Winter Garden advances water-wastewater impact fee changes as city announces major SRF award

The Winter Garden City Commission on Tuesday approved moving forward with changes to city impact fees for water, wastewater and irrigation and heard an announcement that the city was approved for a sizable State Revolving Fund (SRF) award to help pay for plant upgrades.

Staff introduced Ordinance 25-36 to amend Chapter 78 of the city code to modify impact-fee amounts and adopt a methodology for water and wastewater impact fees. Staff said the fees had not been updated since 2011 and cited state nutrient-reduction requirements and local growth as drivers for increased costs. "These fees were last updated in 2011 and probably should have been increased yearly at a rate of inflation," staff said during the presentation.

Commissioners discussed inflation, the legal requirement for unanimous adoption to make the change effective and the tradeoffs of locking rates for multiple years. Following questions, a commissioner moved to approve the ordinance "due to extraordinary circumstances," which the commission adopted to place a second reading and adoption on the Dec. 11 agenda.

Separately, the city manager told the commission the city submitted an SRF request of $19,166,503 and received word it was approved. According to the manager, approximately half of that amount will be forgiven and the remainder offered as a 0% loan. The manager said the SRF award adds to other funding sources and that the city has now received about $39,400,000 in grant funding toward the wastewater-treatment project, including ARPA and FDEP awards.

Taken together, staff said, the impact-fee adjustments and the grant funding are intended to help the city pay for nutrient-reduction work and reclaimed-water facilities required by state environmental mandates.

The commission did not take a final adoption vote on Ordinance 25-36; that action is scheduled for its second reading and adoption on Dec. 11.