Iola seeking community help
IOLA – The City of Iola is seeking help from property owners within the city as preparation for the Iola Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) continues.
Iola Mayor Christina Stover said The City has a map book they are wanting to update to include locations of septic systems within city limits. They are also taking feedback on potential areas to avoid when digging septic lines to connect to the WWTP. Stover said this will help with the preliminary design phase. She urges property owners to call the Iola City Office, 936-394-2110 to schedule an appointment to discuss the requested information. Citizens that don’t reach out to The City may receive a visit to collect the needed information.
Council discussed a potential tax-rate increase of 5% to help cover expenses for the WWTP during the monthly Iola City Council meeting Tuesday, July 12. Stover said the rate increase will be on the August agenda.
Iola paid their second WWTP loan payment in the amount of $5,000. This is a yearly payment.
Harvey Grant
Harvey Grant projects are expected to begin once completion of a similar project in Bedias concludes.
Iola was awarded a $167,101 Harvey Grant. Stover said they proposed four projects, but it is anticipated only two projects will be completed before the funds are depleted. Plans include replacing old, un dersized, culverts to help mitigate flooding. The proposed locations are Fort Worth Street in Iola and the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 244 and Bulldog Lane in Iola.
Quiddity Engineering LLC has been hired to complete the project.
ARPA 2021
All recipients of the first round of ARPA 2021 funding received their payments. Iola Council awarded four non-profit organizations a total of $13,599.99. Stover stated the second round of ARPA funds are expected soon. She said there will be discussion how to best spend the second round of funding.
Other Action
• Approved purchase of a CD in the amount of $50,000.00 from the sales and use tax bank account. Details of the current CD are to be determined. Stover stated The City has six CD’s. The used proceeds from other CD’s to purchase property for the WWTP.
• Approved ordinance declining the rate change requested by Entergy Texas, Inc. which was filed July 1.
Water Restrictions
Effective immediately, Wickson Creek SUD is implementing Stage 2 of the Drought Contingency Plan due to excessive heat, prolonged drought, and high-water use.
Additionally, Wickson Creek asked customers to immediately stop all outside watering from Wednesday, July 13 through Saturday, July 16 to conserve water while recharging the water storage and distribution system.
Implementation of Stage 2 and stopping all outside wa tering use through will potentially prevent Wickson Creek from further implementing additional water restrictions.
Make these simple changes to your irrigation timers as soon as possible.
• If your street address ends with an even number (0, 2, 4, 6, or 8) limit irrigation times to Sunday and Thursday. Set sprinkler systems to run a maximum of 20 minutes per zone and to start no earlier than 9 p.m. and stop no later than 6 a.m.
• If your street address ends with an odd number (1, 3, 5, 7, or 9), limit irrigation times to Saturday and Wednesday. Set sprinkler systems to run a maximum of 20 minutes per zone and to start no earlier than 9 p.m. and stop no later than 6 a.m.
Wickson is requesting all customers practice water conservation and to minimize or discontinue water use for non-essential purposes. These changes are mandatory and necessary to maintain safe storage levels for fire protection, drinking, and sanitation.
Iola’s next regularly scheduled council meeting is Tuesday, Aug. 9.