Alva Review-Courier -

Alva Mayor Kelly Parker shared some good news on grants for city projects at Monday’s Alva City Council meeting. The city applied for a large grant from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to help with the purchase of new water meters. Parker said they’ve been told the city will receive at least $800,000 that they will not have to pay back. There’s a good possibility the city will receive $200,000 more.

The city has already advertised for bids on the water meter project, and those bids are due to be opened on Monday. Parker said if the lowest and best bid was obvious, there would be no need for a special city council meeting. However, if the bids are close he may need to call a special meeting.

Parker reported the city has received verbal confirmation of a REAP grant to be used for waterlines on Locust Street. The city removed paving from Locust Street in preparation for asphalt but discovered the waterlines underneath were in bad condition. Since then residents have been putting up with a very rough street. Once the city makes waterline repairs, the street can be resurfaced.

The city has also made application for a CDBG grant for waterlines from Church to Maple and College to 14th St. The project is intended to entirely replace the aging waterlines. However, the CDBG grant requires that a survey be completed on the level of income of residents in the area. At least 51 percent of households must have income at or below the federal poverty level for the city to qualify.

Parker said the Department of Commerce will randomly select addresses to receive the mailed survey. Income levels will be kept private and used only to qualify for this grant. He wanted to make sure residents know this is a “real survey, not a scam.”

Parker reported the fog sealing was completed on the recent asphalt overlay on Flynn and Skyline. This will provide weather protection for the newly resurfaced streets.

Councilmember Troy Brooks asked about asphalt on Cherry Street. Parker said that street was “zipped” in 2019 but no more work was done. Before the weather was too cold for the process, the city resurfaced with asphalt.

In answer to another question from Brooks about the bad condition of Mill Street, Parker said it is on the schedule. He agreed that the street is in bad condition due to all the waterline breaks that had to be repaired.

The city’s accounting firm, Crawford and Associates, will be on site Dec. 2, Parker said. They will be cleaning up the accounting system. He said all the city funds are accounted for, but they may not be in the right boxes as some are mislabeled.

Parker said the city Christmas party for officials and staff is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Moose Lodge. He asked that council members let Heather Bonham know if they will be attending. The menu will include ribs and all the fixings.