Mona Council sets sewer impact fee at $5,500 after master-plan review

Mona — The Mona City Council voted to set a sewer impact fee of $5,500 per residential equivalent connection on Oct. 14, after hearing a sewer master plan presentation and an impact-fee analysis from consultants.

Consultant Dan (identified in the meeting transcript as Speaker 2) told the council the master plan used the state standard of 100 gallons per capita per day for modeling and mapped the city’s collection system by pipe size and remaining capacity. He said current influent to the treatment plant averages about 100,000 gallons per day and that, under projected 20‑year buildout scenarios, most pipes have excess capacity. Dan identified the lowest-capacity stretch on 200 West between 700 South and 300 South but said that segment still has capacity for roughly 100 additional homes under the study assumptions.

The consultants and staff emphasized inflow and infiltration (I&I) as the city’s primary near‑term operational issue. Dan said field work included nighttime manhole inspections and short-duration metering; problem manholes were concentrated near the plant and lift station, and staff observed groundwater entering at manhole seams. He outlined repair options — full replacement, relining, and exterior sealing/epoxy lining — and said targeted manhole sealing and selective repairs are cheaper and less intrusive than wholesale pipe replacement.

Coheed Dieter of Energy Finance and Government Consulting (Speaker 6) presented the impact-fee methodology required by state statute. Dieter reported the city’s historical sewer system cost at about $18.8 million, from which $9 million in grant funding was excluded; dividing the remaining $9.5 million by system service connections produced a statutory maximum impact fee of $6,454 per equivalent residential connection (ERU). Dieter also noted multifamily units and commercial connections are calculated with different multipliers based on flow.

During council discussion, members debated whether to adopt the full statutory maximum or a lower fee now and raise it later if needed. Member Speaker 5 urged caution, saying, “6 feels very high to me,” while others argued the system has loan obligations and ongoing operating costs. A public commenter, Josh Davis (Speaker 9), suggested considering higher commercial rates or a larger fee to cover debt sooner but acknowledged business connections could change the revenue picture.

After closing the hearing and returning to council deliberations, a motion to set the impact fee at $5,500 per connection passed. Council members noted the ordinance-adoption process remains: the public hearing step has occurred, the council will consider ordinance language for adoption, and, if adopted, the ordinance will take effect 90 days after adoption. No ordinance text was finalized at the meeting.

What happens next: The council will bring an ordinance implementing the fee forward for formal adoption and may revisit the fee if future data about growth, commercial connections, or treatment-plant needs change.