$162,750 proposal for overseeing water system improvements sent to committee by EM Village Board
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound Village Board has sent the CBS Squared proposal for professional services at a cost of $162,750 for the $2.5 million water system improvement project to the public works committee for discussion and a recommendation.
Two weeks ago, the Elk Mound Village Board approved a resolution to start an application for the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program grant, and the application is due June 30, said Bernard Lenz of CBS Squared at the Elk Mound Village Board’s February 6 meeting.
The application for the grant to improve Elk Mound’s water system requires a full design, plans, specifications and estimates, and the application must be 60 percent complete and submitted to the state Department of Natural Resources for review by May 8, Lenz said.
Upgrades to the water system in Elk Mound to provide adequate fire fighting capacity and to maintain water quality for the school buildings and the new Settlers Ridge development would cost an estimated $2.1 million.
Sheryl Claflin and Jon Strand of CBS Squared presented information at a village board meeting in February of 2022 regarding studies that would help the village apply for the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, the Clean Water Fund, United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development funds, and in addition, a water report, a wastewater facility plan and a USDA environmental report.
The recommendation resulting from the water system study is that a new reservoir be installed east of the school district buildings in Elk Mound, a loop be installed for the school district buildings and that an “east loop” be installed for the Settlers Ridge residential development.
Installing a reservoir above the school would cost an estimated $1 million. The school loop would cost an estimated $415,000, and the east loop would cost an estimated $685,000.
Based on 2022 bids, the total cost for the project would be $2.1 million. By the time the village is able to take on the project, the cost will likely be more than $2.1 million.
$162,750
CBS Squared’s proposal for the grant paperwork, the design, the grant application, the bidding process and securing a contract for the water system improvements would cost $162,750, Lenz said.
A permit from the railroad and from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin would be needed, which are both six-month approval processes, and the permits would be required before the bid date in January of next year, he said.
Mark Levra, director of public works, said he assumed the amount would be invoiced to the village over the course of the summer.
“We bill as we go,” Lenz said.
On the first warm day, the survey crew would want to start by surveying University Street and U.S. Highway 12, and then the design process would start right away, he said.
Before the loop and the reservoir could be designed, the actual site would need to be known, Lenz said.
The grant application “takes a while to do,” so CBS Squared would like to get going on it, he said.
If Elk Mound misses this grant cycle, the village can apply next year. If the village applies for a grant next year, but the work starts before the grant has been awarded, then Elk Mound would pay the cost up front and then ask for reimbursement, Lenz said.
Borrowing capacity
Cynthia Abraham, village trustee, asked about the village’s remaining borrowing capacity, although she said she knew it was not $2.5 million.
State law allows municipalities to borrow up to 5 percent of the municipality’s equalized value.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Elk Mound experienced $1,548,600 in net new construction for 2021 and had an equalized value of $43,631,100 for 2021.
The equalized value of $43.6 million would give Elk Mound a total borrowing capacity of $2.2 million.
Some of the village’s borrowing capacity is already tied up in incentives for the developers of Settlers Ridge.
The Elk Mound Village Board approved the sale of a $400,000 general obligation promissory note and the sale of an $895,000 tax increment revenue bond anticipation note in December of 2021 to pay incentives for the Settlers Ridge development.
The $400,000 general obligation promissory note approved in December of 2021 paid the first installment of the incentives to Jim Rooney and the Settlers Ridge developers.
The other purpose of the $895,000, after paying off the $400,000 promissory note, is to pay future incentive payments that are part of the TID-2 development agreement.
Two eight-plex apartment units and one 12-plex apartment unit are part of Phase I in the Settlers Ridge development.
The 28 apartments are the first of up to 84 units that have been proposed for Phase I.
Settlers Ridge LLC owns 117 acres all together in Elk Mound and has similar developments in Menomonie, Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls.
In 2000, Elk Mound’s population was 784. In 2010, the village’s population was 878. In 2020, Elk Mound’s population was 897.
When 1,440 new residents are added to the village in the completed Settlers Ridge Development, by 2037, Elk Mound is predicted to have a population of 2,337.
Water bills
An e-mail message from the PSC stated that the village would have to let people know their water user bill will go from $35 to $98 for the $2.5 million project, based on residential usage of 3,000 gallons per month, Levra said.
The PSCs projection presumably was based on the village borrowing $2.5 million for the project, although Levra said it was not clear from the e-mail message how the PSC had calculated the projected increase.
The Elk Mound Village Board agreed to send the CBS Squared proposal for professional services related to the $2.5 million water system improvement to the public works committee for discussion and a recommendation.
Village Trustee Terry Stamm, who is the retired director of public works in Elk Mound, is chair of the public works committee. Village Trustees Jesse Jenson and Tim Benjamin also serve on the public works committee.
