RISON - The Rison City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday night giving Mayor Charles Roberts permission to pursue a $500,000 federal grant through Delta Regional Authority (DRA) to rebuild the city’s aging sewer lift stations as well as install new sewer lines.
Roberts told the council during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night that he had just learned about the grant earlier in the day, and did not have it on the agenda for the meeting. The council formally approved adding it.
Part of the urgency is that the grant application deadline is Aug. 24. Roberts told the council that he had already been in contact with the city’s engineer to begin putting the plans together for the application.
Should it be approved, the mayor said he would like to use the money to completely rebuild the city’s aging lift stations, which are essentially pumps that carry the city’s wastewater to the treatment plant located at the solid waste transfer station on Hwy. 79.
Based on early estimates, Roberts said he believes the $500,000 would be enough to cover rebuilding the lift stations and have enough left over to replace about 1,300 feet of sewer line. He mentioned there was a new method that replaces the existing lines by boring through those lines underground.
“If we’re lucky enough to get this, it will be much needed,” Roberts told the council.
Rison recently completed construction of a new wastewater treatment plant as well as installation of new water lines and refurbishing both of the city’s water tanks using more than $7 million in grant money. Utilities Director Gene Norton reported Tuesday night that both city water wells are now up and running, and the city’s overall water system is running smoothly.
LMI Study
Roberts said the DAR grant is one of the few available for the city since its low-to-moderate income (LMI) percentage fell below 50 percent with the 2020 census. He said Rison’s official LMI percentage listed with the federal government is at 47.9 p…