BROWNSTOWN — A $7.26 million project to upgrade the sanitary sewer system in the county seat should begin sometime in January 2023, but there is some hope it could get underway later this year.

Grant administrator Shannon McLeod with Priority Project Resources in Greensburg recently delivered that news to the Brownstown Town Council.

“We are moving forward with the wastewater treatment improvement,” McLeod said during the council’s recent meeting at the town hall.

A big piece of the funding puzzle recently fell into place with the town receiving a $700,000 grant from the Wastewater/Drinking Water program, which is administered by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

McLeod said the grant is a small piece of the pie because of the overall construction cost of the project.

The construction costs include $2.66 million for sanitary sewer and manhole repairs and replacement and storm sewer infrastructure rehabilitation; $1.181 million for the Vallonia Road lift station; $737,000 for the Bob Thomas lift station; and $1.725 million for improvements at the wastewater treatment plant. The total for construction costs is $6.304 million.

The administrative costs include $453,000 for design, bidding and construction engineering and $287,000 engineering inspection services. There also is $50,000 set aside for McLeod’s fee, $45,000 to pay a rate consultant and $25,000 for surveying and testing.

Besides the $700,000 grant, the town’s portion of the project will be $895,500, and the remaining costs of $6.56 million will be borrowed from the State Revolving Fund program.

“That has been a long process because a lot of other communities were trying to get money,” McLeod said of the State Revolving Fund program.

Because of an influx of federal infrastructure funding that will allow more communities to receive funds for their projects, the town might not receive the $6.5 million until September or October, she said.

That will be a combination of forgivable grants and a portion the town will have to finance and repay over the 20-year term, McLeod said.

“We don’t know what that is yet, so that is still the piece of the puzzle we don’t have completely locked in,” she said.

McLeod said the state is receiving $740 million in federal infrastructure funding that has to be spent over the course of the next four years, and 50% of that has to go out in the form of grants.

“It can’t be paid back,” she said. “So if ever there was a time to get grant money, now is it.”

Because the town was already in line for State Revolving Fund monies, it should get a really good deal, she said.

“The more grant money we get, the less impact it has on having to raise utility rates,” McLeod said. “We don’t want to have do that (raise rates).”

She also presented the council a timetable that calls for an Aug. 15 bid opening and the awarding of a construction contract in November with a notice to proceed being issued in January 2023.

She said that’s the worst-case scenario, and her hope is to push the project up because the town is ready to go as soon as the money is in place.

The Vallonia Road lift station, which handles 75% of the town, also is in need of repairs immediately because of issues with keeping the pumps repaired and working.

“We can move this faster,” she said.

McLeod also said if the State Revolving Fund monies don’t come through or do but the town is told it will have to repay all of that money, there are other options.

She said in that case, the town could eliminate parts of the project, but it doesn’t make sense to do so because the problems that need fixed are only going to get worse.

“Then sometime, you are going to have to borrow money, and borrowing money is an expensive process,” McLeod said.

She said she is optimistic because at this time, the town should be getting a very good deal and get everything accomplished.