City applies for grant

The City of Green River is one step closer to finding funding and solutions for the ongoing Killdeer Wetlands Diversion Dam project.

After discussing potential future directions for plans for the diversion dam during a recent city workshop, the Green River City Council considered whether or not to approve an application for grant funds for the project during their September 17 meeting. After discussing the implications of going after the funding, the council voted to approve the submission of a grant application. 

The City's Public Affairs and Grants Manager, Ryan Rust, spoke to the council to give more information about the grant and how applying for it could impact plans for the diversion dam. 

"As you know, we've been working on the Killdeer Wetlands for a number of years now," Ryan said at the beginning of his presentation, explaining that pursuing this grant opportunity was a follow-up to the recent workshop discussions. 

While the city has secured grant funding for the project in the past from multiple sources, the funding still doesn't cover the estimated costs of the project proposal, which come in at over $1 million for most plans, according to City Administrator Reed Clevenger. 

The grant the city is pursuing now is an Upper Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program (B2E) Grant. 

"The Bureau of Reclamation has recently opened the B2E grant program focusing on addressing the impacts of drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin and staff believe the Killdeer Project to be eligible," the council meeting agenda explained. 

The grant would help cover costs for the project and would be 100% federal funding, Ryan Rust explained. He added that, based on current estimates and the city being awarded the full funding amount requested, the grant could cover the remaining costs of the project without requiring any additional funds from the city. 

Councilmembers Gary Killpack and Mike Shutran asked clarifying questions on how much design work on the project has been completed or will be completed, as the agenda explained that the preferred alternative has been designed to 30%. Ryan Rust explained that the city's contracted engineer has completed 30% of designs for alternatives of the project that various partners have agreed meet the project goals. The project has a long list of partners, including organizations and businesses like the Green River Greenbelt Task Force, Trout Unlimited, Fish and Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Power, and more. Ryan added that the designs that are completed include modeling on flows and hydraulics, but clarified that the design is not expected to be developed further until it is known whether or not the city will be awarded the grant. Part of the grant request is for funding in order to complete the engineering, according to Ryan. He also pointed out that the grant request includes contingencies to account for the fact that project costs could be higher in the future. 

Another concern of Councilmember Killpack was whether going after the grant would essentially make the city "locked in" to having to complete the project a certain way or follow a specific alternative plan for the diversion dam. 

"If we accept it, in general we will need to stick pretty closely to the design that we submit," Ryan Rust said, pointing out that grants often include requirements to follow specific guidelines and need to stay close to the original proposal in the application. He also noted that currently the plan is just to submit an application for the grant, but the council will still have the option of not accepting the funding if the city wanted the project to go in a different direction. Ryan said the application doesn't mean the city is locked in to a specific plan, but it does indicate that "we're heading in a particular direction." 

"I'm really not concerned about money, I'm concerned about safety," Killpack added, posing the hypothetical consideration that if the grant funding ended up not covering the costs, the city may have to come up with the rest of the money in order to ensure that the project was completed as it should be. "If we're going to do it, let's do it right," he said. 

Councilmember Robert Berg asked how much safety had been a focus during the engineering process, and both Ryan Rust and Public Works Director Mark Westenskow emphasized that safety has always been the city's main consideration.

"Safety has been the primary driver of our position throughout this process," Ryan said. 

Westenskow added that all the partners involved with the project have their own goals and priorities, but said that "everybody understands that safety has got to be a driver." He said safety has been a consideration in all the considered alternatives, to the point of rejecting cheaper alternatives in order to promote safety considerations. 

Mayor Pete Rust noted that he's been involved in the project discussions for several years, and safety has always been emphasized. 

"We're not submitting something that hasn't had everybody's input," he said of the grant application. 

Killpack pointed out that another consideration for the project, and the reason he decided to support the grant application, was realizing that delaying this project could also delay funding for future projects along the river. 

The council voted unanimously to approve the submission of the grant application.