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Wastewater agency approves Sarpy County interlocal agreement, authorizes up to $1.6 million for lift‑station decommissioning
Summary
The Sarpy County and Cities Wastewater Agency on June 25 approved an interlocal agreement with Sarpy County to provide wastewater connections and service and authorized spending up to $1.6 million to decommission existing lift‑station infrastructure, a provision that drew debate over policy and use of agency funds.
The Sarpy County and Cities Wastewater Agency approved an interlocal agreement with Sarpy County on June 25 that lets the agency provide wastewater connections and service within county jurisdiction and authorizes up to $1,600,000 to decommission member lift‑station infrastructure.
Agency administrator Dan Hoins told the board the agreement “authorizes the agency to spend up to $1,600,000 to decommission that infrastructure,” and that the final cost depends on state requirements. Hoins said a low‑cost cap option could be about $375,000, but full removal could reach $1.6 million.
The provision prompted several elected officials to warn it may set a precedent for using agency funds to pay member jurisdictions’ temporary infrastructure costs. Mayor David Black (Papillion) and other mayors said they were concerned agency dollars might be spent on member infrastructure instead of permanent system extensions that generate ongoing fees. Chair Don Kelly noted the question of whether WIFIA loan proceeds could be used for the work; staff said any WIFIA draw to cover decommissioning would require a formal modification and county and agency approvals before payment.
Bonnie Moore, Sarpy County administrator, defended the county request and asked the board to weigh Sarpy County’s prior contributions. “I understand that that 1,600,000.0 looks like a big request,” Moore said, “but I want you to keep in mind the total financial contributions to the county made including 7,000,000 in ARPA funds. And also that line is our our line generated 12,000,000 in connection fees to the agency.”
Agency members also discussed broader finance and project context during the meeting. Administrator Hoins reported the agency has drawn about $18.1 million on the WIFIA loan so far and staff estimates completing Phase 1A (design, permitting and related work) will require roughly $33.2 million to $34 million. Project engineer Jeff Thompson said construction closeout work is underway and noted a separate operational issue at the Mitchell Road lift station involving grease build‑up that staff expect to mitigate with aeration mixers.
Board members ultimately approved the Sarpy County interlocal agreement. The recorded tally reported five yea votes and one abstention; the motion carried.
The vote does not resolve longer policy questions raised during debate: several members said the board needs a consistent, written policy about when agency funds will be used to reimburse or decommission member infrastructure. Staff and members said they plan to address that in future meetings.
