Another effort is being made to bring city water to the Garden City Mobile Home Community.
If funds can be obtained through the Indiana Office of Community and Urban Affairs and other sources, a 4,750 foot water main will be installed that will eventually serve residents of the mobile home community, located off State Road 11. The grant money being sought consists of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars that are administered by the state.
The plan is to begin the 12-inch water main just east of the existing Water Treatment Plant No. 2 at 1020 Spears St., interim Columbus City Utilities director Keith Reeves said. A number of wells that supply the mobile home community with water are located in that area.
The new water main will be placed behind the Garden City homes located on the west side of Jonesville Road through what is now an agricultural field, Reeves said. Plans call for the water main to run along a future extension of Southside Drive that will extend to Garden Street, according to the project description.
That area is being considered for future development, and the water main may be used at a later date to serve future businesses and homes, Reeves said. But program manager Trena Carter of Administrative Resources administration, which is handling the grant, says the intent at this time is only to get city water to residents of the mobile home park.
After coming out of the field, the water line will run along Garden Street below an easement that will be acquired from Columbus Regional Health System, the project description states. Once the water main reaching the railroad, the line will be reduced and continue in an existing conduit under the railroad tracks to reach the Garden City Mobile Home Community, Reeves said.
While the mobile home park is not served by the city’s water utility, it is hooked up to the city sewer system. But most of the community, including the mobile homes, are served by shared wells where contamination has been a concern for several years.
In 2018, federal environmental officials said they would spend $320,000 to clean up trichloroethylene (TCE) in the plume under Garden City, and to continue with filtering water at several private wells at properties there. TCE, which is an industrial solvent, has been known to be a cause of cancer.
When the mobile home park began to seek city water service, they estimated it would serve 46 to 47 residences. But last August, the owners were able to get an additional acre of property at 960 Jonesville Road rezone, so an additional seven mobile homes could be added.
Besides the $500,000 grant from the CDBG Wastewater and Drinking Water Program, local officials also propose to spend an additional $604,000 in non-CDBG funds on the project.
Potential funding sources include the mobile home community itself, the Indiana Finance Authority – Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program, or USDA – Rural Development. However, the application also states additional funds could also be obtained through "other currently unknown sources."
Since Columbus Regional Health (CRH) invested $11 million to obtain 800 acres of farmland near Garden City in early 2018, Reeves was asked whether the new water main might be large enough to serve a new CRH medical facility on the city’s west side.
In response, Reeves said there is already a large water main going through the property purchased by CRH that was installed when the original wastewater treatment plant was built in the late 1960s or early 1970s. The water main that will serve the mobile home park will be on the other side of the property where CRH is considering new construction on a medical facility or other businesses, Reeves said.
The grant will be submitted to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs on or about June 25, the application states.
"If everything moves forward and everything aligns, the county will learn whether the grant request has been approved in August," Carter said.
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The Bartholomew County Commissioners will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. Monday regarding the grant request for a new water main in Garden City. The hearing is only available for access virtually through the Zoom protocol. Residents can view the hearing at the following website: https://bartholomew-county.zoom.us/j/99476581623.
Those who wish to only hear the hearing can call 1-312-626-6799, using Meeting ID 994 7658 1623. Those wishing to comment will be given the opportunity should state their name, so their comments will be noted.
As of April 26, information related to this project will be available for review in the Bartholomew County Commissioners’ Office, 440 Third St., Suite 101, Columbus via appointment by calling 812-379-1515. Those want further details can also contact Trena Carter by phone at 812-376-9949 or by email at [email protected].
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