Russellville council conducts hearing on water tower

RUSSELLVILLE -- With holding a public hearing a week ago, the Town of Russellville is one step closer in a long process to replace its worn-out water tower.

Amy Miller of Cornerstone Grant Management gave an overview for a $700,000 grant the town is seeking through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). The total project is projected to cost $1.32 million, meaning the town would have to cover the remaining $620,000.

Miller stipulated that replacing the water tower was related more to storage rather than the water quality. She added as such that there would not be an increase in the capacity.

Providing that the town “won’t do it unless you can afford it,” representatives from Beam, Longest & Neff added that the town is also seeking additional grant dollars besides going through the State Revolving Fund (SRF).

Saying that she thought Russellville “had a good shot,” Miller emphasized especially the importance of residents and local businesses sending letters of support for the project. In these, she said they could talk about how a large water rate increase would be a hardship, and as such why the town needs the fund.

The proposal for the Russellville project will be due on Sept. 24, while the final application date will be Nov. 20. Miller said the preliminary engineering report (PER), an environmental review, site control, SRF financing and securing the land have to be taken care of by this point.

Another public hearing was suggested for the council’s November regular meeting.

In other business:

• The council adopted the town’s budget for 2021 with Ordinance 2020-5.

The next regular meeting of the Russellville Town Council is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Russellville Community Center.