The small town of Boynton, Oklahoma, is about 17 miles from Muskogee, Oklahoma. The town was built in 1903 and named after E.L. Boynton, chief engineer of the Missouri Coal and Railroad Company. Through the years, Boynton has declined in industry and population due to the drought of the Great Depression era. However, some residents continue farming and ranching in the small town.

The residents rely on Boynton Public Works Authority (PWA) for their sewer, water, and trash services. Boynton PWA has been in operation since April 12, 1965. Leanette Hutchinson runs the PWA and serves as the town’s mayor.

In the fall of 2022, Boynton PWA started working with Holloway, Updike, and Bellen, Consulting Engineers, for a scope of services that includes preparing a technical memorandum (required by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ)) to make improvements to the water authority.

These improvements included the replacement of the water storage tank and mixing, aeration, and air drafting of the new water tank. This project will connect the 2” line fed by the Old Raw Water line to the existing 6” lines on State Highway 62.

Boynton PWA started the application process, and the engineer gave them a rough estimate of the project’s overall cost. Since the full scope of the engineering plans was not completed yet, the overall costs could not be determined. During this process, Jay Updike, with Holloway, Updike, and Bellen, introduced Boynton PWA to Communities Unlimited (CU) Lending Department. The Lending Team was able to structure the request as a single-pay loan for two years.

Boynton PWA also started working with CU’s Environmental Team, Oklahoma State Coordinator, Gaylene Riley, and Senior Community Environmental Management Specialist, Julie Hudgins. They assisted Boynton PWA with a rate study to increase their water and sewer rates and worked with the PWA on their debt ratio. Julie helped them with the application and the list of documents needed.

During the next few weeks, Boynton PWA worked with CU’s Lending Department to receive the funds to cover the engineering costs to improve their water system. The loan for the small public works authority closed in September of 2022.