A long overdue project affecting Jasper water customers could see a $1.4 million boost from the U.S. Economic Development Agency.
Monday, the Jasper Utility Service Board recommended providing the required $1.38 million match as part of the grant application process for the estimated $3.76 million water main replacement project under U.S. 231 (Newton Street).
The 1930s era water main is long overdue for replacement. Jasper utilities had been planning the replacement but were waiting to completed the work in conjunction with the potential repaving of the Indiana Department of Transportation controlled road. However, INDOT has failed to give the city a date for any plans to repair the road.
With the potential grant from the EDA materializing recently though, INDOT has agreed to put the road repair on its docket.
To procure the grant, the city had to show that its per capita income was below 80 percent of the national median. In previous income studies, the city was at 81 percent.
To bring the per capita income level below the threshold required for the grant, Lisa Gehlhausen with Region 15 explained they were able to use data from the surrounding eight counties since Jasper is considered a employment center for the region.
Gehlhausen will complete the grant application this week to meet the 2016 grant deadline. The city will find out next month if they are awarded the grant.
If awarded, the city could begin work in 2017 with completion in 2018. The state would then plan to repave the road in the summer of 2019.
The water main under U.S. 231 will be upgraded from an 8-inch line to a 12-inch line while ancillary lines will be upgraded to 8-inch lines which is expected to repair water pressure issues some residents have experienced in certain sections of the city.
Also at the meeting:
-Heard the Gas Department has completed Phase I and II of Wernsing Road gas extension.
-Gas & Water Manager Tim Doersam told the board the water department had hired Ashley Seaton as the new unlicensed filter operator. He said she was the first female employee working for the department and is currently undergoing filter operator training.
-Heard the water department Risk Management Program needs to be revamped according to the EPA. It has been in place since the 90s.
The board approved a contract with Municipal H2O for $350 a month to have a program created and training to be completed contingent upon legal review. Utilities manager Bud Hauersperger told the board he would like to pay the retainer for at least a year and then reassess.
The board pointed out this is not a water quality issue but is a safety procedure for storing chlorine, a chemical used in the water treatment process.
-Gave Hauersperger approval to hire legal counsel to review Indiana Municipal Power Agency’s request for the city to sign a letter of intent to have IMPA supply the city renewable energy. He said the process was needed due to a request by IMPA that occurred after a lawsuit in Colorado was decided in favor of a renewable energy supplier that forced a municipality to purchase energy from them under a federal law. The federal law is from 1978 and is called the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies that requires utilities to buy power from renewable energy producers that exist in their service area. The City of Jasper has a contract with IMPA for them to supply 100 percent of the power for the city. Bud asked that an outside counsel review IMPA’s request, the contract the city has with IMPA and the Colorado case. According to City Attorney Renee Kabrick, the letter from IMPA basically gives IMPA the ability to represent the city and other members when it purchases renewable energy. The amount approved is not to exceed $10,000.
-Recommended the creation of a fund to cover the deductible on the three underground petroleum tanks the waste water department has. $15,000 will be put in the fund in the case of an insurance claim. The common council will consider the ordinance creating the fund at Wednesday’s meeting.
-Heard the utility service board, waste water department and Hauersperger had been named in a tort notice regarding a potential lawsuit involving the Dubois County Humane Society regarding a waste water line. Kabrick informed the board the matter has been turned over to the city’s insurance carrier.
