Special to the Times
LAKE BUTLER — The City of Lake Butler has applied for state assistance, in the form of grants and loans, to upgrade a century-old wastewater system, as well as many other issues.
With Dale Walker’s management of the city operations, plans to bring Lake Butler’s existing infrastructure up to 21st century standards are showing progress. Establishing a foundation for development will require state assistance programs to help fund the planned improvements. Establishing the foundation for development to modern and future standards and needs will require these programs to be funded. These assistance programs offer funding in the form of both grants and low interest loans. The City of Lake Butler has received funding for upgrading the city’s aging wastewater collection and pumping systems.
On Jan. 8, 2021 the city commission approved entering a funding agreement for the planning phase of the project. The overall budget projected was $330,000, of which $165,000 (50%) was in the form of a grant, with the remaining amount in the form of a 20 year loan at a combined finance rate of 0.62%.
The planning phase paid for the cost of a contractor to perform an SSES covering the city’s “main,” or core collection system with gravity flows into the existing master pump station and subsequent engineering facilities plan. As a result of the SSES and the preparation of the facilities plan it was determined that the cost of rehabilitating all 64,000 linear feet within the gravity collection system would be nearly $20 million and far exceed the size of the single funding application that would maximize the grant funding component.
The decision was made to accomplish this work over the course of several subsequent projects. The initial engineering work will include a topographical map of the entire 64,000 liner feet of existing sewers and the design of two projects that would have a combined project cost of approximately $10 million. By conducting the project in this manner the city will be in a position to request funding for one of the projects while having one in a “shovel ready” status for when a funding opportunity becomes available.
The city has now received funding for the design phase, with an overall budget of $1,213,000 million, of which $970,000 (80%) is in the form of a grant. The remaining amount will be obtained with a 20 year loan at 0% interest.
The design phase will include a request for inclusion of the design portion of the project upon completion and approval of the planning phase documents by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The engineer will prepare periodic disbursement requests and close-out documents. The engineer will also design a program for repair/replacement of the wastewater collection system.
Based on recommendations of the approved facilities plan, two separate contract documents will be prepared, enabling the city to have two projects with a budget of about $5 million each.
As these projects progress there will be permits required and surveys performed to comply with current standards. Walker and the members of the city commission are working towards preparing for future growth and development by planning for the future now.
