The Village of Questa (VoQ) unanimously approved a contract for the contracting company NV5 Engineering for work on the village’s wastewater treatment expansion project.
Village Clerk Valerie Vigil and Project Manager Jake Lafore presented the proposal to award the contract to NV5 following its submission to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) alongside the Village’s application for a USDA Pre-development Planning Grant (PPG), a grant specifically for water and waste disposal projects.
NV5’s preliminary engineering report puts the cost of the project at approximately $49,977 while the environmental assessment review would be an approximate $75,938.
“We did get notification from [USDA’s Rural Development Division] that the New Mexico Environmental Department is going to require an environmental assessment,” said Project Manager Lefore. “There’s no way to get around that.”
Last year, NV5 Engineering worked with the Village on projects relating to La Cienega repairs.
“I’m confident in NV5,” said Lefore. “They’ve worked with us in the past.”
The PPG from the USDA offers a maximum of $60,000 to low-income communities with populations of 10,000 or less. The Village of Questa was awarded the maximum amount.
A recording of the September 26 Village Council meeting is available on the Questa del Rio News’ Facebook page.
