MAYFIELD—A public water bond hearing will be held at Mayfield Town Hall, 52 North Main St., on Wednesday, April 13, at 7 p.m.
The city is in the process of securing state-funded Community Impact Board (CIB) funds that are a combination of a grant and a loan that would be utilized for an improvement project for the city’s culinary water system. Of the estimated $500,000 needed for the proposed resolution, the state would provide $330,000 as a grant, as well as a low-interest loan for the remaining $170,000 that would be paid back using existing city funds, Mayor Steve Anderson explained.
“There will be no tax increase,” he said.
The city owns the water rights associated with two creeks in 12-Mile Canyon, but the lower creek has not been fully utilized because of gravity and a lack of water pressure.
The project would involve increasing the needed water pressure by building a new pump station, associated pipes, improvements to the park well building, town well soft start system, transmission lines, chlorination system, and a SCADA water control system that will electronically control and monitor the flow, according to a public notice published in the Messenger about the hearing.
“We will be putting the water back into production,” Anderson said.
The city is presently being impacted by two phenomena that necessitate the need to upgrade its water system: growth and the reduced supply of secondary water because of less snowpack in the mountains. With less secondary water, residents will rely more on culinary water to maintain their yards.
The Mayfield Estates subdivision recently received approval to add 20 new homes, which will be added over the next few years, the mayor explained.
“We need to keep track of demand and have some in reserve,” Anderson said. “We are doing our duty as city officers to oversee that we have sufficiently developed resources for the water needs.”
According to the public notice published in the Gunnison Gazette last week, the purpose of the meeting is “to receive input from the public with respect to the issuance of the Bonds and any potential economic impact to the private section from the construction of the Project.”
Scheduling the public hearing and the approval of the resolution by the mayor and town council are requirements of the loan, but beyond that, the mayor seeks input from residents
