Alva Review-Courier -

Kiowa's City Council met for a special meeting last Wednesday evening that lasted about 30 minutes.

City Administrator Lou Leone had arranged a meeting with USDA representative Tom Finger who was on speaker phone with the council. The discussion centered on USDA funding for the search grant only for Kiowa's proposed $2.5 million water line partial replacement (about 60 percent) from the city's wells near Sharon, Kansas.

Finger explained the USDA can now only fund 75 percent of the funding for the search grant. The grant was going to be $9,500 at 100 percent funding. Now Kiowa lost $2,400 of that funding.

Finger said his office has seen “quite a delay in budget figures that come down from Washington.” At this point, 75 percent funding is the best they can do for Kiowa, he said.

Leone reminded this search grant is just the first phase of the water line replacement project.

With this information, the council decided to move forward and passed three separate motions. Those are: Resolution 281, which authorizes Mayor Brandon Farney to sign the USDA Letter of Conditions; a notice of intent to seek funding for legal notification in the city's legal newspaper; and to enter the USDA legal service agreement with the city's attorney Laurel McClellan to provide the legal services.

In other action, the council approved a $10,000 steel frame and insulated building for the city's generator system.