RISON - The City of Rison took its first step toward using more than $7 million in grant money to improve the city's water and wastewater systems when the city began advertising "request for qualifications" this week for a construction manager to oversee the projects.
Mayor Charles Roberts said the city decided to hire a construction manager rather than a contractor since it would give the city more flexibility with expenses and how the projects are carried out.
Roberts announced the $7 million in grant awards during the Jan. 3, 2023, Rison City Council meeting. The federal grants are being funded through the American Rescue Plan. The money will be used to make improvements to the city's wastewater plant, refurbish both city water towers, and replace many of the water lines within the residential area of the city.
Roberts noted during the January meeting that there are no matching funds nor any payback required for the funding. The American Rescue Plan was a program designed to help states and local governments cope with the impact of the COVID pandemic.
Joe Freyer, the city's utilities director, helped in the application process for the $7.02 mil-lion in grants that were awarded. Here is the breakdown of those grants:
$3.9 million wastewater grant - During the January announcement, Roberts said he and Freyer met with an engineer from Hawkins-Weir Engineers, Inc. of Little Rock to develop a plan to improve the wastewater treatment facility on Hwy. 79. Those improvements range from new equipment to using different disinfectants during the treatment process.
$1.62 million water tank grant - Freyer said this money will be used to completely refurbish both city water towers, (continued from page 1) which includes new paint, lights and monitoring equipment. Both of the city water tanks - the "tin man" water tower next to the courthouse and the main water tank at Veterans Park - will be equipped with ...
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