City accepts $2M grant

The Shelton City Council on Tuesday formally accepted a $2-million grant from the state Department of Commerce to help rehabilitate its Well No. 1.

The city secured the $2-million grant in the 2021-23 State Capital Budget, using the state’s Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, administered through the state Department of Commerce.

The city informed the Department of Commerce that the grant will be used for two things:

■ To complete a readiness survey “further characterizing” the project and identifying project costs.

■ To submit project information to the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Review and any affected tribes for review, in accordance with a governor’s executive order.

Well No. 1, at the intersection of North 13th Street and Shelton Springs Road, transmits potable water through a gravity-fed waterline to the city’s High School Tank. According to the city report, the well was constructed in 1948 and the water department “has been experiencing declining performance along with elevated levels of iron, hydrogen, sulfide and sand production from the well.” The city wants to upgrade the well and switch to a pressurized piping system, “the most feasible and cost-effective solution.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council also voted to amend its contract for the Well 1 design with the firm of Gray & Osborne. The firm was hired for the project design in August 2018. The move is the city’s third amendment to the contact and gives Gray & Osborne another $77,100 for a new contract cost of $247,940, and extends the contract terms until the end of 2023.