BARKER
Grant to help replace water lines
Published: July 10, 2009, 12:30 am
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BARKER — The village is scheduled to receive $743,491 in grant money to help replace its antiquated water lines, village officials have learned.
Officials with the state Community Development Block Grant Program contacted village officials last week with the long-awaited news, but village leaders hope to receive confirmation in writing before Monday’s 7 p. m. board meeting in Village Hall.
The program, bolstered by federal economic stimulus package funds, awarded the money to Barker based on an application filed last year which did not make the cut for approvals at the time, Village Clerk Kathie K. Smith said.
“We’ve been trying to get money for this for the 22 years I’ve worked here, so we’re really excited about this,“ Smith said.
Mayor Jo Ann Greenwald said the Village Board was “very glad and relieved.”
“This is an issue that has needed to be resolved for a long time,” Greenwald said. “We are so elated to have the opportunity to do the job right.
“We have four-inch water lines, some hydrants that don’t work, some lead connections,” Smith said. Some existing lines date back a century, she said.
“The economic stimulus money is supposed to be used for projects to create jobs and buy American products, and this money would trigger construction work in our area.”
Work probably won’t begin until at least next summer, Greenwald and Smith said, following the finalization of paperwork.
The grant would help finance a project estimated to cost $1.8 million. The village also is applying to the U. S. Department of Agriculture to help finance the remainder of the project.
“With the state grant and a 38- year, low-interest loan from the USDA, it looks like we could replace all of our water lines in the village with a very small cost to the village residents,” Smith said.
“We don’t know the figures yet. This is all in the works, but we’re 90 percent sure this will happen.”
Smith said the village’s engineers, Chatfield Engineers, and grant writers Stuart I. Brown Associates Inc., both of Rochester, are working on the USDA application.
She added that the office of U. S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, also “has been very helpful.”
The state grant is part of an $11 million package granted for infrastructure projects across New York State.
Barker is the only municipality to receive grant money in Niagara and Erie counties in this particular round of approvals.
niagaranews@buffnews.com
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