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Sarpy County and Cities Wastewater Agency expects WIFIA loan modification, reports Springfield plant turnover
Summary
Agency staff said a modification to the WIFIA loan is expected in October, reported a certificate of occupancy for the Springfield wastewater plant and outlined near-term operations steps including asset management, safety procedures and disaster planning.
The Sarpy County and Cities Wastewater Agency on Sept. 24, 2025 received an update from project engineer Jeff Thompson saying the agency expects a modification to its WIFIA loan in October and that the Springfield wastewater treatment plant has received a certificate of occupancy and begun initial operational setup.
The update matters because a modified WIFIA agreement will affect the agency’s ability to proceed with final design work and contract approvals, while the completed Springfield facility enables staff to begin SCADA and control-system setup and other operational tasks.
Jeff Thompson, project engineer for the agency, told the board that the WIFIA team is finishing its fiscal year on Sept. 30 and that the agency should “expect that hopefully here sometime in October” for the loan modification, after which agency and county legal and staff teams will perform internal reviews. Thompson said agency staff will return the modification to WIFIA for any final questions or adjustments and will present the item to the agency board and the Sarpy County Board for consideration once reviews are complete.
Thompson outlined the potential debt-service impact to the county if the borrow amount changes: the agency is looking at about $33,000,000 in total borrowing rather than $45,000,000, and that lower borrowing would reduce the county’s required coverage by about $1,600,000. He said the figure would scale proportionally if the borrow amount is reduced further.
On project and operations items, Thompson reported the agency received a certificate of occupancy for the buildings at the Springfield facility; field superintendent Jacob Slobodnick has moved into the site and begun arranging a desk and the SCADA/control systems. Thompson said staff are working on platting property acquired from Springfield so it sits under a single lot and on connection-fee workflows for members and developers.
Thompson described ongoing asset-management work with contractor InfraWise (subsidiary Hawkins) to exercise valves outside planted field areas and said the agency has already received a valve-exercising machine. He said a UTV is at the Sarpy County shop being fitted with lights and is expected to be ready by the end of the week, and that the agency is preparing a safety manual for field operations to bring back to the board for approval.
Thompson said he and staff are working with HDR on a proposal to support upcoming work; that proposal will be brought to the board after the WIFIA modification is completed. He also said he and Jacob attended FEMA disaster-management training and will use lessons from that training to prepare an emergency response and recovery plan to present to the board.
No formal action was taken on the WIFIA modification, HDR proposal, safety manual or disaster plan during the meeting; Thompson said the agency will return with those items for board consideration once reviews and the WIFIA modification are complete.
