By Todd Bennington
The South Bend City Council voted unanimously at their Feb. 27 meeting to table for the time being the Fliess Creek Source Redevelopment Project due to a lack of available grant funding. Mayor Julie Struck put the anticipated overall cost for the project, which is intended ensure water is available for local sea food processors, at $2.3 million.
The council's decision came at the recommendation of Struck, who explained that the city had come in third below the funding cutoff for a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund grant and that the only funding immediately available for the project would be in the form of a loan.
Struck said local industry representatives had advised against the city entering into a loan arrangement solely for their sake.
"We have had discussion with all of the sea food processors that use the majority of the water and they all said don't do it for us. If you need the water for something else that's fine, but don't go out on a limb and take out a big loan for us," Struck explained.
The planned multi-million-dollar project would involve installing water pumps, piping, and a power source in order to transport water from Fliess Creek to a water treatment facility, Struck stated.
Some preconstruction work on the project in terms of environmental analysis, engineering reports, and survey work has already been completed to the tune of about $56,000. Struck said the money had come mostly out of the city's budget for last year. She indicated it's her understanding that at least a portion of the preconstruction work on which money has already been spent has a five-year lifespan with the possibility of extension beyond the five years.
The DWSRF grant could be applied for again in the future or an alternative source of grant funding could be sought, she added.
"My recommendation is that we do not proceed with this project at this time just because I don't think it's necessary," Struck told the council. "Number one, I don't think we need that much water right now. The crew has done a great job of cleaning out the dams that we have and enlarging capacity for holding capacity. ... We have more capacity now than we did last year because they've cleaned out the dams. I don't know that we need to do it right now, and I don't know that we want to go into debt for it. And I don't certainly advocate raising rates. That's absolutely last on my agenda."
"A lot depends on what happens with the canneries in the summer months," Struck continued. "A lot of times that's their peak production and they use tons and tons of water. If all three of them are going strong at the same time, we could run into trouble in a dry summer, but at this point all three of them said don't do it for us."
Other items of discussion and action addressed by the South Bend City Council on Feb. 27 include the following:
• Due to one or two extremely large loads of concrete and other heavy debris having been received during last year's Spring Cleanup event, the council debated placing some limitations on the amount of refuse participants could bring to the landfill. Ultimately, the council decided against making any changes to the current program.
· Police Chief David Eastham reported that he has been approached by persons without a legal right of U.S. residence who are concerned about finding caregivers for their children should they be detained under expected changes in federal immigration enforcement. Eastham said he has tried to allay their concerns. He said he is worried about such persons panicking out of a fear of deportation, and the situation escalating, should they happen to come into contact with law enforcement.
· Mayor Struck reported she had attended the City Action Days event in Olympia last month, which is sponsored by the Association of Washington Cities, where she met and spoke with legislators.
"It's pretty gloomy as far as the fiscal outlook," Struck reported. "Everything's going to schools, of course, for the McCleary Decision. ... I was told by one legislator that any capital budget requests that came through at this point [are] going to be put [off] till next year. They're not even going to look at them this year, because they just don't have the funding."
Struck further opined that it is too early to worry about bills potentially affecting municipalities because it is still quite early in the legislative process.