Council authorizes up to $270,000 for five WaterOne connection lines to add redundancy
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Summary
Council approved a memorandum of agreement with WaterOne to build five pipeline connections intended to reduce reliance on a single treated-water delivery point; staff estimated construction at about $245,000 and recommended a $270,000 cap to include contingency.
The Spring Hill City Council on March 13 authorized the mayor to sign a memorandum of agreement with WaterOne to construct five connection lines that staff said will add redundancy to the city's drinking-water system.
Why it matters: Spring Hill currently receives treated water at a single point of connection. Staff said that a single-point failure of raw-water source, the treatment plant, or a transmission pipeline could jeopardize the city's ability to deliver potable water to customers. The council authorized the construction agreement with a not-to-exceed amount of $270,000 to cover estimated costs and contingency.
What council heard: Public Works Director Jacob Spear told council the estimate of about $245,000 is based on WaterOne's existing contracts and unit prices, plus a 10% contingency. That estimate, the presentation said, was conservative and typically runs over budget less often than not. Council discussed increasing the cap to provide additional contingency; the council ultimately set a $270,000 not-to-exceed cap and authorized the mayor to sign the agreement.
Rate and billing implications discussed: Staff presented a comparison of average residential bills under several options. Under the WaterOne proposal there is a temporary system development surcharge (SDC) for existing Spring Hill water customers to capture the value of WaterOne's existing infrastructure; staff said the agreed monthly surcharge for current customers would be $13.72 for a 10-year buy-in period. Using the numbers presented, staff said the typical Spring Hill household bill would be around $46.61 per month during the 10-year SDC period and would drop to about $32.89 per month after the surcharge expires, assuming other rates remain unchanged.
Council direction and next steps: Council authorized the mayor to sign the agreement with the $270,000 not-to-exceed amount. Public Works will execute the memorandum of agreement, schedule construction and report back to council with a construction timeline.
What the motion did not do: The council's vote authorized construction of the connections and the funding cap; it did not yet transfer ownership of Spring Hill's water system or finalize any system-merger terms. Those steps would require additional agreements and separate approvals.