Fillmore awarded OCRA grant toward stormwater

FILLMORE — Included in more than $8 million in grants recently awarded by the state, Fillmore is to get a significant cut toward stormwater improvements.

Based on a utility study plan developed in 2019, the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) awarded $600,000 toward addressing drainage south from Old Right of Way Road to Fourth Street.

The Community Development Block Grant is meant to address infrastructure, economic development, public facilities and revitalization.

Specifically, as was relayed to the Fillmore Town Council in December, the construction will entail a new trunk sewer along Main Street. Inlets and low spots susceptible to ponding will also be repaired, with water otherwise to be discharged to a stream along agricultural land.

The project’s cost has been estimated at $796,255. With the grant at its maximum, a local match from the town is set at $196,255. While $5,000 has already been paid for an environmental review, $99,000 from a low-interest flood control loan through the State Revolving Fund is also being accounted for.

After grant administrator Kristy Jerrell and Clerk Works’ Monica Bray advocated for the town, the Putnam County Commissioners also agreed to give $92,255 out of their American Rescue Plan Act allotment. This comes as the work has been considered a regional project.

Fillmore was one of two municipalities to receive funding through OCRA’s Stormwater Improvement Program, the other being Selma in Delaware County.