City of Peru City Council met June 8.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
Rebuild Illinois Public Infrastructure (RIPI) Program Summary of Public Hearing
INTRODUCTION
Dave Bartley, City of Peru Clerk, called the public hearing to order at 6:30 p.m. Austin Taylor from North Central Illinois Council of Governments (NCICG) introduced himself. Mr. Taylor stated the purpose of the meeting was to obtain citizen views concerning the City's plans to submit a grant application to the Rebuild Illinois Public Infrastructure Program (RIPI). Mr. Taylor explained that the City intends to submit a $4,704,021.88 RIPI grant application to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). The application will be for funds to construct the North Area Trunk Sewer. The grant funds requested are for construction and construction engineering costs.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Eric Carls, the City of Peru Engineer, provided a detailed description of the proposed project. The North Area Trunk Sewer will provide a critical utility upgrade to the sanitary demands that businesses rely on for production. The current sanitary system relies on a single pump station to move waste south, under Interstate 80 to the City’s treatment plant. The reliability of the pump station set-up is not providing the reliability necessary for businesses to operate without interruptions.
The proposed gravity fed sanitary project will alleviate business interruptions and allow a great capacity for businesses to locate and or expand to Peru.
The total project cost for the RIPI project is estimated to be $4,704,021.88. The City will be requesting $4,704,021.88 in grant funds. In addition to construction and engineering fees (which will be covered by the grant funds); grant administration will cost $45,000. The City will fund administration costs through its Utility Fund.
No City residents will be displaced as a result of this project. The City has on file an anti- displacement and relocation assistance plan.
Those in attendance at the public hearing were offered the opportunity to ask questions or make comments. The public was offered an opportunity to provide any additional capital project suggestions they felt the City needs to be aware of or add to their list.
Questions or comments:
Tom Payton asked how quickly the City can anticipate hearing back on the results of the
scoring?Answer: It is unknown how quickly. DCEO is extremely busy right now managing a number of new and existing programs. We are hopeful that the City will receive notice between 60-90 days.
Jim Lukosus asked if costs can be reimbursed if the City begins the project early?
Answer: No, grant funds cannot be used for work already completed and the project cannot begin until a grant agreement is fully executed.
Aaron Buffo asked if DCEO will partially fund a grant request.
Answer: Unknown, but probably not likely due to the fact of the uncertainty of where the commitment of additional funds will come from or if they can be secured at all from the local community.
Tom Payton asked to confirm that this grant request will cover 100% of the project’s costs. Answer: Yes, except for the administration cost of $45,000.
PROGRAM DETAILS
There is a total of $25,000,000 available for distribution in the 2020 RIPI public infrastructure funding round. The maximum amount available per community application is $5,000,000 and minimum request amount is $250,000. Public Infrastructure grant deadline is June 30, 2020 by 5:00pm.
PROJECT STATUS
Mr. Taylor and Mr. Carls provided an update as to the application status. The City is in a good position from the previous Fast Track submittal from May 29th. We will be gathering additional documentation on the City’s recent efforts to improve the Peoria St corridor as well as the status of finalizing necessary private easements.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS
The next item of discussion at the meeting was capital improvement needs and plans. The City maintains a prioritized list of capital improvement needs that is updated from year to year. The following is their most recent list of projects (including this project):
https://www.peru.il.us/city-government/minutes/regular-council-meeting/2020-rm/june-2020-cm/4956-ripi-pub-hearing-minutes-06-08-20/file
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