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Mayor Cole testifies in Helena on Dodson sewer project

Dodson Mayor Teresa Cole traveled to the State Capitol in Helena, Mont., last week to testify in front of the Long-Range Planning Committee of the Montana State Senate on behalf of the Dodson Town Council as she seeks a grant for the Town of Dodson as they deal with a sewer problem.

Mayor Cole told the PCN the Town of Dodson had a new sewer system installed in 2007 following numerous studies on inflow so the system would no longer overflow. Since then, the sewer has overflown at least two times, including 2016 when Phillips County received heavy rain and flooding followed.

“DEQ was not happy (Department of Environmental Quality),” Mayor Cole said. “They gave us an emergency discharge, but we have to get it fixed. In 2007, we did get our new sewer system installed and we did have studies down to determine the inflow, which at that time showed the system would be adequate, however, due to a large amount of inflow experienced later, we had to have repairs done.”

The price tag on the Dodson sewer project is $724,000, approximately, so the Town of Dodson is seeking a TSEP Grant for a total of $362,000 and the hopes are that a CDBG grant would cover the rest of the cost.

“It’s going to cost (Dodson) a little money too, and we might have to raise our rates about $12,” Mayor Cole said. “But we are hoping to do that over time, adding a little bit each year, and for right now the water rate will remain the same.”

Mayor Cole said her time testifying went well and she was told by “people who know” it is a good idea for people from the community requesting TSEP funds to come and speak before the committees. Mayor Cole was joined by several people on her trip to the State Capitol including Town of Dodson accountant Charles Idehen, engineer and grant writer Carrie Gardener of Great West Engineering, and Lisa Moisey from Bearpaw Development.

“First, House Bill 14 has to be passed,” Mayor Cole said of when money for the sewer project might be secured. “It is designed for infrastructure projects and there were many communities there seeking money for bridge projects. If we don’t get this grant, our rates will have to be increased 177-percent and that would be a real hardship on the people of Dodson.

 

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