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County agrees to advance Phase 2 of East Milton wastewater project, explore Milton asset acquisition and residential connections
Summary
After hearing Jacobs consultants, commissioners directed staff to finalize design for Phase 2 of the East Milton wastewater plant, pursue equipment acquisition and study whether to acquire nearby City of Milton infrastructure; the board asked staff to evaluate funding options and to permit residential connections timed to capacity.
Santa Rosa County commissioners at a Jan. 30 workshop agreed to move forward with design and planning for Phase 2 of the East Milton wastewater treatment project and to study possible acquisition of nearby City of Milton sewer assets.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the plant is needed to support near‑term development in East Milton and to allow medical and commercial projects that require sewer capacity. The county’s consultant, Jacobs, presented a phased plan and preliminary cost estimates.
Project scope and costs: County staff and Jacobs said the existing design for Phase 1 is complete. Jacobs's estimate presented at the workshop set Phase 1 construction at about $21,000,000 and designed capacity at 250,000 gallons per day (gpd). Staff reported that Phase 2 would expand the plant to 500,000 gpd and that Phase 2 construction would be a smaller incremental cost (presented by Jacobs as roughly $5,000,000 additional in mobilization savings compared with a separate build, though estimates vary). A Phase 3 expansion to 1 million gpd would require another disposal site and substantial additional cost; the board did not commit to Phase 3 at the workshop.
Residential connections and Milton assets: Developers have asked whether the county would accept residential sewer connections to the new plant. Commissioners gave staff consensus to plan for residential connections, conditioned on available treatment capacity and timing. Commissioners also asked staff to continue discussions with the City of Milton about acquiring existing sewer infrastructure and to provide options for purchase or tie‑in agreements.
Funding and timing: Staff said the project is expected to be treated as an enterprise fund and that the county will evaluate grants, loans, bonds and rate structures to cover capital and operating costs. County financial advisers will prepare options; Jacobs provided illustrative fee structures in the handout. Commissioners asked staff to return with funding scenarios and potential rates and to coordinate with their February and March calendar for decisions on procurement and equipment purchases.
Concerns and next steps: Commissioners stressed the project's public‑safety and economic development value and asked for a larger study only on Phase 3. The board asked staff to finalize Phase 2 design, consider purchases to accelerate delivery, and bring a task order back to Jacobs for any additional study the board requests.
