastructure grant requests during their meeting Tuesday morning.
About the meeting
Saline County Commission is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday in room 107 of the City-County Building, 300 W. Ash Street. The meetings also can be viewed on Saline County’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwwZp_cTSJ3Nepp_5rOGevA.
To participate in the meetings, citizens will need to use the Zoom link. Use the following link and put in the Meeting ID and passcode:
https://zoom.us/j/96835819901?pwd=bUEvaExUb2ppMEFaUnd6cUd6MmNMUT09
Meeting ID: 968 3581 9901
Passcode: 144636
For further information, contact the County Commission’s Office at (785) 309-5825.
Agenda items
On Sept. 28, commissioners approved implementation of a plan to distribute $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding through water/wastewater infrastructure grants. Grant applications were accepted from Oct. 22-Nov. 29. According to information in the county commission meeting packet, 20 applicatins from 15 entities were received.
The grant application review committee submitted its ratings of the grant requests. The committee recommended the following grant requests.
●A grant of $48,895.74 to Ottawa County Rural Water District No. 2 to refurbish the Ohio water well field in Saline County. This will be matched with $48,895.74 in other funding, for a total project cost of $97,791.48.
●A grant of $50,000.00 to Saline County Rural Water District No. 3 to replace approximately 10,000 linear feet of existing water main with larger mains. This will be matched with $64,332.60 in other funding, for a total project cost of $114,332.60.
●A grant of $50,000.00 to Saline County Rural Water District No. 3 to replace the control valve structure at the base of the water tower. This will be matched with $121,500 in other funding, for a total project cost of $171,500.
●A grant of $50,000 to Saline County Rural Water District #6 to install an interconnection to District No. 3. This will be matched with $32,602 in other funding, for a total project cost of $82,602.
●A grant of $50,000 to the City of Gypsum to replace 740 linear feet of sanitary sewer main along Fifth Street between King Street and Gypsum Street. This will be matched with $81,600 in other funding, for a total project cost of $131,600.
●A grant of $50,000 to Saline County Rural Water District No. 8 to install 11,080 linear feet of additional distribution piping to address low pressure areas. This will be matched with $71,903 in other funding, for a total project cost of $121,903.
●A grant of $50,000 to Saline County Rural Water District No. 8 to install a new booster pump station. This will be matched with $95,588 in other funding, for a total project cost of $144,588.
●A grant of $50,000 to Sundowner, Inc. to do various cleaning and maintenance projects to address compliance with state standards. This will be matched with $40,000 in other funding, for a total project cost of $90,000.
●A grant of $50,000 to Ottawa County Rural Water District No. 2 to install an emergency bypass to serve Saline County customers. This will be matched with $105,945 in other funding, for a total project cost of $155,945.
●A grant of $28,300 to Saline County Rural Water District No. 1 to replace nonoperational valves. This will be matched with $3,150 in other funding, for a total project cost of $31,450.
●A grant of $40,010 to Saline County Rural Water District No. 2 to replace well houses and chlorine building and perform maintenance on well roads and water tower. This will be matched with $40,010 in other funding, for a total project cost of $80,020.
County staff acknowledged that the total of the above grant requests exceeds the $500,000 total allocated for the grants.
"The committee recommends funding as much of these 11 projects as possible, with the thought that some of the projects may not utilize full funding," according to information in the commission meeting packet.
Commissioners also are scheduled to consider making reappointments to rural fire district boards. Those reappointments are as follows.
Other items on the Saline County Commission agenda for Tuesday include the following.
●Consider two human resources items: Saline County vaccination and breakthrough emergency paid sick leave and consider a contract with Wichita State University for a salary/benefit survey.
●Consider a Road and Bridge Department request to award the bid for aggregate and aggregate hauling.
●Consider a local disaster emergency declaration
●Consider the commission meeting schedule for 2022
●Hear County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes' weekly update
To see the full Saline County Commission meeting packet (55-page pdf), click here.