LAHARPE — LaHarpe is applying for as much as $400,000 in state aid to assist the city in upgrading its electric infrastructure. Total project cost would be $830,000, with the remainder coming from revenue generated by electric sales.
City Council members voted 4-0 in a special meeting Thursday to go ahead.
The application does not mean the city is locked into receiving revenue bonds just yet, Council members stressed. Rather, it’s a component in the city’s application for a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant funding.
The plan is to offer a one-to-one local match to cover more than 50 percent of the $725,000 project. Those funds would come in the form of revenue bonds, which would be paid off over time. Most bonds such as the one the city would use are paid off over 20 years.
The $830,000 would include administrative costs, City Attorney Chuck Apt noted.
Representatives from BG Consultants gave the Council project projections earlier this week for a full-scale upgrade.
The “Cadillac” model, complete with new utility poles, wiring, recorders and a three-phase loop, would cost around $725,000, the firm projected. Other, less extensive upgrade options also were presented, the cheapest of which was pegged at $350,000.
The city won’t decide on the extent of the upgrades until it hears whether LaHarpe will receive the state grant.
In response to a question from Councilman Danny Ware Jr., Bruce Boettcher of BG Consultants acknowledged the state has seen its grant awards decline in recent years, and the application process is a competitive one. As such, Boettcher stopped short of guaranteeing LaHarpe’s need.
“But they see the need,” Boettcher said. “They’re good folks in Topeka. They try to help communities.”
LaHarpe’s offer to match the grant funding with its own money greatly enhances the city’s chances, Boettcher said. “And since LaHarpe has had issues, like trips and breakers that have become unsafe at times, you’re going to be very competitive. All of those factors put together put you in a good seat.”
Much of the CDBG funding will come from the federal government through the Kansas Department of Commerce.
If the city is unsuccessful in securing the grant funds, the Council will decide whether to go ahead and issue revenue bonds, which must be paid for through revenues from electric customers; or the city could apply again in the future.
‘It depends on what your appetite is,” Boettcher said.
The formal grant application will be submitted in October. Grants are announced in late January.
LaHarpe starts ball rolling on upgrades
