Staff Writer
SALEM — The city Utilities Commission is expecting to hear in June whether a $15 million loan is coming Salem’s way to fund up front the Phase 3 sewer treatment plant upgrade.
Commission Chair Bob Hodgson mentioned the possibility of receiving a loan for the full amount from the Ohio Water Development Authority for the project.
Funds from a sewer rate increase that takes effect May 1 will help cover the payments for the loan needed to fund the required upgrades to meet regulatory demands, replace outdated equipment and increase efficiency at the plant on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The commission also hopes to secure a grant of $235,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission to cover nearly half the cost of a project to replace the rip-rap along the shoreline of the Salem reservoir off of Gamble Road to help protect the dam structure. The utilities department would cover $236,000 of the $471,000 project cost.