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Council approves design contract for Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 2; developers to cover majority of costs
Summary
The council authorized the mayor to sign an agreement with Ward Zettgett and Associates to begin engineering design for Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 2. Council discussion explained developer pro rata payments, plant sizing and timeline; the resolution passed by roll call vote.
The City Council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Ward Zettgett and Associates to begin engineering design work for Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 2.
The measure matters because the plant is intended to provide capacity for four large development agreements the city has signed and because the funding approach relies heavily on developer pro rata contributions rather than general-tax revenue.
Mr. Perry, staff member, summarized the project background and funding. He said the city has entered into four development agreements with MUDs (municipal utility districts) that reserve wholesale wastewater capacity. Those development agreements require developers to pay a pro rata share for plant costs rather than relying on taxpayers. Perry said the council selected a site for Plant No. 2, closed on the property in cash, and that developers have placed their pro rata funds in escrow.
Perry said the recommended plant size discussed previously is 3 million gallons per day (MGD) and that the four developers account for about 1.87 MGD of that capacity — roughly 61% of the proposed plant. He said developer payments cover land acquisition, permitting, design and construction; city invoices for permitting and design will be billed to the developers as work is completed.
Perry described an approximate city share for engineering design of “around $2,000,000” and said that work would occur over roughly 15 to 18 months for design, with permitting running in parallel and several additional years expected for construction. He told the council that, in the interim, developers must route wastewater to the existing plant until new capacity comes online.
Council member Kaslowski moved to approve the resolution authorizing the mayor to execute the agreement with Ward Zettgett and Associates; Mayor Pro Tim Frazier seconded. The council approved the motion by roll call (all “yes” votes recorded in the session). The motion text before council was the engineering design agreement to begin design work for Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 2; the contract amount is recorded in the meeting packet as "5 mill, $106,400,000 dollars" (as stated at the meeting record).
Ending: Staff said permitting invoices are being billed to the developers on a pay-as-you-go basis. Perry and staff noted the city retains controls in the development agreements, including withholding acceptance of infrastructure or connections if developers do not meet payment obligations.
