USDA approves grant application for Walsenburg

WALSENBURG — Lennece Saracino of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has notified the City of Walsenburg it has approved the application for financial assistance for the Northlands of Walsenburg sewer project.
The grant is for $1,806,710 with a loan of $3,626,000 at a maximum interest rate of 2.75%.
There are a number of pages of conditions the City of Walsenburg must meet before the loan/grant application can be fully approved by the USDA. The grant portion received will go along with the nearly $700,000 in grant monies from the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) toward funding the proposed $6 million dollar sewer line.
The property and business owners who are part of the General Improvement District in the Northlands area are solely responsible for paying the loan portion of the monies from the USDA.
Walsenburg Mayor Larry Patrick said, “The loan/grant approval is a major step forward to getting the sewer line project completed. When the General Improvement District (GID) members in the Northlands area can provide the city council with a plan to pay for the loan that the city can approve, the project can move forward.
This project will benefit all the citizens of Walsenburg in many ways. It will provide jobs from new businesses that want to locate in that area. It will get rid of the smelly sewer ponds and save water by not having to augment extra water to most of that area. With the added growth, the city can see additional sales tax revenue coming in from people traveling north and south on I-25 that stop to eat or stay. The extra revenue can help benefit improvements to the downtown Walsenburg area and help us improve our infrastructure throughout Walsenburg.”
The USDA has tentatively scheduled a formal presentation on Aug. 29 in Walsenburg. A location and time will be announced soon.