City Council bailed off into the watery depths of infrastructure improvements and construction Monday night at its regular meeting. Most of the information with numbers attached was handled under the Watonga Public Works Authority meeting, which immediately follows the city council meeting.
Council had authorized the WPA to enter into a loan agreement to finance the build and modifications, because by statute it is not able to enter into a more than one-year agreement.
There was some confusion about the projects, because there is one currently in the end stages of planning – a dewatering system at the wastewater treatment plant south of town. That project, which will see a semi-trailer sized box filled with huge filters to trap and dry sediment added to the current plant, was approved in specifications and sent out for bids. That project is being funded largely through a Rural Economic Action Plan – or REAP – grant. The costs are expected to be around $100,000, and the timeline for that project is to open bids on or around April 12 and begin construction April 17. The work should be completed by the end of May. The rapid build and the relatively inexpensive costs are due in large part to having the city employees take on everything they are capable of and licensed to address. The additional capacity for the wastewater treatment plant would accommodate enough water that if the empty Diamondback Correctional Facility was completely filled there would be no strain on the system.
The second set of plans is still on the drawing board.
The drinking water purification system includes moving and/or replacing a couple of city wells. The current well location could hamper later airport expansion. It will also remove nitrates from the water keeping it within federal and state guidelines. This is necessary under a consent order from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, which basically gives the city consent to continue providing water to its residents as long as it is working toward a permanent solution. Cole Cole Niblett from Garver Engineering noted that the Biden administration had released new guidelines for removal of so-called forever chemicals from drinking water that morning, and new construction would be required to follow those guidelines as well. Plans with specifications must be submitted to ODEQ by the end of 2024 and the construction must be completed by July 2025. The schedule is set to meet the consent order deadlines.
The WPA will borrow some $14 million to pay for the build and further updates to the sewage treatment plant. The repayment schedule and costs are still in flux. First, the application to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has to be updated. That organizations’ financial assistance program will review the application at its next meeting.
It will then make the bonds available for purchase. At that point the interest rate the city will be subject to will be set. The loan cannot be repaid inside the first 10 years so that the investors who buy the bonds are guaranteed that return on their money for at least a decade.
When some members of the community in the audience expressed dismay at the cost of the projects, mayor Bill Seitter responded, “It is only going to get more costly to borrow money and the federal regulations are only going to increase, pushing our costs higher.”
The early-days estimate of repayment for the city is pegged around $816,000 annually. Some of that cost will be covered by the recently approved one cent sales tax, but there will be price increases in water and sewer services to the residents as well. Money from the loan should be available to the city by late May or early June.
If in the meantime, the city is able to garner any grants to assist with the cost of the improvements the money borrowed for the drinking water purification and the wastewater treatment systems can be rolled over to other appropriate water or sewer projects in the city that meet the loan application guidelines.