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Oakland County hears $154 million plan to consolidate water resources operations into one new building
Summary
Water Resources Commission briefed the board on a proposed $154 million consolidated operations building on 38 acres of Bicentennial Oaks Park; staff say the project will replace six aging sites, centralize equipment and aim for long-term savings paid through county bonds and reserves.
Oakland County officials on Monday received a detailed update on a proposed $154,000,000 Water Resources Commission (WRC) operations building intended to consolidate six aging facilities into a single campus-style site.
Steve Korth, WRC chief manager, told the Board the department now oversees numerous drinking-water and wastewater systems and has outgrown scattered facilities, leaving staff and heavy equipment spread across multiple locations. He said the county identified about 38 acres in Bicentennial Oaks Park as a suitable central site and that consolidating operations would improve emergency response and produce long-term savings.
“Simply stated, we’re out of space,” Korth said, noting the office grew from roughly 200 to 380 employees over three decades. He described design work now in schematic and site-plan phases and said the plan preserves wetlands and includes a robust stormwater-management approach because the site drains to the mainland drain and ultimately the Clinton River.
Korth and other WRC presenters outlined expected benefits: an on-site fueling center, indoor vehicle and equipment storage to extend useful life, centralized dispatch/launch rooms for field crews and operational efficiencies estimated to yield roughly $5 million in annual savings over time.
The presentation listed total project costs at $154,000,000, with $14,000,000 already in dedicated cash reserves and the remainder planned to be financed through county bond sales. Project contingencies and an escalation allowance were included in staff cost estimates.
Commissioners pressed staff on community outreach and rate impacts. Korth said bonds would not be paid until the project is complete — projected in later design steps — and that staff have conducted webinars and direct outreach to municipal leaders, sharing estimated per-community rate impacts and holding in-person meetings with a range of communities.
“Buying gas by the truckload is a lot less expensive than buying by the gallon,” a WRC presenter said, describing one source of operational savings.
The board voted to receive and file the WRC presentation; staff said they plan to return with a formal project budget and request for authorization in August.
Next procedural step: staff intend to present a request for approval of the project budget and authority to advance to the next design phase at a future meeting.
