City Has Funding Options For Treatment Plant

The city of Bourbon has funding options available that can aid their $1 million wastewater treatment plant fixes.

Bourbon council members were told Tuesday by Gary Davis of Bartlett & West that there are two big sources of funds that the city should go after.

Davis advised the council to seek out funds through the Missouri Department of Transportation’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) and the state’s American Rescue Plan funds.

He explained the SRF is a combination of grant money and a loan. 

“There is five years of expanded funding, but you have to borrow money to get (the grant),” said Davis, who added that the city would need to issue bonds.

“We could get a $1 million bond issue on the Aug. 2 ballot,” he said.

He said the city shouldn’t pursue the SRF if it doesn’t believe that it can get voters to pass the bond. 

“You know your voters,” Davis said.

More ARPA funds are set to be released in June, Davis said, which would be a combination of cash and grant money.

“Having more cash available makes you higher on the priority list,” he said, adding that it could also come down to needs, the income of the population and an engineering report.

The city should pursue both options, Davis recommended.

“We’re telling our clients to do both,” he said. 

Davis told the board that the city “checks a lot of boxes” to get some sort of funding, whether it’s through SRF or ARPA.

With the money, the city would not only install the UV disinfection system at the treatment plant, but also address inflow and infiltration (I&I) and headworks.

“We can address the highest priorities,” he said.

Davis told the board that smoke studies have revealed where the biggest I&I problems are located. While the city has problems, he said it’s not any worse than the average municipality.