County Board agrees to help Burr Oak with the cost of a new sewer treatment facility

Bids on building the Burr Oak sewer treatment facility came in lower than the engineer's cost estimate for the project, but higher than the first estimate two years ago.

The Burr Oak project is being paid through USDA Rural Development funds, with a split between a grant and a loan.  That has created the only question for the project, since the original estimate in 2016 of the project's cost was lower.  USDA had suggested the community take out a larger loan to cover the costs, but Burr Oak officials on Monday successfully persuaded the Winneshiek County Board to have the county share in a portion of the expenses.

The final dollar amount won't be known until the project is completed later this summer, but it's expected the county's share would be less than ten percent of the project cost of $343,000.