The Laurel City Council hopes to take another step toward improving the infrastructure in the City of Laurel.

The council will decide Tuesday whether to approve an order authorizing officials to proceed with submitting a ranking form for a FY2011 Drinking Water System Improvement Revolving Loan Fund (DWSIRLF) State Revolving Loan Fund Project to the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Eric Page, senior project manager with Neel-Schaffer engineering firm, met with the council this week to discuss the process.

Page said the ranking form is the first step toward Phase II of the city’s overall multi-million dollar water line replacement project.

The council in January accepted the lowest bid of C.B. Developers, Inc. of Petal for $2,710,864.98 for the city to begin the construction work in Phase I of the water line improvement project.

After more than a year and a half of work, the City of Laurel announced in January that it is about to embark upon a $11 million water and sewer line replacement project.

Page said construction cost for the 2009 State Revolving Fund (SRF) Water System Improvements Projects was estimated to be about a $4 million project.

However, because of the bid and the city being able to receive some stimulus funding, the city could possibly proceed with additional water line improvements.

The ranking form “is simply a way of letting the state know that you are planning to do a project,” Page explained. “This is to just get your name on the list for the state.”

Officials said the Mississippi Department of Health monitors all water line improvement projects.

For nearly two years, council members and city officials have been talking about the condition of the city’s water and sewer lines.

In a joint meeting of the public safety and public works committees in May 2008, city officials met with engineers with Neel-Schaffer to determine the status of the city’s current infrastructure.

At that meeting, the council agreed to allow the city administration to pursue funding options for approximately $7 million worth of improvements that were being classified as the worst problems in the city.

The group then established a proposed five-year and ten-year plan.

In March 2009, the council adopted a resolution giving the administration authority to submit a Drinking Water System Improvement Revolving Loan Fund (DWSIRLF) loan application and another resolution for Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund (WPCRLF) loan application.

The Laurel City Council in October 2009 granted the administration the authority to execute the loan agreement for the DWSIRLF Water Improvements Projects.

Dennis Keveryn, the City of Laurel’s chief administrative officer, said the city had three bonds, which rates range from four to five percent interest, that are retiring. He said the city plans to use the money that would normally go toward those bonds for the replacement project along with $1.8 million in stimulus money and money from a State Revolving Loan to cover the cost of the project.

State Revolving Funds (SRF) are low interest loans with a pay back of 20 years.

Officials said the State Revolving Loans will have a 1.75 percent interest rate for the sewer lines and a 1.95 percent interest rate for the water lines to cover the cost for the project.

Officials said the capital improvement projects are needed to improve the low pressure areas of the city, improve fire flow, create redundancy within system and provide for residential and economic growth.

Officials said although some initial projects have been selected for improvements in this plan, residents throughout the city of Laurel are expected to benefit from the proposed projects.

Page said work on Phase I of the water improvement project is expected to begin this week. He said work on Phase I of the sewer improvement project is expected to be bidded soon.

Officials said the construction of the Phase I Water Improvement Project is expected to take a little over a year to complete.

The council will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Laurel City Hall to determine if the city is ready to proceed with Phase II of the water line improvement project.