Rison Approves Loans for Water Lines

City Will Have About $3.3 Million To Replace Oldest Lines in System

  • WATER TANK RENOVATION NEARLY COMPLETED - Workers on a scaffold apply the final coat of paint to the Rison water tower at Veterans Park Tuesday while another crew at the top begins to mask off the tank for a mural scene that will be painted later this week. A member of the work crew said the project could be completed by the end of the week, weather permitting. Rison was awarded at $1.62 million grant in 2023 to refurbish both of its water tanks. The “tin man” water tank next to the courthouse was completed
    WATER TANK RENOVATION NEARLY COMPLETED - Workers on a scaffold apply the final coat of paint to the Rison water tower at Veterans Park Tuesday while another crew at the top begins to mask off the tank for a mural scene that will be painted later this week. A member of the work crew said the project could be completed by the end of the week, weather permitting. Rison was awarded at $1.62 million grant in 2023 to refurbish both of its water tanks. The “tin man” water tank next to the courthouse was completed
    RISON - The Rison City Council approved an ordinance securing two loans last week that will help the city salvage a $1.5 million grant to replace many of the oldest water lines in the city.Ordinance 2024-002 gave Mayor Charles Roberts permission to sign off on two loans: one a $450,595.50 loan and the other  a “forgivable” loan of more than $1.3 million. The mayor said both loans are coming through the Arkansas Natural Resources.Those two loans, combined with a $1.5 million grant awarded to the city in 2023, will give Rison a budget of about $3.3 million to make the improvements to the water lines.Rison was on the verge of possibly losing the $1.5 million grant due to the fact that there was not enough money in the grant to cover the cost of the “scope” of the project that was outlined in the grant application. The “scope” refers to how much work would be done with the grant amount awarded. Roberts explained that by the time the engineering work for the project had been completed and the job was put out for bid, prices had risen so much that the grant amount would no longer cover the scope of the project. The mayor said efforts to get a “reduction in scope” (reduce the size of the project to fit what grant money was available) were unsuccessful. As a result, the city would have to cover the unmet cost of the project or lose the grant entirely.After working through several avenues, Roberts said Arkansas Natural Resources developed a loan program for communities like Rison that were struggling to cover the higher cost for the grant projects.Of the two loans that were awarded to Rison, Roberts said the city only has to repay the $450,595.50 loan while the other loan for more than $1.3 million is forgivable and does not have to be repaid. Thanks to the increased revenue to the city’s water department as a result of Act 605, Roberts said the city will have enough money to repay the $450,...

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