A major step was recently taken to continue to push forward on a multi-million dollar project in the city of Jefferson.

The City Council approved at their regular meeting in October the plans and specifications, form of contract and cost estimate for the wastewater treatment plant improvement project. City Administrator Mike Palmer says the $16.3 million project will take the existing facility and make upgrades to adhere to the new discharge requirements from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Palmer reminds residents that this project is mostly funded through user fees and not property taxes.

“But it means somebody is paying that. All the fee increases have been put in place for the next five years. The funding is getting all lined up for it. We do have one really more of a construction loan through the state and then we’ll have to bond for the balance of it as we move on. But the city has gone through all that process now.”

Palmer is happy that this project didn’t force the city to build a new facility. 

“But just doing these upgrades we can use the existing site. We have enough land on there to add what we need. Hence that was one reason why the animal shelter, we needed to build a new one. Not only just to replace kind of that facility which was maybe a little substandard with something brand new, but that was one of the reasons is to expand that plant and not have to incur a cost of building a brand new one.”     

The project is currently out for bids, with the deadline of November 15th to receive them. Then the Council will consider awarding the contract for the improvements at their November 22nd meeting.