HUMBOLDT — City leaders took official steps Monday night to get the ball rolling on two big projects.
First, they approved a Community Development Block Grant for $700,000 for street improvements. The State of Kansas, through the Department of Commerce, will shoulder $492,086 of the expenses; Humboldt, $210,894.
About 44 blocks of downtown Humboldt are slated for work. Bruce Boettcher of BG Consultants is overseeing the work. The planning of the project is complete, Boettcher said, with the design phase to be next.
Council members also approved a public hearing for April 11 to discuss the funding of a $13 million upgrade to the city’s water system. The city is applying for the loan through the United States Department of Agriculture.
The project will replace water mains and lines and address needed upgrades to the water plant.
Boettcher of BG Consultants will also oversee this work, which will take place over the course of five years once it begins. In an August 2021 city meeting, Boettcher said 169 repairs to water lines had been reported over the last four years.
Crews will replace the galvanized steel pipes with polyethylene plastic. The city has just under 1,000 households and businesses actively using water.
Council also gave conditional approval for Glaso UV of Mahwah, NJ, to treat the water at the wastewater treatment plant with ultraviolet technology. The company’s bid was $99,750; the lowest of two.
The award is contingent on the approval of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The current system has been limping along for the past several years, said Cole Herder, city administrator.
Chelsie Angleton of the Allen County 911 call center is searching for a backup location in case of stormy weather that incapacitates the Iola center, Herder said.
The best site in Humboldt is a little-used room in the Police Department that currently stores a treadmill and a bicycle, Herder said.
Jeff Bowman, council member, added that “it’s a pretty good-sized room,” guessing it to be about 12 feet by 20 feet.
Herder said Angleton is looking at other possible sites around the county, and any decision would be made by county commissioners, including the purchase of additional equipment and its maintenance.
Water tower woes continue to plague Jeremy Bulk, superintendent of public works. The tower on the town square is leaking again, this time in more copious amounts.
“It’s in the same place as before,” Bulk said. The damage occurred during last year’s severe cold spell. Bulk said the leak is where a rubber boot clamps a newer section of the pipe to the old.
