Midway council agrees in principle to assumption of Cottage Creek Court water system, directs staff to draft agreement

Midway City Council on a motion directed staff to draft an agreement under which the city would assume Cottage Creek Court’s private water system if the homeowners association dedicates the system and provides an easement.

City staff explained Cottage Creek Court (a 25-unit planned development built in 1993) currently takes water through a 6-inch master meter but historically has been billed based on an agreed 3-inch equivalent. Over roughly 30 years, staff calculated that the development collectively paid about $68,814 less than the sum of individual-unit billing would have produced; staff said that figure is illustrative for negotiations and that current owners were not responsible for the entire period.

Under the proposal discussed, Cottage Creek would install 1.5-inch meters at each of the six buildings and pay installation costs (bids put that work in the $55,000–$60,000 range). The city would supply the meters (estimated at about $6,000) and, when the system is dedicated and easements granted, begin billing each unit at the city’s standard per-unit rate (the council cited a current per‑unit charge of $28). Staff said conversion fees were unlikely to apply to this older development but that units would be subject to future standard rate changes.

HOA representatives told the council their association bills residents collectively and that the association’s budget has historically absorbed those costs; staff and council members discussed how the HOA would allocate overages internally once the city billed at the per‑unit rate. Council members pressed staff about the work estimate, whether meters should be at each residence or per building (staff said plumbing layouts make one meter per building the practical approach) and whether overage relief policies (a temporary waiver while repairs are made) would apply during transitions.

No ordinance was adopted tonight. Instead, the council asked the city attorney/staff (Corbin) to draft a formal assumption agreement reflecting the agreed framework — meter installation, easement dedication, billing change and transition timing — and return it for council approval.

The city’s next steps are for staff to prepare the written agreement for council review; council members said they wanted those details to appear in the draft before a final vote.