Intake project shelved
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
Washburn’s intake project is being put on the backburner for this construction season in hopes that federal grant money that was denied for 2018 may be approved for next year.
Eric Lothspeich of AE2S Engineering provided an update on the potential intake upgrade to the Washburn City Commission last week, advising commissioners that a 75-percent match grant through FEMA had been denied.
“The pre-disaster mitigation grant we applied for through the Department of Emergency Services, we didn’t end up getting that,” Lothspeich said. Lothspeich said the new intake project, which has yet to be formally approved, met specifications for the grant money, but that funding was limited this year.
Lothspeich said it was unfortunate the grant didn’t come through, but that there was still a silver lining.
“The FEMA budget … will have up to 250 million to spend next year,” Lothspeich said. “Two and a half times more money than this year.”
Lothspeich said the budget boost will give the city a better chance of receiving a grant for the intake project, but for now, AE2S thought it would be best to put the upgrade on hold.
