Click here for important updates to our privacy policy.
RUNNELLS
Des Moines Register
A small town in rural Polk County is hoping a slice of federal infrastructure dollars will be the key to helping the community fix up its sewer plant and start growing on its own terms.
Runnells, in the southeast corner of Polk County, has been largely untouched by the explosive growth of nearby suburbs, like Altoona and Bondurant. The town has one major roadblock: a sewer plant that is nearly 40 years old and in need of updates to meet permit requirements, environmental guidelines and increased capacity for any future growth.
The estimated $5 million price tag is steep for Runnells, which recorded a population of 457 in the latest U.S. Census, and grant funding has been hard to come by.
"We can't seem to get anything landed to help us with that project," said Mayor Gerald Lane. Runnells officials say that the city is held back by larger, fast-growing communities getting more attention and having more staff and resources available to seek out and compete for grants.
People in Runnells do want the town to grow, perhaps by a few hundred people, while keeping the residential feel of a small Iowa town: tractor parades, fall festivals, kids riding their bikes through the streets and the park.
"Without increasing capacity of the sewer plant, we really can't add on new development or homes until we have the capacity for the utilities to handle that," said City Clerk Stephanie Herbold. City officials want to stick to residential development, instead of commercial and industrial, but that means fewer tax dollars coming in to support infrastructure needs.
City officials have known the sewer plant will be an issue for the past few years. The plant is functioning, but it needs upgrades for its permit. Previous bids have come in too high, and the city is looking for ways to cut costs, but the sewer plant needs to get done no matter what happens. That could mean an extra $100 on sewer bills in a town with a lot of residents on a budget and an impact on the city's budget to pay for the project.
Lane and Herbold are hopeful that money from the federal infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden last year, which will funnel $638 million into Iowa for water projects, will help cover costs and soften the impact on the city.
U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, D-West Des Moines, whose district includes Runnells, is also optimistic. She said that towns like Runnells have been left behind as dollars for projects have gone elsewhere, and that states like Iowa stand to benefit the most from the infrastructure bill while communities look to take care of needs, become competitive and bring in new development and families.
"The objective of this is to level the playing field," Axne said, adding that Des Moines benefits when Runnells benefits by being able to add new housing for workers. She said that her staff has been in close touch with communities like Runnells to help them go after the funding provided in the infrastructure bill.
Runnells will still have to go through a grant process, with the federal dollars being funneled through state agencies. The city has not been able to start working with potential developers until the sewer project gets done. Once construction starts, the city would be out of the running for grants.
"If we don't have the infrastructure and we can't promise them that we're going to have the sewer capacity they need to develop," then the city will have to wait to start looking for developers, Herbold said.
Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at [email protected] or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.