Oolitic – During the Oolitic Town Council meeting Monday night, Councilman Jon Broglin announced a proposal for an engineering study for the Town of Oolitic.
This study would prioritize all utilities in the Town limits so that they are properly marked and adjusted in order to better maintain the infrastructure and avoid any potential issues.
“An in-depth detailed engineering report would give a five, ten, 15 and 20 year projection of growth on what ought to happen from a replacement or enhancement perspective,” said Broglin. “They would go through and do a detailed study, and would prioritize to us on what action would need to be taken to fix potential issues immediately.”
In order to get the report executed, the Council would partner with Commonwealth Engineers Incorporated for a full study on all utility lines and pipes for $65,000 that can be covered by the current ARP funds for the town.
“We can use the $142,000 ARP funds to pay for this report, and this would get us a complete engineering document that we must now have to submit for loans, we can’t just belly up and ask for a loan without this. I desperately believe the Town of Oolitic needs to get a full report done in order to have it for future reference,” Broglin continued.
This report would be necessary to apply for future grants or loans for the town with the current maps and reports being outdated.
“We found a manhole cover in the woods up about 30 yards from one we had marked, that we had no prior knowledge of. If we get this mapping and study done, we will have accurate records of the whole town,” Broglin said. “And if we applied to a USDA for a grant, and it gets approved, that grant would approve a refund or a credit for us for this engineering study. We could get most of, if not all, of the money back.”
The Council unanimously voted for the study to be performed at a future date.
