The City of Nichols approved applications for two grants at the Wednesday, Feb. 10 meeting of the city council held at the Nichols City Hall.
The city is going after a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to help fund a $1.22 to $1.65 million sewage system upgrade. The city hoped to complete a survey of all residents in regards to the grant by Feb. 15, council members knocking on doors to complete the survey if necessary. City clerk Aeneas Schmitz said the survey is important to try to meet parameters and said it’s in the best interest of residents to fill out the survey because if lowers the overall cost of the project, which will have a “direct correlation” to sewer rate charges.
The CDBG funding would coincide $350,000 in funding from the United States Department of Agriculture, which will fund the balance of the project on a 40-year loan program according to city officials and Veenestra & Kimm, engineers for the project based in Rock Island.
Lagoon upgrades, lift station improvements, manhole upgrades, pipe repairs and other work is included in the sewer upgrade project which is to be submitted by March 24.
The city held a public hearing on the grant application at the meeting, getting no objections or comments from residents.
In other business, the city held another grant application hearing on a USDA grant application for the Nichols Fire Department to obtain air packs and a brush truck. There were also no comments from the public on that issue.
Council members complimented the snow plowing work accomplished by Dan Rona during the past two months.
Kory Kaalberg spoke to the council about the Hoover Nature Trail Bridge and the impact it may have when the adjacent Douglas Avenue Bridge is replaced later this year. Council members moved to support the Drainage District 2 Trustee’s recommendation to move the Hoover bridge in an effort to mitigate future potential flood damage to Nichols due to the Nature Trail bridge restricting water flow.
Assistant Fire Chief J.J. Hudson reported the front portion of the roof of the fire station is having some of the same leakage issues as the back side last year, causing gutter and facia issues due to the excessive snow. Repairs cannot be made until warmer weather arrives. He said ice dams will likely be installed in the future to prevent such problems.
Mayor Linsey Reimers presided over the half-hour meeting, where the council also approved the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, with a maximum levy approval of 8.10 percent, identical to a year ago.
The next meeting of the council will take place Wednesday, March 10, beginning at 7 p.m.