Mountainburg pursuing funds for water project

MOUNTAINBURG — The city is moving forward to get the rest of the money it needs to bring potable water service to about 625 households in north-central Crawford County.

Mayor Susan Wilson told residents the city would pursue state and federal money to finance the remainder of its proposed water infrastructure project at a public meeting Friday. Wilson said afterward this would include loans and grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as state American Rescue Plan and Department of Health money.

“Anybody that has money to give, that’s who we’re going to talk to,” Wilson said.

Wilson said the city will know whether or not it will have the money for the project by October.

This comes after Crawford County’s Quorum Court approved spending $2.5 million from the county’s American Rescue Plan fund for the project March 21.

Wilson wrote in Mountainburg’s request for American Rescue Plan money from the county that Hawkins-Weir Engineers estimated the project would cost $12.4 million. She said Monday the city plans to take out a loan, tentatively set at about $1.8 million right now, when the project is complete to cover final expenses.

Wilson has said households in the affected area — between Mountainburg and Cedarville — from the Washington County line south to Rudy, aren’t served by any water system. Residents have had to either rely on wells for water or haul it in from elsewhere, such as the Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment Plant. Mountainburg buys water from Fort Smith.

Wilson has said the water infrastructure project was developed by a committee of people who own property in the affected area and the Van Buren- based firm Hawkins-Weir Engineers. It would add 66 miles of pipe from the city’s water distribution system to households in the affected area.

Wilson said Friday the project, which was initially planned to span two phases, would instead be done in one provided the city can procure the necessary financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state. Residents will be turned on to the water system as the project goes along, which is expected to be completed in no more than two-and-a-half to three years.

Mountainburg has also received 342 of its required 400 signed water-user agreements and matching $ 100 deposits from property owners in the affected area as of Friday, according to Wilson. Wilson set this requirement shows funding agencies the project would be sustainable if they approved financing for it. The $ 100 deposits, which are included in the project’s total cost, will serve as the participants’ “buy-in” for construction if it’s funded.

Wilson said the city will get a detailed map “over the next few months” of the people who have and haven’t signed up. The latter will get another letter from the city about how the project has advanced and they need to sign an agreement if they want to take advantage of the $100 arrangement.

“They don’t have to sign the user’s agreement to be part of this project,” Wilson said. “I’m expecting a $2,500 tap fee if they don’t sign the user’s agreement.”

Wilson told residents the city would send letters to those who have already signed up telling them to attend the next public meeting on the project, Aug. 1, if they require grant money for upgrades to their home or septic system to get water from the proposed project.

Marvin Duren, a Crawford County resident who lives on Old 88 Road, said Friday although the status of the project is a “good start,” the city still has a long way to go.

Debbie Atwell, superintendent for the Mountainburg School District, wrote a letter to Wilson dated March 21 supporting Mountainburg’s efforts to get public water to those in the affected area. She argued the water project will not only benefit those directly affected by the lack of access to water, but will have a positive impact on health and safety, property value and growth in the community.

Wilson said Mountainburg plans to put frequently asked questions about the project on its website by the end of the month, along with a downloadable copy of the water- user agreement and maps for the project.