Councilman Tyler Steele reported at the Grant City Council Meeting Wednesday that he had done some calculating on the wastewater project, and asked where the money was going to come from to pay for the $3 million wastewater project so the city can come into compliance with DNR regulations. Currently, the price tag for the project is $3 million, of which Grant City would pay $2.2 million. The city is already making payments on the 11 mile water line that they replaced several years ago; they still have 28 years on that project. Steele estimated that the price tag involved the city making $73,000 a year in payments, when the city currently brings in $100,000 a year in sewer revenues. “You don’t have the money,” he said.
Steele suggested a temporary wastewater solution for about 10 years until the city has raised their water and sewer rates to where they need to be. Currently, Grant City has one of the lowest water rates in the area at $23.50 a month for the first 2,000 gallons and $6.50 for each additional 1,000 gallons. The sewer is set at 65% of water rates. By contrast, Sheridan charges over $40 minimum for its water. Possible rate increases will be on the agenda for the April meeting.
One possible solution is to take $50,000 out of their water reserve fund, which currently has $207,000, and pay down the principal on its current water obligation, which would save a lot of interest down the road. Meanwhile, the city could raise water and sewer rates annually until it was where it needed to be. The disadvantage, as Mayor Debbie Roach said at the meeting, was that the price tag for the wastewater project could balloon from $3 million to $5-10 million if the city waited.
In other action, policies were discussed, including handling customer complaints, Facebook posts, and operations.
Concrete costs for the basketball court went up, so the city will rebid it. The basketball goals have been ordered; the volleyball net has arrived.
The council appointed Steele to sign DNR paperwork for the bond issue.
The siren was down for two weeks, and the city called someone in to work on it. Subsequently, the sired was restored and is working again.
The council appointed Meggan Brown to the Extension Council board.
The city discussed possible options for its website and got several quotes. The city is in the process of going through its records downstairs.
Public Works Director Carl Staton reported that the city is getting ready for summer. The city did sludge work at the lagoon, investigated complaints about sewer drainage, flushed some manholes, and repaired 20 feet of pipe at North Pleasant and Elm when tile fell in.
The city is in the process of mapping its water and gas lines. The water tower was recently inspected, and the city will get a report. The bottom two rings of the tower were not in good shape. Metering needs for the water system were discussed.
The council approved two building permits.
The roof leaked recently on the south side of the dome at city hall.
The city will hire lifeguards for the pool season during its April meeting.
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