Water project gets funding

Of the seven municipalities on the list of projects not recommended for funding at the SLIB meeting this month in Cheyenne, Moorcroft was the only one that received money on a 50/50 grant for the first phase of three of the Powder River Water Project, which in turn is the final aspect of the total municipal infrastructure replacement.

“The only thing now is that we have to secure the funding,” reported Moorcroft Mayor Dick Claar. “Cheryl has to show them that we paid those water loans off and Monday night we’ll do the third reading on the two percent increase, we have to send that ordinance to them. Then they will re-examine the town’s total debt investment.”

The council has sent out bid requests for this season’s Powder River Sewer Project and hope to start on the water project later in the year.

The percentage covered will be 50/50 with $437,500 in grant and a SRF loan to match. Claar opined, “Why not start now? Heath [Turbiville of HDR Engineering] told me that if we get our paperwork all done, we can actually start this fall and he thought they could have most of it finished up except for the seeding before winter started.”