COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa — A new water treatment plant in Columbus Junction isn’t a done deal, but it took three steps forward Wednesday night.

During its meeting Wednesday, the Columbus Junction City Council approved an offer to purchase that will secure a potential relocation site, selected an Anamosa firm to conduct an archaeological study of the proposed area, and selected an engineering firm to lead the entire effort.

The Council agreed earlier this year to submit grant applications to move the treatment plant after flooding last year inundated the facility, causing residents to temporarily lose water.

A fair site better

The Council acted on the land acquisition issue following a 20-minute closed session. The site is located along Collins Road, about 1600 feet south and slightly west of the current treatment plant. After the closed session, Mayor Dan Wilson said the property offered the best site to relocate the water plant.

“We zeroed in on this area as the best possibility,” he explained.

The purchase price for the land, which is owned by Betty Roudybush, is $65,000. If the city’s $3.2 million grant application to the U.S. Economic Development Administration is approved, the land purchase would be an eligible cost item, Wilson said. The city also applied earlier this year for a $356,000 Community Development Block Grant to help fund the project and city officials reported that grant had already been approved.

Wilson said securing the land was a major hurdle the city needed to clear before a final decision on its Economic Development Administration grant would be made.

Digging into the past

However, now that the site has been picked, the city also needs to conduct an archaeological study to make sure the potential site does not contain any historically significant resources.

The Council selected Wapsi Valley Archaeology to complete a survey of the site. Although the Council approved the company, a consultant’s fee must still be negotiated. Initial estimates for that work ranged from $3,000 to $5,000.

The Council later selected French-Reneker Associates, Fairfield, as the project engineer.

Sidewalk reconstruction

The Council agreed to submit a $775,000 funding proposal for state enhancement funds to help finance a sidewalk reconstruction project in the downtown area.

The city investigated a similar project about 10 years ago, but dropped the proposal after learning a $7,500 state grant would fund only a tiny fraction of the actual cost.

According to officials, upgrading the sidewalks is costly because several underground storage vaults are still present. The vaults were apparently used to store fuel and other material and many were never filled in after they stopped being used.

Now the vaults are a potential liability for the property owners, but the estimated $10,000 to fill them has caused many of the owners to ignore the problem.

With federal stimulus money now available, the Council agreed to authorize Matt Walker, an engineer with French-Reneker, to prepare a grant application for submittal by the Thursday, Oct. 1, deadline.

Walker said if the grant is awarded, the city would need to provide a 30 percent match. He said the proposed improvements would include a new six-foot concrete strip, with a four-foot brick border and new curb and gutter.

“If we’re going to get downtown Columbus Junction better, this is a way to do this,” Wilson told the Council.

In other action

- The Council approved the city’s FY 2009 Road Use Tax Report and agreed to a contract with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission to supervise the demolition of five flood buyout properties in the community. 

- The Council set trick-or-treat time for Saturday, Oct. 31 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.