09. Bliss Waste Water Treatment Plant Nitrate Treatment Upgrade ProjectPage 1 of 1
City of Scandia
14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us
MEMORANDUM
DATE: Wednesday, April 6, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Ken Cammilleri, City Administrator
RE: Bliss Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project.
I can now confirm that Scandia is going to be placed on the State’s 2023 Project Priority List (PPL)
for Point Source Implementation Grant (PSIG) program. The Bliss project scored 50 points which
meets the eligibility criteria for funding for 80%. It generally takes two years to reach the ranking
necessary for funding. In order to continue to advance towards meeting the criteria for a full award,
the City must complete a near-full facility plan. That particularly means making some final
adjustments to the permit report and preparing the specs and design.
There is currently 9 million dollars in the PSIG fund and the MPCA is requesting 75 million which
would fund 100% of the 2022 list. We need to apply in July for PSIG and order plans and specs in
time for submission. I will be requesting a quote to complete this final work from Bolton & Menk in
order for the Committee and the City Council to consider the next options to move forward in this
process. To proceed with this project, we will need to order plans and specifications in September or
October in order to submit a final application for this project in time for the grant submission period
next year.
The PSIG program also provides access to the State’s revolving loan fund, should we need to obtain
gap financing. However, in order to qualify, we must have a complete full facilities plan with an
environmental assessment. The cost of this prep work may outweigh the cost set savings that the
revolving loan may be able to offer, according to Bill Dunn at MPA. (We will be investigating this
cost.) This likely means that we may need to obtaining bond financing and potentially delay rehab of
the Bliss’ main lift station, #2.
Our direct state bond grant effort remains the most highly desirable alternative to any of these
borrowing options since it is eligible to serve as matching funds towards PSIG. In theory, that
means 100% could be funded by the State, which is the ideal scenario for our utility.
The City Council has approved the hiring of the Libby Law Offices, represented by Bill Strusinski
and Les Heen, to push our state bonding proposal. The estimated cost of this work will be around
$18,000. This means that we will need to consider a possible amendment to support this cost and
the test well replacement that must be completed this year as part of the State Operators Permit for
the Bliss Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP).
We will have updates available regarding any new progress on this project.
Please let me know if you have any questions.