Holton to construct $4M water tower
WANDA ENGLISH BURNETT PHOTO
A long time in the making, the Holton Water Board of Directors were able to break ground for a new water tower Monday night, just before it poured the rain.
The new tower isn’t a “want”, but rather a “necessity,” since the present one has been there since 1972. Cynthia Melton, who serves on the Board, noted that her father, Samuel Stickelman, was on the Board at the time the first one went into place. She said she is proud to continue that legacy of service to her community.
President of the Holton Community Water Corporation, John Meisberger, gave a speech thanking everyone involved in the endeavor that has had plenty of ups and downs along the way. “We didn’t want to raise anyone’s rates, but we had to,” he noted.
Board member Mike Stratton noted that they went by what the recommendations of the Curry & Associates, Inc. engineers directed. “It wasn’t a matter of upgrading, but we had to replace equipment,” he noted. Everyday water lines were breaking, and Water Superintendent Shawn Farrell can attest that the project was badly needed.
Meisberger said, “In particular, we want to thank the funding agencies who have supported our efforts in this large drinking water improvements project.
The Indiana Finance Authority and the State Revolving Loan Fund Program provided the Corporation with nearly $3m in low-interest loan funds to make this project possible.” He continued, “COO & Director of Environmental Programs Jim McGoff and the entire SRF team were valuable partners in the funding of this project. The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, one of the agencies under the Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch, provided the Corporation with $700,000 in grant funds.
Ripley County Commissioners were our partner in application for the OCRA grant, and for the $92,700 infrastructure grant.” He said the Rising Sun Regional Foundation also funded the planning study for $20,000 when the project began four years ago. Accountants for the Corporation are Sherman, Barber and Mulikin.
The Southeastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission were the grant administrators with lots of help from Jodi Comer and Curry & Associates, Inc. guided them through every step of the planning. Lori Young with Curry was in attendance and both she and Jodi were thanked for all their help. Also, Attorney Neil Comer was on board guiding them with legalese.
“I want to thank our state legislators for their support and the work they do each day to ensure state agencies and programs are available to replace our infrastructure and enhance our quality of life,” Meisberger noted. He said the project includes the replacement of the standpipe tank with a new 250,000-gallon elevated water storage tank. He said the elevation will be a boost to the water system and the added 100,000 gallons from the previous one will be a big help.
The project includes water lines, with Mike Holman Excavating already working just west of Versailles installing them, hydrants, and valves at the locations throughout the service area. “We would like to thank Mike Holman Excavating and Pittsburg Tank for partnering with us on this project,” Meisberger said.
“Our team has spent countless hours maintaining Holton Water’s infrastructure and working towards this project. We thank them all for their hard work behind the scenes to keep this utility running,” Meisberger noted. Before ending, he gave extra thanks to Michele Demaree, office manager, for her countless hours saying she had worked “very, very hard” on the paperwork.
The evening ended with some refreshments and everyone in high spirits as they embark on this journey. “Thank you again to all residents and officials here with us today. We are excited to see our combined efforts as they move forward with this important project,” Meisberger concluded. Former Superintendent Sue Keyes was not able to be in attendance at the groundbreaking, but was thanked for her work on the project as well.
