Mantua council approves interlocal wastewater agreement with Brigham City

The Mantua Town Council on Aug. 25, 2025, approved a resolution and an interlocal cooperation agreement to use Brigham City’s wastewater services for Mantua wastewater discharge.

Council members said the agreement changes how impact fees and overage charges will be handled and requires Mantua staff to notify Brigham City when the town receives land-use applications, including building permits. The council voted "all in favor" on both the resolution and on approving the interlocal cooperation agreement; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the meeting transcript.

Council members said the agreement was revised to remove a clause that would have required Mantua to indemnify Brigham City beyond state law. "Because both parties are governmental entities under the Utah Governmental Immunity Act, each party is responsible for negligence committed by its own officers and employees," a council speaker said while reading the revised language referencing the Utah Governmental Immunity Act. The transcript shows the indemnity language was moved to follow state law.

Council discussion also clarified who will collect impact fees. Mantua staff members Angela and Ron were identified in the meeting as the town staff who typically invoice impact fees; under the agreement, Brigham City will receive funds and provide receipts before Mantua issues final permits. "We'll give them a form, but we won't collect it back... They have to take it down to Brigham City and pay," a council speaker said during discussion of the collection process.

The agreement requires Mantua to notify Brigham City of "receipt of any land use application of any type, including building permits for new structures," a provision that prompted concern from council members about the practical scope of notifications. One council speaker asked for the town attorney, Seth, to clarify whether routine work such as driveways or roof repairs would trigger notification under the agreement. The council asked that Seth provide an interpretation or clarification at a later meeting.

The interlocal agreement also includes a temporary waiver of overage charges. The text read in the meeting states, "overage charges shall be waived until 12/10/2026," and at other points the transcript refers to "12/04/2026." Council members noted those date references and discussed the need to set a clear effective date; the agreement as printed contained an April 2025 effective-date placeholder that the council agreed must be corrected. A council speaker said the town remains responsible from the date the agreement is signed and that the council will update Mantua’s fee schedule in a subsequent meeting or by emergency action if needed.

Council members also discussed prior paperwork and a previously signed letter of intent (LOI) that had provided a two-year grace period; speakers said the LOI was not a contract and that Mantua staff only recently received the full agreement. One council member said the town previously agreed to pay Brigham City $35 per month for service, and the meeting record confirms the monthly payment arrangement remains in place.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff (identified in the discussion as Ron and Angela) were asked to notify Brigham City of new applications going forward, the town attorney (referred to as Seth) was to clarify the scope of "land use application" for notification purposes, and Mantua will reconcile ordinances and update its impact-fee summary at the next regular meeting or via an emergency meeting if necessary.

The meeting transcript records motions and seconds approving (1) the resolution to enter the interlocal agreement and (2) the interlocal cooperation agreement itself, each carried with "all in favor," but it does not record individual vote tallies or named roll-call votes.

Ending: The council placed implementation details on hold pending attorney clarification of ambiguous language, reconciliation of Mantua and Brigham City ordinances, and a formal update of the town’s fee schedule.