City OKs public works loans

The City Council on Monday approved two low-interest Public Works Trust Fund loans from the state for $5.5 million in water system improvements.

A $3.4 million loan is being taken to pay for nearly four miles of new water transmission pipe across northeast Spokane. The existing riveted steel pipe is 91 years old and in danger of rupturing, officials said. That type of pipe has broken elsewhere in the city, causing significant damage. The loan will pay for new ductile iron pipe on a route that runs from Frederick Avenue to Division Street.

Another loan for $2.2 million will pay for a new water tank on Five Mile Prairie along Hawthorne Road at an unimproved segment of Dorset Street. The tank is expected to solve water pressure problems in the fast-growing residential area.

In other business, the council approved assessments and assessment rolls to two local improvement districts for street work in the Garry Park Neighborhood. They are for Lee Street from South Riverton Avenue to Marshall Avenue and for Stone Street from South Riverton to Marshall. Both districts are being subsidized with community development funds to reduce costs to property owners.