Fillmore council approves pavement plan, OCRA submittal

FILLMORE — The Fillmore Town Council moved forward on addressing road and stormwater needs at a special session Wednesday morning.

Respectively, the council approved updating the town’s pavement asset management plan (PAMP), as well as adopted a resolution to commit to a local match with a grant through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA).

The PAMP is a document submitted to the state that details conditions of roads. It provides an outline of work that could be done, in this case for potential projects in 2024 and 2025.

HWC Engineering is facilitating the update, which has to be submitted to the state by Dec. 1. The firm is also assisting the town on a separate Community Crossings grant for drainage work on North Main Street.

PAMPs have to be updated bi-annually, with Fillmore’s being last updated three years ago. Current PAMPs are required to be eligible for Community Crossings funding.

Meanwhile, the council authorized for the town to submit its application for a Community Development Block Grant through OCRA. The application is being administered by Kristy Jerrell.

“There are only four other projects going in for stormwater,” Monica Bray of Clerk Works said as to how the competition for funding stands.

OCRA awards grants based on a points system, with Bray saying Fillmore is standing “well beyond the threshold” at around 280 points out of a possible 300. The town is also applying as its master plan five-year viability is letting up.

The maximum funding OCRA awards is $600,000. With this, the town is expected to cover $196,255 in its local match. While $5,000 is paid for an environmental review, $99,000 will come from a low-interest loan through the State Revolving Fund.

After Bray and Jerrell pled the town’s case, the county also agreed to give $92,255 out of its American Rescue Plan Act money, as Fillmore’s stormwater is being considered a regional project.

Bray noted that everything needed in the application is due by Dec. 22, with award announcements being expected next February.

Town Attorney Jeff Boggess asked that the town’s PAMP contract with HWC should be vetted further before being signed. The cost for the update is about $10,000.

With Councilman Jerry Huff absent, Clerk-Treasurer Andi Schardt joined Boggess, Bray and the council for the meeting.