Price City schedules public hearing on up to $14 million water and sewer revenue bonds

The Price City Council on Aug. 27 adopted a resolution calling a public hearing on a potential bond issue of up to $14,000,000 to fund replacement of an aging water main installed in the 1930s. The council passed Resolution No. 2025-20 by motion after staff described the project need and the funding package from state drinking-water authorities.

Council members said the main has exceeded its useful life and the work is urgent. Eric Johnson, a city staff member, told the council the Utah Department of Environmental Quality Drinking Water Board has approved a funding package that includes subsidized terms; he said the resolution’s purpose is to set the required public- and court-hearing process under state law and to publish maximums that lenders and state procedures require. "You're not actually expecting to borrow that much, but your lender wants you to put that into the resolution so that there's a buffer," Johnson said.

The council’s action on Aug. 27 did not itself authorize borrowing. Johnson explained that state law requires a public notice and a court hearing before the city may finalize debt. He described the likely financing terms the city has obtained as heavily subsidized: an assessment-fee structure in lieu of typical interest (described in the presentation as about 2%), and a long-term repayment schedule characterized in staff comments as roughly a 30-payment schedule commonly referred to in the presentation as a 35-year maturity for budgeting purposes. Johnson said that, at typical market rates, repaying the full project would cost roughly $30 million over time, but with the subsidized package the city expects to pay closer to half that amount.

Council Member Willis moved to adopt Resolution No. 2025-20 to call the hearing and authorize required notices; Council Member Richardson seconded the motion. The chair called for the ayes and the motion carried.

The council scheduled the public hearing and directed staff to publish the notice containing the maximum principal, maximum interest parameters and other statutory disclosures; a subsequent public and court hearing is required before the city may issue bonds or enter into final debt documents. No final loan terms, exact borrowing amount, or bid awards were established at the Aug. 27 meeting.

The bond package, if approved following the required hearings, would fund replacement of the city’s main water trunk line and related water-system improvements.

Council actions on Aug. 27 were limited to calling the statutory hearing and setting the maximums for notice; staff and the council indicated that subsequent meetings will present final financing documents and any bids for public comment.

Ending: The council did not adopt any loan agreement on Aug. 27; it only approved the public-notice resolution to allow the statutory public and court hearings required before the city may issue debt.