Snowflake council considers sewer-line partnership; directs staff to draft agreement with town attorney

During the Snowflake Town Council work session, council members examined a proposal to enter a development partnership to extend sewer infrastructure that would serve a developer now and make sewer capacity available for future development.

Council member Travis Kay clarified that the item concerns sewer infrastructure, noting that in discussions with the town attorney sewer and water issues were treated similarly for the purposes of agreements. Kay said it would be beneficial to partner with the developer and asked that staff be authorized to work with the town attorney to draft a development agreement for future use.

Town staff member Brian Richards reminded the council that the town's current sewer line extension policy requires developers to pay the full cost for extensions; he also said the town has not identified east of town as a growth area. Council member Cory Johnson asked whether authorizing help for one developer would obligate the town to help others; Kay said the developer would pay its portion while the town could benefit from having lines available for future development. Gary Fenstermaker, a staff member, warned the project could be a large cost and noted uncertainty about whether a force main was appropriate in the area.

Council members debated liability, cost allocation, appropriate engineering standards and whether a memorandum of intent or tailored agreement would be better than a boilerplate contract. Several members supported a small group of council members conferring with staff and the attorney to clarify legal and financial exposure.

As discussed, staff was authorized to consult with the town attorney and return with a draft development agreement for council review; no ordinance or formal contract was approved at the work session.

The council moved to other agenda items after concluding the discussion.