Water Board Enlightens Community at Public Meeting

The Skidmore Water Supply Corporation (SWSC) held a public meeting Saturday morning at the Fire Station. A small crowd of local residents attended the meeting as well as County Commissioner Ronnie Olivares, and County Judge Jimmy Martinez. The board explained that lower to middle income families would get free water and waste hookups to their homes under the Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA) grant and that a pending USDA grant would likely cover the rest of the community. For example, a family of 4 with a total combined income in excess of $32,950 would not be eligible under ORCA but may be covered by the additional USDA funds. The exact amount of USDA funds available will not be known for a matter of months but board members are confident the USDA grant will come through. The cost of connecting water and sewer lines was estimated at $1,500 to $1,600 for those not covered under the grants. However, upper-income property owners will have the option of completing the connections themselves should the grant money run out. Ram II Construction has been contracted to lay the water and waste lines and will set up a temporary office adjoining Papa's Market. Residents are encouraged to double check, and revise if necessary, the proposed location of water and waste hookups by speaking with Ram II owner Ralph Menard. It was pointed out that the SWSC has raised over $5,000,000 for community water and waste disposal and that the installation of fire hydrants along the water lines would likely lower residents insurance rates. The SWSC will hold a special meeting at 2:30 pm on Monday, December 22, at the Skidmore Fire Station.