Altamont Council, Public Hear from Engineer Regarding Water Main Project

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Published on July 14 2020 10:10 am
Last Updated on July 14 2020 10:10 am
Written by Greg Sapp

A second public meeting regarding replacing the water mains throughout the city of Altamont Monday resulted in the same sentiments as the initial meeting.

Those sentiments are that the public is in favor of the project, and they favor doing the entire city at the same time, rather than doing a section of the city each year.

Some at the early meeting asked for a second opinion on the scope of the project, so Water Commissioner Todd Slingerland spoke with TWM Engineering of St. Louis and TWM representative Scott Simmons attended Monday's meeting. 

The projected cost of the project is $10 million, and Simmons said that's a good figure to start with. He said the engineering firm will be able to lay out where lines will be run and how the project will be completed. 

The next step is to talk with USDA Rural Development to see what funding help might be available. Once that information is secured, the City will know how to finance any balance.

Altamont City Clerk Sarah Stephen said her office has received calls from residents who are concerned that, due to the project being discussed, there are problems with the water in Altamont. Stephen said the water is fine now; the City just doesn't want a problem to develop. If things progress well, it will still be 1-1/2 to two years before ground is broken on the project.

In regular business Monday night, the Altamont Council awarded a bid to line 20 sanitary sewer manholes to Advanced Rehabilitation Technologies for $40,186.90, and authorized the purchase of a pickup truck for the street department at an amount not to exceed $15,000. The Council also presented the proposed appropriations ordinance for the new fiscal year. The measure totals $7,284,459. The ordinance will be voted on at the Council's July 27 meeting.