$300K needed for second phase of rural water project
Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2008
Washington County officials hope to obtain about $300,000 in initial funding to move ahead on design work and easement procurement for the second phase of the southeast water project.
The second phase would extend water service to about 300 customers, and that number could rise to 450 based on preliminary surveys.
Members of the Washington County Rural Development Authority Board discussed funding for the second phase during a meeting Wednesday.
It could be 2010, or longer, before the county receives the $12.5 million from federal and state agencies to actually complete the second phase of the southeast water project, said Washington County Grants Administrator Wayne Blankenship. He said most of the funding for the second phase would be in the form of grants.
The $300,000, which would come from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, would simply lay the groundwork by obtaining easements and funding design work for the second phase. The idea is for it to be a deferred loan, with the stipulation that if the project is not funded in 10 years, then the initial money becomes a grant. If the second phase is funded in 10 years, it would be part of the total grantloan package for the project, Blankenship said in an interview after the rural development board meeting.
Obtaining the money now, officials say, would save time and money if the funding for completion of the second phase is approved. This would allow officials to go to bid as soon as funding is procured.
Tim Mays, engineer and secretary/treasurer for Engineering Services Inc. of Springdale, is working with county officials to try to obtain that funding. He is the project engineer for the second phase.
It comes down to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture gathering the funds needed for the $12.5 million second phase, Blankenship said.
Philip B. Moore, policy and projects director for U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, talked about the funding for the second phase.
He said the stimulus package to be discussed by Congress in its lame-duck session probably would not earmark amounts for rural development projects. It is more likely to allocate money for different projects to the states to stimulate the economy, such as highway improvements.
It is more likely to allocate money for different projects to the states to stimulate the economy, such as highway improvements, Moore explained.
“There’s no guarantee that there will even be a stimulus package,” Moore said in an interview after the authority board meeting.
He told board members that the congressman’s office will do “everything we can to keep rural development funding for the state of Arkansas as high as possible.”
He said some states do not use all of the rural development funding they receive from the federal government and Arkansas legislators try to receive that leftover funding. He said Boozman tries to maintain contacts with USDA.
The first phase of the southeast water project is complete. Its total cost, including construction and engineering, was about $9 million. This includes funding for Devil’s Den State Park improvements funded by the state park system. Most of the project is funded by state and federal grants and loans. It will provide about 300 residents with available water, plus park residents and visitors.
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