Kensington is on its way to getting a new water tower.
Last week, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced a $600,000 grant for the tower. It's the first large funding piece to be announced for the estimated $2.4 million project, which includes not just the tower, but replacing wells and deteriorating water mains and adding onto the water treatment plant.
"We've been working at this for two years and it's exciting to see it start to come together," said city clerk Jennifer Kangas, who is also the sanitary district secretary and treasurer for this city of 292.
Kensington's water tower dates back to around the 1930s, and falls short of the worker safety standards of modern towers, Kangas said. Because federal financing will also be involved, the city has to work with the Minnesota Historic Preservation Office to see whether it should be preserved in some way.
That doesn't necessarily mean it must remain standing, but could involve creating a file with high-quality photos, drawings and a detailed history, said Denis Gardner, National Register historian for the state. Some communities do choose to preserve their old towers.
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Officials hope to pay for the project mostly with state and federal grants to keep costs down for residents.
Kensington hopes to get a $1 million grant from the USDA Rural Development, Kangas said. It also looks like it could get a $800,000 loan from the agency, but since the city is still paying back a decade-old $1 million loan to redo water lines, it is hoping to avoid borrowing the money and instead find more grant money.
"We already have such high debt," Kangas said. "We would have to increase water rates and that would be unaffordable."
Engineer Scott Kuhlman, who is working with Kensington to design the project, said the new tank will hold 50,000 gallons, and the infrastructure work could begin by 2019.
Kangas and Kuhlman both said water quality in Kensington is good.
