The Waukee City Council approved a resolution authorizing execution and delivery of the third amended and restated operating agreement for the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority (WRA), consenting to bond issuance for system improvements and other related matters.

Brad Bridal, who identified himself as the city’s representative on the WRA management board, provided the background: Waukee joined the WRA in 2005 and the organization has completed more than $500 million in capital projects. Bridal said the third amendment would raise the overall debt limit (presented as increasing to about $975,000,000) to match projected capital-improvement plans, revise board membership to one representative per 65,000 residents with a maximum of three, and adopt weighted voting based on wastewater flow rather than population. The amendment would also create a standing finance committee, recognize associate communities without voting rights and change the WRA director reporting relationship to report directly to a city manager instead of the public-works director.

Bridal said the WRA board approved the form of the amendment in November and asked member communities to approve the amendment in December with the intent to enact it beginning Jan. 1, 2026. He said the amendment preserves the association’s basic financial structure while adding changes to governance, representation and project-cost allocation that would provide some protections to growing communities like Waukee when systemwide special projects benefit multiple jurisdictions.

After the presentation, the council approved the resolution by roll-call vote; recorded yes votes included Council members Grove, Sinclair, Kron, Battenberg and Pierce.