FARMINGTON — Affordable housing advocates say they hope to win a $360,000 block grant to begin work by next summer to improve water and sewer mains that serve a low-to-moderate income housing complex and possibly accommodate eventual upgrades of the complex.

Town officials and the board of directors for the low to moderate income complex, known as 82 High Street, are seeking the Community Development Block Grant to improve the utilities at the complex.

The water and sewer mains are deteriorating, officials say, and the grant will pay the majority of the $400,000 needed to rebuild the mains that serve the 13 apartments in three buildings and 17 mobile homes that make up 82 High Street.

82 High Street was created 26 years ago by the town, residents, eight churches and Western Maine Community Action.

Since then, board members, residents of the complex and town officials have worked to improve the mobile homes and build up the infrastructure. However, the utilities are in need of costly improvements.

“The water lines are old, leaking and undersized,” states the application for the grant money.

The board of directors would also like to install a natural gas line to reduce the heating costs in anticipation of a natural gas pipeline coming to Farmington.

In January 2013, the board met with the town code enforcement officer to discuss the infrastructure problems at the site.

“These problems became critical and the management and maintenance staff of 82 High Street struggled to keep rent levels affordable to the (low to moderate income) population while taking care of the increasing repair costs and maintenance needs of the deteriorating utility infrastructure,” the application states.

While the utility work will be done by contractors, there will also be tree planting and landscaping work done through volunteers, the application states.

The project will cost a total of $400,000, with the remaining $40,000 coming from other grants, donations and volunteer labor.

Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser said the application process is in its second phase. On Tuesday, a public hearing was held as part of the process.

Kaiser said he anticipates sending out requests for proposals on the project this fall, starting engineering work during the winter and having contractors start construction on the project next summer.

Kaiser said part of the reason for rebuilding the water and sewer mains is in preparation for possibly new apartment buildings at 82 High Street, which, if built, would replace the current buildings and sit where they sit now.

“We will accommodate for that possibility as we lay our mains,” he said.

However, he said even if the apartments are not replaced, the utility improvements are well overdue.

“Whether they replace or don’t replace the buildings, (the sewer lines) have been problematic for years,” he said.

Kaitlin Schroeder — 861-9252

kschroeder@centralmaine.com

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