The Town of Sweden has completed the Lake/Redman Road water project significantly under budget, potentially freeing up grant funds to pay for improvements that will be useful for further water expansion projects.
The first $2 million of the Lake/Redman Road financing package is a low-interest loan from Rural Development that property owners in the district must pay back over 38 years. The remaining $2.3 million is a grant, which if unused, reverts back to the federal government.
The town is seeking permission to install pipe under road crossings in order to maximize the amount of grant money spent here. The project enhancements still must lie within the legal boundaries of the Lake/Redman Road project, even though the improvements may help other future districts.
Sweden is proposing to do crossings at three intersections with Lake Road – at LaDue Road, Beadle Road west, and Swamp Road. It may take a few months to obtain approval from Rural Development and other agencies. The work, if approved, would likely be undertaken in 2022.
“We were fortunate to get a large grant-to-loan award ratio on this project,” said Supervisor Kevin Johnson. “It kept the cost to the district property owners lower than many other Rural Development projects. We were also successful in keeping the project under budget. We don’t want to send those grant funds back to Washington, we want to keep them here to help future water expansion.”
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