Pembroke will get a $30,000 federal grant to help it find another water source.
City council approved the measure during its meeting Monday night after hearing from Mitsy Peterson of the United States Department of Agriculture.
The grant will be matched by $31,000 from the city, “to help come up with a viable new water supply for the city of Pembroke,” Peterson said. “Our grant money will be used to pay for the preliminary engineering, environmental report and wetland investigation report.”
The city has a year to finish the work, she added.
Pembroke Mayor Mary Warnell said finding a new source of water is necessary because “the old well adjacent to City Hall is beginning to show signs of deterioration and before it becomes in operable we need to have an alternate well in place.”
Also Monday, city council heard the results of an audit of its books for 2013. The city got an unmodified opinion from auditor Taylor Mongin of Holland, Henry and Bromley, who told council “that’s what we want to see.”
Mongin said the city’s assets rose by more than $1.5 million last year, mostly due to an increase in fixed assets and projects.
The city’s liabilities increased by about $658,000 but “the overall net position of the city is up over $800,000,” she said.
Warnell, said the audit was “timely, comprehensive and shows we as a city are on the right path.”
In other business, Pembroke Fire Chief Peter Waters recognized firefighters Paul Doyle, Matt Flemming and Paul Rigo, and lieutenants Joseph Walraven and Dalton Cook for completing first responder training, and Waters and Cook presented Flemming and Samantha Fennell with yellow fire helmets for becoming trained firefighters.