Roberts Unveils Strategy To Save $3.3 Million Grant

RISON - The Rison City Council backed Mayor Charles Roberts’ recommendation not to pursue a $1.4 million loan to make up for a shortfall of a grant being used to improve the water distribution system in Rison.“We cannot afford a $1.4 million loan,” Roberts told the city council during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night.“I don’t fell like I would be putting the city in the right position,” he said.Roberts has been pursuing different avenues to make up for an expected shortfall from a $3.3 million federal grant the city was awarded in January 2023 through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). That grant is for replacing many of the oldest water lines in the city.In previous meetings, Roberts explained that the price of construction supplies and labor has risen since the grant was originally awarded, and as a result, the $3.3 million will no longer fund what the grant was originally intended to do. However, Roberts said the city is still obligated to carry out the work outlined in the grant application, and since the grant award no longer covers that cost, the city will have to make up the difference.Roberts said Natural Resources Commission offered the city a $1.4 million loan with about a 4 percent interest rate to cover the grant shortfall. However, he told the city council the city is not in a financial position to pay an extra $8,000 per month for the loan.To address the shortfall, Roberts told the council he is pursuing some other options. First, he said he will ask the granting agency for a “reduction in scope” of the project described in the grant application. In other words, Roberts said the request is to allow the city to use the $3.3 million to make as many improvements as it can with that amount of money.In addition, Roberts said he also reached out to the Delta Regional Authority about a $2 million grant to help make up for the shortfall. He said that grant  is still in the application phase. One other possible option, Roberts…