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Cedar City council sets Northwest Water reimbursement fee at $1,500
Summary
The Cedar City Council approved a resolution raising the reimbursement fee for the Northwest Water reimbursement area to $1,500 per new service connection, part of a broader discussion about ensuring potable water and fire-flow capacity for future development west of town.
Cedar City Council on April 2 approved a resolution to amend the consolidated fee schedule and set the Northwest Water reimbursement fee at $1,500 per equivalent connection.
The council said the fee is intended to help fund improvements needed to support development in the Northwest Water area, including water main upgrades and other system improvements necessary to provide adequate fire flow and redundancy for the expanding service area. City staff and council members discussed trade-offs between affordability for developers and the long time horizon for reimbursing construction costs from future connections.
City staff explained that at a $1,000 fee the reimbursement program would take an estimated 15–20 years to return the city's investment given current development rates. Council members and staff debated higher targets; some favored $1,500 as a balance that would shorten the reimbursement period without unduly burdening development.
The resolution was moved and seconded during a special council session that followed the work meeting. After brief discussion, council members voted in favor and the motion carried. City staff will implement the new fee as part of the consolidated fee schedule and will continue planning work on water-system options, including longer-term pump- and tank-based solutions to address pressure, redundancy and fire-flow deficiencies discussed earlier in the meeting.
Council and staff noted the reimbursement fee is only one piece of a longer planning and funding conversation. Multiple technical options remain on the table to increase flow and redundancy in the area, including system interties, pump stations and pipeline replacements; staff said cost estimates and project sequencing would return to the council as part of the budget and capital-planning discussion.
The council approved the fee change during the special city council meeting convened April 2; the resolution was entered on the record as part of the consolidated fee schedule amendment.
