LAPEL — Lapel has moved forward with plans to upgrade parts of its water system with funds from a state grant program.

Town leaders conducted a public meeting about the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) water grant project recently to discuss the latest information.

The meeting was led by Mike Kleinpeter of Kleinpeter Consulting Group, with whom the town has been working to prepare its grant application.

This was the third public hearing concerning the project, which could involve as much as $600,000 in matching funds from OCRA.

Lapel would have to provide a local match of 20 percent, or about $160,000.

The town has budgeted for the project, town council President Deb Wainscott said.

“We’re taking a little money from gas, water and sewer so all of those departments will help pay for our part,” she said.

The project to-do list is long and includes work on the Ford Street well house, including renovation, rehabbing the elevated storage tank, taking care of silt build-up and rust issues.

Asbestos cement mains are also targeted for replacement, Kleinpeter said.

“We have done all we can do,” Kleinpeter said, “this is a good project.”

It may be several months before the town finds out whether it will receive the funds town leaders deem critical for the needed upgrades.

“Taking care of the well, some of the asbestos, the piping — those are things as a small town we can’t afford to do on our own without the grant money,” Wainscott said.

If the funds are approved, work is expected to begin as soon as July.

A successful bid would mean the town would not be allowed to apply for another water grant for five years, but it could still apply for a sewer and storm water grant.

Town leaders said many communities compete for OCRA grants, which fund about a dozen projects each grant cycle; they also said they think Lapel has a good chance of being selected to receive the funds.

If approved, the town is restricted to using the money for tasks outlined in the application.