Gilbert Hits 'Home Run' with USDA Grant
By Joe Curtis, Franklin Sun
Gilbert received a $821,000 USDA grant along with a $588,000 USDA loan to refurbish the majority of its sewer system.
The announcement was made at the regular alderman’s meeting, Aug. 13.
Ken McManus, with McManus Consulting Engineers of Monroe, called the grant a “home run for Gilbert.”
The amounts total $1.4 million with 58 percent of the proceeds coming from the grant.
“We haven’t seen that in years and years,” McManus said. “Probably over the last 10 years you may have seen 25 percent (grant) funding.”
The USDA loan comes with a 1.125 percent interest rate.
With the grant and loan funding, Gilbert will refurbish its lift stations and manholes, upgrade its sewer force mains and rework the waste water treatment plant.
Mayor Mike Stephens praised McManus’s efforts.
“We really appreciate the work Ken and his crew put in for this,” Stephens said.
Gilbert is also vying for a Louisiana Community Development Block grant to help with funding its sewer improvements. Recently, Gilbert was invited to make a full grant application, the second step in the grant process.