KENT CITY, Mich. — Kent City has a population of 1,200 people, so when upgrades come to the area, it's a big deal, especially when it comes with the help of a nearly $2 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
After three-plus decades, the small town of Kent City is getting a much-needed upgrade to its water filtration and sewer systems.
"The '90s was the last time that they did a big upgrade to everything," said Ashley Scudder, city clerk for Kent City. "All around Michigan, there's a lot of failing infrastructure, because a lot of stuff was made with clay tile, and all of that is decomposing.”
In total the city will receive $3.8 million for upgrades. $2,101,000 comes as a loan with $1,719,000 coming as a grant.
The money comes at a good time for the city, with the systems starting to deteriorate in certain areas.
"So between the ponds, our slide gates are starting to jam up," Scudder said. "They're not moving the way they're supposed to, which prevents us from transferring water from pond to pond, and therefore treating it the way it needs to be treated.”
A study and testing was done by Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), which determined necessary upgrades were needed for an old sewage lift station and wastewater plant.
In total, the upgrades will impact 837 residents in the community, but not in the ways you'd think, with the grant portion helping to cut some costs on residents.
“For the whole thing to be taken out with a loan, we would have had to raise our quarterly sewer utility bills," Scudder said. “So it's huge for us, because we don't have to raise our sewer rates to the extent that we had anticipated.”
The city tells FOX 17 sewer rates were expected to go up by $10 per person, and $5 more for each year after, for the foreseeable future.
Some residents like Jenni Moore, who has lived in Kent City since 2009, expected the price hikes but she's happy the grant will help on that front.
"I think that when you live inside the village limits and you have certain services that are covered, it's sort of expected you're going to have an increase to keep maintaining those those systems," Moore said. "So the increase honestly didn't bother me a single bit. And I'm glad that there's a grant that's going to cover it now."
The town expects to take bids from construction on the upgrades in March of next year, with construction set for the fall of 2025.
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