Council approves application for additional funding for 8th Avenue water tower
June 22, 2026 | City of Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota
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The City of Aberdeen council voted to authorize the city to apply for $2.5 million in additional drinking-water facilities funding to cover a bid shortfall on the 8th Avenue water tower and transmission project.
Ted Dicki, a representative of the Northeast Council of Governments, told the council the project originally paired a $2 million Economic Development Administration grant with a $10 million loan from the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources but came in short when bids were opened. "We're applying for 2.5 million at 3.75% for 20 years," Dicki said, and emphasized the figures he presented were a "worst-case scenario" required for the funding application.
Dicki presented project totals and illustrative revenue estimates: roughly $14.5 million in total costs, about 9,537 hookups in the city and a domestic base rate he recorded as $48.25. Using a flat per-household model and a 5,000-gallon usage assumption, he said a loan-only scenario would raise the average domestic bill by about $1.75 per month — to roughly $50 — and commercial accounts to about $62 per month under those assumptions.
During council questions, Dicki said many communities are receiving loan-heavy packages and that Aberdeen does not qualify for USDA rural development programs because its population exceeds 25,000. "Until you get to that point, they will give you as much loan as possible, but no grant," he said when asked about grant prospects.
Council members asked whether lower financing terms were available through other programs; Dicki said the state DNR was the primary available source for a project of this size. After discussion, a council member moved to approve the resolution authorizing the application; the council conducted a roll-call vote and the motion carried.
The presentation was described as preliminary: Dicki said he will return in two weeks for the formal discussion and hoped the matter would move more quickly on the next visit.
What happens next: staff will complete and file the funding application and bring the matter back to council for the definitive financing decision and any rate-setting action, which would follow any award or loan terms the city receives.
Ted Dicki, a representative of the Northeast Council of Governments, told the council the project originally paired a $2 million Economic Development Administration grant with a $10 million loan from the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources but came in short when bids were opened. "We're applying for 2.5 million at 3.75% for 20 years," Dicki said, and emphasized the figures he presented were a "worst-case scenario" required for the funding application.
Dicki presented project totals and illustrative revenue estimates: roughly $14.5 million in total costs, about 9,537 hookups in the city and a domestic base rate he recorded as $48.25. Using a flat per-household model and a 5,000-gallon usage assumption, he said a loan-only scenario would raise the average domestic bill by about $1.75 per month — to roughly $50 — and commercial accounts to about $62 per month under those assumptions.
During council questions, Dicki said many communities are receiving loan-heavy packages and that Aberdeen does not qualify for USDA rural development programs because its population exceeds 25,000. "Until you get to that point, they will give you as much loan as possible, but no grant," he said when asked about grant prospects.
Council members asked whether lower financing terms were available through other programs; Dicki said the state DNR was the primary available source for a project of this size. After discussion, a council member moved to approve the resolution authorizing the application; the council conducted a roll-call vote and the motion carried.
The presentation was described as preliminary: Dicki said he will return in two weeks for the formal discussion and hoped the matter would move more quickly on the next visit.
What happens next: staff will complete and file the funding application and bring the matter back to council for the definitive financing decision and any rate-setting action, which would follow any award or loan terms the city receives.
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