FUNDING ASSISTANCE FROM MULTIPLE FUNDING SOURCES FOR A SMALL COMMUNITY - CASE STUDY

Small communities are often faced with the challenge of acquiring funds to implement municipal improvement projects. The City of Kilkenny, Minnesota was no exception. Issued a Notice of Violation by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in 1994, the City was confronted with the task of obtaining funds to pay for mandatory improvements to their existing wastewater treatment system. The City was not only able to acquire funding for the wastewater treatment system improvements, but was also provided with funding to improve two of their major streets that were in poor condition and in need of reconstruction.After issuance of the Notice of Violation by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) the City of Kilkenny immediately began planning for the design and construction of a new wastewater collection and treatment system to serve its residences. Identifying potential funding sources to pay for the new wastewater system was one of the keys to the success of the project. After completion of the Facility Plan in 1998, the City applied for and received a 1.8 million funding package for the proposed wastewater system. This funding package included grant and loan money from various sources including Rural Development, the Department of Trade and Economic Development and the Public Facilities Authority.Review and discussion of the proposed wastewater collection and treatment system improvements with the Le Seuer County Highway Department led to additional funding to reconstruct two of the City's major streets that would be directly affected by construction of the wastewater project. Over 600,000 of County State Aid Highway Funds were provided for street reconstruction.As a condition for receiving funding to improve the two streets, the County requested that the City also upgrade an old portion of their water distribution system located under the County State Aid Highways. The City was required to take out a low interest loan to pay for the 180,000 of watermain improvements.During construction of the street and utility improvements, the City was faced with paying for the costs associated with the removal and disposal of several thousand yards of contaminated soil. The City is currently pursuing reimbursement from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Petrofund program for the 120,000 incurred for contaminated soil removal.This paper will provide background on the City of Kilkenny, their wastewater system, street reconstruction, and watermain improvement projects. This paper will also present the steps taken to obtain and manage the various funding packages received for the improvements and the outcome of the projects.