USDA Rural Development Nevada today announced an additional $747,000 in funding to the City of West Wendover to fund replacement of water pipelines in the city. The funds are being matched with $746,435 from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and its State Revolving Loan Fund.
The funding was announced during a “From the Ground Up” celebration event at West Wendover City Hall that focused on the infrastructure improvements the city has made over the past 17 years to its water and wastewater systems, landfill operations, and new city hall. During that time, USDA RD has invested over $20 million in infrastructure improvements, and over $10 million in affordable housing.
The celebration kicked off with educational activities for 5th and 6th grade students at Anna Smith Elementary in Wendover, and a tour and ribbon cutting at the City of West Wendover’s new Water Reclamation Facility. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representative Scott Stoddard said the agency was pleased to play such a significant role, contributing $7.6 million to the Water Reclamation Project, which treats and manages wastewater so that it can be reused for irrigation on city properties.
Mayor Donald “Donnie” Andersen welcomed the public to the West Wendover City Hall where displays of the many completed projects were presented.
USDA Rural Development State Director Sarah Adler presented a “From the Ground Up” Award to the city and commended the city manager and its staff for its commitment to infrastructure improvements.
“This is a dynamic city that gets the job done,” she said. “You have remained steadily on track with water system improvements, a new landfill, a state of the art wastewater reclamation facility, and now the new water pipelines,” Adler said. “Your city hall consolidates most services under one roof, and the funding partnership that made it possible included city, state, and federal agencies. It took forethought and a committed staff to follow through and bring that variety of funding to fruition,” Adler added.
Adler also noted the city’s willingness to invest in itself; it has contributed $3 million of its own funds, borrowed $17.2 million over 13 projects since 1995, and received $1.7 million in grants. Of the $10.2 million of USDA RD dollars in affordable housing, $2.8 million has been grants or rental assistance, and $7. 4 million has been home loans or loan guarantees.
Over the past 17 years, USDA RD Infrastructure investments have included the following:
Water Systems: Undersized pipelines were a problem for the City of West Wendover. Three separate phases for water system improvements occurred from 1996-2012, with USDA Rural Development investing a total of $5.5 million.
Waste Water Treatment Reclamation Facility: The City of West Wendover’s waste water treatment facility was undersized and did not have the capacity necessary to serve the community and comply with state standards. USDA Rural Development invested $2.8 million to help bring the wastewater treatment and reclamation facility up to state standards that will serve the community for years to come.
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Solid Waste Management and Composting: Before 1997, the City of West Wendover hauled its garbage to an Elko landfill which was ineffective and costly. Nearly $4 million in USDA RD’s Water and Environmental Program funds were used to build a local landfill in 2000, complete with a composting facility. The new landfill meets the needs of the community and supplies compost for both residential and city use.
City Hall: In 2009, a number of partners, together with USDA Rural Development and the City of West Wendover, jointly funded the new city hall which consolidates most city services into one building.
USDA invested $5.2 million in the project.
Affordable Housing Investments: Over the past 17 years, USDA’s affordable housing program has assisted 59 families with home loans, including 15 families who built their own homes using the self-help program. USDA’s loan portfolio in West Wendover totaled $7.4 million between 1995 and 2012 with another a $2.8 in rental assistance for low-income families to stay in their homes. That’s a whopping $10.2 million investment in affordable housing between1995-2012.
City and its Partners: The city and its other funding partners who contributed significantly to the infrastructure improvements. The City of West Wendover provided over $3 million, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contributed $7.6 million to the Water Reclamation Project, and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and its State Revolving Loan Fund provided $746,435.
Uhh, our mayor Donnie Anderson wasn’t there. Fortunately, our mayor pro-tem Emily Carter took care of everything. She represents the City well.