Granite Falls council approves $34.1 million state loan for wastewater treatment plant upgrade

The Granite Falls City Council voted to accept a $34,095,800 loan from the Washington State Department of Ecology to fund upgrades to the city's wastewater treatment plant.

Councilmember David Griggs moved to approve Resolution No. 2023-11, and Councilmember Steven Glenn seconded; the motion carried, according to the meeting minutes. The minutes record approval but do not include a roll-call vote tally or names of individual yes/no votes.

City staff previously held a pre-construction meeting for the WWTP project, and Deputy City Manager Jeff Balentine reported project planning activity during staff reports. Mayor Matthew Hartman later told the Council he understood a separate federal funding item for the WWTP had been cut to $979,000 and was "stuck in the House," a status he reported as of the meeting; the minutes do not provide documents or detail about that federal action.

The Department of Ecology loan is recorded in the motion as WQC-2024-GRAFAL-0005. The resolution acceptance authorizes the city to proceed with project financing under the terms described in the council item; the minutes do not list financing terms, repayment schedule, or an implementation timeline. City staff will continue pre-construction and financing steps as the project moves forward.

The council did not record further public comment on the loan at the meeting. Next procedural steps noted in staff reports included ongoing pre-construction coordination and future project updates to the council.