Town of Dell Awarded $200,000 through Mississippi County Infrastructure Grant Program

Pictured, from left: Public Affairs Director Tom Henry, Justice Michael White, Mayor Danny Moody and County Treasurer Peggy Meatte

On June 12, 2023, the Government of Mississippi County, Arkansas announced it has awarded $200,000 to the Town of Dell, Arkansas, through their Mississippi County Infrastructure Grant Program.

The Town of Dell owns and operates a municipal water system that serves the entire town and several customers in the county. A new well and water treatment facility was constructed in 2017. However, the water system needs to rehabilitate the existing 150,000-gallon, elevated storage tank, last inspected in 2021. At that time, it was recommended that both the interior and exterior of the tank be abrasive blast-cleaned and repainted and that the interior ladder and level indicator be repaired. Additionally, the overflow pipe does not meet current codes and needs to be modified, along with several other important updates. This grant will partially fund the needed rehabilitation of Dell’s water storage tank and make it current with all Arkansas Department of Health guidelines.

“We are proud to partner with the Town of Dell in continuing to provide its citizens with clean, safe water for years to come,” said County Judge John Alan Nelson. 

“We are proud to receive this grant and it will go a long way toward covering the cost of the repairs we need to do on our water system,” said Mayor Danny Moody.

On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law. Among many other provisions, ARPA provides direct funding to each county in the United States through what is called the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Relief Fund (CLFRF). Mississippi County, Arkansas, received $7,895,980 and has designated $2 million to fund the Mississippi County Infrastructure Grant Program.

The Mississippi County Infrastructure Grant Program will fund innovative, effective infrastructure projects designed to address the infrastructure needs of the County. Each grant will provide up to $200,000 for cities/towns within Mississippi County and can only be used for infrastructure projects pursuant to Arkansas Constitution, Article 12, Section 5 as incorporated into Article 12 by Amendment 97. These grants will fund up to 75% of project costs, with 25% cost matched by the applicant municipality.

Only Mississippi County towns/cities were eligible for the grant; the funding allocated by Mississippi County for this program may be used to assist with Infrastructure project planning or implementation with a priority for projects that address areas of greatest need and serve those most at-risk. The following are types of projects eligible under this program: land acquisition, site preparation, rail spur construction, water service, wastewater treatment, employee training and equipment, environmental mitigation and training, and research facilities and the necessary equipment.

An informative workshop was held on Friday, April 7, where the cities were invited to learn about the grant and ask questions. Applications were received from eight cities and were “scored” by iParametrics, the county’s ARPA consultant, based on application metrics.

For more information, visit the County website at https://www.landofsteel.com/.