Bend panel approves four septic-to-sewer projects, prioritizing highest-ranked applications

A City of Bend selection committee voted to fund four neighborhood sewer-extension projects under the city—s Neighborhood Extension Program, selecting the staff-recommended Option A at its Oct. 27 meeting.

The committee approved the Airpark Drive, Denning Drive, Waco Drive and Juniper Haven applications as this round—s projects. Staff said the program will use the city—s roughly $3.5 million annual budget and internal design capacity to deliver the work.

The Neighborhood Extension Program (septic-to-sewer) lets homeowners petition to convert private on-site septic systems to the city—s sewer system. Jason Surr, principal engineer for the City of Bend, told the panel the program was created from objectives in the city—s 2014 collection system master plan and that the committee—s role is to select projects for the next round of construction.

Why it matters: The committee—s decision prioritizes applications that scored highest in the city—s established five-criteria scoring system. Staff said the approach addresses the projects with the largest shares of failing systems this cycle while staying within the city—s near-term delivery capacity.

Staff presentation and scoring

Teresa Finley, program manager for the septic-to-sewer conversion program, explained the application process: a resident or homeowner organizes the neighborhood petition, holds neighborhood meetings and submits an application that staff scores. The five scoring criteria are: adjusted cost per property (including design and construction), number of benefited properties, proximity to planned capital improvement projects, percent of properties that have signed petitions (commitments), and age/status of drain fields.

Finley said the percent-signed metric has the largest single influence on an application—s score because the program credits committed connection fees and other revenues back into the adjusted cost. "By signing the petition, they are committing to connect in 2 years," she said, describing the notice-of-operational-completion process and the connection timeline. Finley also noted the program relies on Deschutes County septic records to verify mean drain-field age and failure documentation.

Program scale and financials

Staff told the committee the program has installed 343 laterals through the 2022 selection; 215 of those properties have connected. For the 2023 selection staff issued notices of operational completion for 64 homeowners, 42 of whom were already committed to connect. The 2024 selection is in design and will make 94 homes eligible for laterals; 50 of those had committed, staff said. Taken together across selections, staff said the program will have installed roughly 501 laterals to date.

Surr said the city maintains an approximately $3.5 million annual budget for the program and that the full list of outstanding applications totals about $34 million in remaining construction and design cost. "We do have a 3 and a half million dollar annual budget," Surr said, adding that internal design capacity and carry-forward funds from past projects can reduce the amount the city must contract externally.

Option A vs. Option B

Staff presented two selection approaches: Option A (the traditional approach) fills the annual budget by selecting the highest-ranked application that fits within the available funds and then continuing down the ranking until funds are exhausted. Under that approach staff recommended selecting Airpark Drive, Denning Drive, Waco Drive and Juniper Haven.

Option B (the alternative) would select Airpark and Denning and then continue construction into Woodhaven West rather than leaving a temporary "stub out" at the end of Denning that would later require remobilization. Staff said Option B provides construction efficiencies because contractors already mobilized to the area could continue trenching rather than demobilizing and returning later. "There are absolutely efficiencies with it. Contractors mobilized. They just keep digging along that same trench line," Surr said.

Committee discussion

Council members and other selection committee participants discussed trade-offs between awarding the highest-scoring projects and creating operational efficiencies by continuing a trench into the adjacent Woodhaven West area. Several members emphasized failed-system counts; staff noted that Option A would address seven currently failed systems across the four selected applications while Option B would address four failed systems (counting Denning only once because it is part of Woodhaven West).

Committee members also asked about construction impacts, timing and how long projects take. Staff said projects typically start in spring and proceed linearly through the work, with construction often completing in roughly six months to a year depending on staging and paving constraints. Staff described common impacts as temporary access changes, localized noise and dust, and said contractors work to maintain driveway access and safe temporary lanes.

Equity and future scoring

Multiple committee members raised equity questions, asking whether the signature-based element of the scoring system could advantage neighborhoods better organized to collect petitions. One councilor asked whether socioeconomic data could be added to future scoring to help account for neighborhood capacity to organize petitions. The committee directed staff to explore adding socioeconomic indicators to the program data for future rounds and to discuss whether the program—s administrative policy should be updated.

Decision and next steps

After deliberation the committee moved, seconded and voted by voice to approve Option A as presented by staff; the motion passed and staff reported no roll-call dissent. As approved, the upcoming selection will proceed with design and delivery planning for Airpark Drive, Denning Drive, Waco Drive and Juniper Haven. Staff said they will pursue internal design delivery where possible, use carry-forward funds from the Water Reclamation Fund as available, and return to the committee (or its successor body) with implementation schedules.

The committee also asked staff to investigate adding socioeconomic metrics to the application dataset and to return with recommendations for any changes to selection policy.

Ending

Staff said they would move forward with design work and that construction timing would be finalized after design and budgeting. The selection committee adjourned after the vote.