Published: March 02, 2009 07:50 pm      

City to seek grant for water system improvements

The Palestine City Council has given City Manager Dale Brown the go-ahead to apply for a federal grant that would provide 75-25 percent matching funds for needed water system improvements around the South Loop area.

During a brief special meeting Monday, Brown explained to council members that the grant funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, making Monday’s specially called meeting necessary to get the initial application in as soon as possible.

City officials met Wednesday with a representative from the U.S. Department of Commerce and Economic Development, Brown said, and came away encouraged that the city may qualify for disaster funds to use for a one-million gallon elevated water storage tank and 12-inch water line to be installed in the South Sycamore Street and South Loop 256 area.

Letters of support are being collected from local businesses by Mayor Carolyn Salter, Palestine Economic Development Corp. executive director Brian Malone and Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce director and city council member Kathi Masonheimer to accompany the application.

Although the grants usually top out between $1 million and $1.5 million, the city plans to apply for somewhere between $3 million and $4 million in grant funds, Brown said, to cover as much of the estimated $6.47 million overall cost as possible.

City officials have broken the needs down into five projects, divided by need.

The most pressing are $860,000 in pump station improvements, $3.08 for the one-million gallon elevated storage tank and $500,000 for a 16-inch distribution line between the pump station and Loop 256 and a 12-inch supply line from Range Road to S. Sycamore Street.

Two other projects are needed by 2016 — a 12-inch distribution line to run from the elevated storage tank to Sycamore, then north to the Loop, expected to cost $480,000, and a 16-inch supply line from the pump station to S. Sycamore, then north to Burkitt Street and east to Hood Street, expected to cost $1.52 million.

Growth along South Loop 256 over the past 10 years has gradually led to diminished water pressure or fire flow to fight fires in certain scenarios. A study done by The Brannon Corp. of Tyler recommended that the city build a booster pump station, which led to the construction of the South Pressure Plane pump station off of S. Sycamore Street in 2006.

However, fire flows did not improve sufficiently and last year the city hired Freese and Nichols to determine why, leading to the determination that the pump station’s pumps were inadequate and that a one-million gallon elevated storage tower, larger transmission line and additional distribution lines were needed to provide proper flow.

Brown said Monday that the city should know in about a month whether the initial application is successful. If it is, the city will be asked to submit a longer, more detailed application, he said.

If the city is successful in attaining grant funding, but at a lesser amount than requested, the city will go ahead with the most pressing needs, Brown said.

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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com