The City of Perry is in the very early stages of a proposed $18 million renovation of the Waste Water Treatment Plant, and they know education will be the key to keeping people on board with such an expensive project.
With that in mind, the City is planning the first of likely several open houses on the facility, which will be held Thursday, August 23rd, from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at La Poste. City Administratrator Sven Peterson says City staff and Bolton and Menk representatives will take people on a virtual journey of the facility and the changes that await it. “We’ll have some boards, (where) you can come in and see what the treatment plant looks like currently, and what the new improvements will look like. We may even have a video that you can watch that’s kind of a tour of the plant. (We’re) trying to get some of that information out there, trying to engage the community so that they understand what the project is and why it’s needed right now.”
Peterson adds, he’d like to hold an open house at the treatment plant itself, because he says some of the pictures don’t do justice to the needs the project will be addressing. In order to pay for the facility, the City will need to increase water rates for residents, which hasn’t been done in several years. The City Council is expected to vote on the issue at their first meeting in September, with the new rates taking effect in October. Peterson knows that increasing rates won’t be the most popular decision. However, he emphasizes that by raising the rates and renovating the facility now, the City will save a lot of money long term because the Department of Natural Resources would mandate updates to the plant before long.
To learn more about the Perry Waste Water Treatment Plant project, click the link below to listen to the Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Peterson and City Engineer Matt Ferrier from Bolton and Menk.