South Central Reporter

City of Centralia City Council met Jan. 4.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The Public Hearing was called to order at 1:00 p.m. by City Manager William K. Smith. City Clerk Enke attended as well as a member of the public, John Paskavich.

MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC HEARING

Please see the attached sign-in sheet for attendance.

Bridgette Stocks of Fehr Graham presented an overview of the CDBG Public Infrastructure program and the City of Centralia’s Grant Project. The following information was presented:

FUNDING AVAILABILITY:

For 2024, HUD has determined the State’s allocation will be $29,464,578. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity accepts grant applications at various designated times throughout the year from non-entitlement communities for competitive programs, such as the Public Infrastructure component, which the City of Centralia is seeking funding from.

The Department has allocated an estimated $19,500,000 in CDBG funds to the Public Infrastructure (PI) component. A grant ceiling of $1,500,000 per project has been established. The objective of this program component is to fund public infrastructure projects with priority given to projects involving water and sanitary sewer systems, or storm sewer upgrades or combined sewer separations.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES THAT WILL BE UNDERTAKEN WITH CDBG FUNDING:

The Public Infrastructure component includes eligible activities such as acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or installation of public facilities and improvements. The funding priority for the Public Infrastructure component is for water and sanitary sewer systems, and storm sewer construction projects, including combined sewer separations.

The City of Centralia has acknowledged a significant deficiency in its water distribution system that has been documented by the breakage of a vital raw water line for the City. This grant funding will be utilized to construct a replacement for a raw water line that has demonstrated repeated past failures. The raw water line replacement project has already been designed and permitted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA).

This line provides the water from Carlyle Lake to the current and proposed Water Treatment Plant. The City of Centralia will pursue $1,500,000 in CDBG Public Infrastructure funding to construct a new raw water line to eliminate the health and safety issues threatening the community.

CDBG RECORDS

All CDBG records, including a copy of the application submitted to DCEO will be on file with the City Clerk at the City Clerk’s office at City Hall, located at 101 S. Locust Street, Centralia, Illinois 62801.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES THAT WILL BE UNDERTAKEN WITH ADDITIONAL PROJECT FUNDING:

The City of Centralia will be providing $3,224,947.50 in additional funding towards this project. These funds will be derived from the City’s Water Fund.

ESTIMATED AMOUNT PROPOSED FOR ACTIVITIES THAT WILL BENEFIT LMI INDIVIDUALS:

The benefit to low-to-moderate income persons is 59.83%. This percentage was substantiated through HUD’s Low-to-Moderate Income Summary Data (LMISD). The City of Centralia’s CDBG project service area is comprised of the City of Centralia’s corporate boundaries – the entire City of Centralia qualifies as low-to-moderate income at 59.83% LMI. The City’s CDBG project will serve the entire community.

The total amount of funding requested by the City will be $1,500,000. The total amount proposed for activities that will benefit low-to-moderate income individuals will be $897,450.

PLANS FOR MINIMIZING DISPLACEMENT

The proposed project will not displace any residents or businesses.

PRIORITIZED LIST OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

1. Address Aging Infrastructure

a. Water System Improvements include: Raw Water Line Replacement and Distribution System Upgrades, Water Treatment Plant Construction

b. Wastewater System Improvements include: Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades and Efficiencies

c. Road Improvements: continue road reconstruction projects throughout the City

2. Promote Thriving Neighborhoods

• Fund & Execute a Sidewalk, Parks, and Roadway Plan

• Continue demolition of derelict and dilapidated properties

• Promote growth and development of properties to fill the housing and business needs of the community.

3. Connected, Accessible Community

• Implement multi-use paths to downtown, parks, shopping, and schools

NARRATIVE DISCUSSION OF THE PROJECT SCOPE:

The proposed project includes the construction of a replacement raw water line that has demonstrated repeated past failures in recent years, threatening the City’s ability to provide reliable, safe drinking water to their residents.

This line provides the water from Carlyle Lake to the current and proposed Water Treatment Plant. In 1998, the City of Centralia acquired the rights to 7.5 MGD (million gallons per day) of raw water from Carlyle Lake through the purchase of facilities previously owned by Texaco Exploration and Production Company. Since that time, the City has modernized the Carlyle Lake raw water pump station at Boulder, and the City has constructed the following sections to raw water transmission main from Carlyle Lake:

• Approximately 29,177 lin. Ft. of 24" PVC transmission main from Shattuc Road (approximately 12,000 ft, east of the raw water pump station at Boulder} to north of Sandoval, on the west side of Route 51. This section replaced the aged and deteriorated 26" steel main constructed by Texaco circa 1952.

• Approximately 27,250 lin. Ft. of 24" PVC transmission main from the new 24" main north of Sandoval southerly to the Centralia water treatment plant adjacent to Route 51.

This proposed project will replace the remaining 11,700 linear feet of aged and completely deteriorated 26" steel main connecting at the Carlyle Lake Boulder pump station in an easterly direction, where it will then interconnect with the new 24" PVC main adjacent to Shattuc Road. This remaining section of steel water main represents a weak link in Centralia’s water supply, and the deteriorated condition poses an imminent threat of failure that would severely restrict the City's capability to maintain delivery of high-quality drinking water to the City's residents.

The only remaining section of the original 1952 Texaco steel raw water transmission main is located between the Carlyle Lake Boulder pump station and Shattuc Road. In 1997, the interior of the steel pipe was badly pitted due to corrosion. Persistent leaks occur due to the corroded condition of the original 26" steel raw water transmission main. This section of existing steel raw water transmission main represents a weak link in the system needed to reliably deliver raw water to the City.

The estimated project cost for the raw water line replacement is $4,724,947.50. The City of Centralia will seek $1,500,000 in CDBG grant funds and will put forth $3,224,947.50 in matching funds towards this project.

This grant funding is vital to the City as their limited resources are already allocated to ongoing infrastructure repairs and community development needs. Additional rate increases to fund these improvements were implemented in December 2023. The City of Centralia has spent a considerable amount of local funding in an attempt to resolve the water line breakage issues themselves, but they cannot afford this vital project on their own. Without CDBG funding, this project will not go forward. If the project does not move forward, the health and safety of the City’s residents will be threatened by the continued deterioration of the water source and distribution system.

The Public Hearing was opened up to those attending for questions on the information presented and the grant application materials available for review.

There were no comments about the project, but Mr. Paskavich clarified the name of Ms. Stocks and the company, Fehr Graham. The City Clerk noted that there were no questions or comments previously received by the City Clerk from the Public to be addressed.

The Public Hearing was closed at 1:09 p.m.

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