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County sets public hearing on sale of NFMIP wastewater plant and files USDA application for Ellisville expansion
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Summary
The Columbia County Board voted to set a public hearing on a possible sale of the North Florida Mega Industrial Park wastewater plant to the City of Lake City and authorized staff to file a USDA wastewater funding application for the Ellisville plant. Key issues raised included a roughly $1.591 million county true-up, a $5.5 million loan the city would assume and permit assignability for a deep injection well.
The Columbia County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to set a public hearing to consider selling the North Florida Mega Industrial Park (NFMIP) wastewater treatment plant to the City of Lake City and authorized staff to file a USDA Rural Development wastewater loan-and-grant application for work at the Ellisville plant.
County staff told commissioners the county’s out-of-pocket exposure related to the NFMIP plant would be about $1,591,000, which primarily repays a loan from the landfill fund and covers certain unreimbursed costs. Staff also said the city would assume an existing Department of Commerce loan of approximately $5,500,000. The board’s vote to set the public hearing requires the county to advertise the hearing and invite public comment before any final sale decision.
The county attorney warned commissioners they were not approving a final agreement by setting the public hearing. “You’re not approving the agreement at this time,” the county attorney said, urging the board simply to authorize a public hearing so the county can gather public input and comply with statutory notice requirements.
Commissioners pressed staff on several contract terms they want in writing before a potential sale, including a requirement that the city provide a place for commercial septic haulers to dump or otherwise ensure the county’s septage needs are met. One commissioner told the board that prior proposals had allowed only small daily flows and said the county needed contractual assurances about capacity and access for septic haulers.
Separately, county staff and consultant Laurie Hodson presented an application package for the USDA Wastewater Disposal Loan and Grant program for the Ellisville wastewater treatment plant. Hodson, a planning and grant specialist with Northport Professional Services, said the application will ask USDA to determine the mix of loan and grant funding for a proposed plant reconfiguration. Her presentation listed a proposed treatment configuration and a construction cost estimate shown in materials as roughly $38,000,127; she said USDA will decide how much would be grant versus loan.
The board approved filing the USDA application — a procedural step that does not commit the county to construction or to any funding structure. Staff emphasized that USDA requires a public meeting as part of the application and that further board approvals would be required if USDA makes an offer.
What’s next: staff will advertise and hold the public hearing on the NFMIP sale at the next board meeting and will submit the USDA application; any final sale or construction approvals will return to the board for separate votes.
