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Valdosta awards Inner Perimeter utilities contract and approves one‑time tapping fee to recover lift‑station costs
Summary
Council approved a $2.96 million low bid for the Inner Perimeter Road utilities extension with a 10% contingency and adopted a cost‑recovery plan including a one‑time $15 per gallon‑per‑day tapping fee to recoup a $1,275,000 lift‑station cost (capacity 85,000 gpd).
Valdosta’s mayor and council on May 22 approved construction of linear utilities and a new sanitary sewer lift station along Inner Perimeter Road and adopted a cost‑recovery fee to help pay for the lift station and force main.
City engineering staff said two bids were received for the project: RPI for $3,003,641 and JWA for $2,959,737. After verifying the low bid, staff recommended awarding the contract to JWA and recommended a 10% contingency due to project magnitude and field conditions. Council approved the award and the contingency by show of hands.
Staff also presented a cost‑recovery plan authorized by city ordinance that isolates costs attributable to end users. Ben O'Dowd said the unit cost for the lift station and force main is $1,275,000 and that the lift station’s design maximum capacity is 85,000 gallons per day. Based on that math, staff recommended a one‑time cost‑recovery fee of $15 per gallon per day for new connections, paid at permit or as part of developer responsibilities on subdivisions. O'Dowd explained the fee is intended to recover construction costs gradually as new customers connect and noted legal limits on charging only recoverable costs.
Councilmembers asked about the longevity of the infrastructure and whether a higher fee would be appropriate; staff responded the ordinance and state law limit fees to cost recovery. Council approved the cost‑recovery plan by show of hands.
