The wastewater treatment facility was again an item addressed at the regular monthly meeting of the Lowry Council on September 2.

Pat Conroy of C & C Consultants out of Fergus Falls met with the council to start the grant application process again.  The pre-application had to be submitted to Small Cities before the middle of the month. The good news is the city does not need to do the financial survey for the pre-application as they could use the figures from last year’s survey

Conroy told the council Rural Development has continued to express interest in the Lowry project. However, their main concern has been the need of grant dollars to fund the project so user fees can remain at $40 or $45  a month. Without the grant these fees would likely increase to $50 or more.

If Small Cities approves the grant, the next step will be to complete the full application. According to Conroy there will be very little additional work to do to complete the full grant application to Small Cities at that point. With any luck, the city officials will know sometime around October 15. Between then and sometime in January the city would need to hold a public hearing regarding the project.

Conroy said in a meeting with Small Cities in July, he had been told they were interested in the project, as long as  Rural Development is interested in financing the project. However, the city feels it is imperative to have another partner for financing in the works, and right now  that is the big question with the Public Facilities Commission committed to other projects for the next year or two.

As in previous grant applications to Small Cities if awarded the council members will be notified sometime in March.

Conroy then asked who the city planned to engage as their engineer for the project to which Mayor Bruce Larson responded, “If we’re going to open it up, then we’re going to open it up to more than just those two. We’ve been dragging our feet a little bit on that issue.”

At this point in time Conroy assured the council they had time to wait the issue out for the time being. At this point he said most of his clients were remaining with Widseth, Smith and Nolting, but two clients had switched to Design Tree.

Currently the city has turned their contract with Widseth, Smith and Nolting over to their attorney to review the contract to determine just what obligations if any are left of the city to fill.

Conroy felt now the city might and should consider requesting their records from Widseth, Smith and Nolting before requesting qualifications from any of the engineering firms who might wish to avail themselves for the project. Council members agreed and authorized the clerk to send such a letter.

At the end of the discussion, the council also authorized the signing of the pre-application to be sent to Small Cities.

In other business:

• . Set Monday, September 8 at 8:00 p.m. as a work meeting to work on the budget for the fiscal year 2009.
• . Tabled action on repair of creaks in tar on Poplar Street until next year and then review all paved streets.
• . Tabled action on tree removal behind Glen Lundblad at his request. The work has not been completed and he has no figures at this point to discuss with the council.
• . Authorized two building permits. One to a resident for a three-season porch, and the second to Rainbow Rider for their extension to current facilities. It was recommended and approved that the city reduce the permit by $219.40 as an incentive for Rainbow Rider remaining in Lowry.
• . Set the next regular meeting of the city council for October 7 at 7 p.m.