Davie County updates on Coolumee water plant as staff warn of modest short-term rate rise

Davie County utilities staff on Tuesday reported major construction milestones at the Coolumee water treatment plant and warned the board of a modest short-term rate impact tied to state payment timing.

Johnny Lambert, utilities director, told the board that key components are finished: a 1,000,000‑gallon clear well, equalization basins and the high‑service pump station, and that permanent power is now installed across the facility. He said interior finishes, lab outfitting and SCADA controls are installed but still require tuning, and that the remaining work includes some electrical finishes, elevator installation (a federal grant requirement) and site paving and fencing.

Lambert gave revised scheduling for commissioning and staff takeover: commissioning is to begin May 26, 2026, and county staff will assume operations June 26, 2026. He said final contract closeout work and warranty tasks will continue after turnover.

On costs, Lambert reported the original construction contract was $50,898,000 and the revised total including change orders is $51,520,000. He praised staff for limiting change orders to a small share of the overall contract.

Lambert said a separate schedule issue — state timing of debt disbursements — affects when the county must make its first debt payment. Robin West, who presented the financial report earlier in the meeting, pushed the state to update the payment schedule; Lambert said the county secured a new first payment timing in November. Because the county expected to collect certain bulk‑water revenues from Moxville prior to that payment, the shift will require the county to cover debt service earlier than planned. Staff said the effect could mean a short‑term rate increase for all customers in the range of about 6 percent to generate earlier revenues, but that long‑range (5–7 year) rate projections would not change materially.

Lambert described the county's interlocal bulk‑water contract with Moxville as a 1,000,000‑gallon‑per‑day take‑or‑pay agreement; daily usage will vary, he said, and Davie County will run the pumps and monitor tank levels through the county SCADA system while Moxville will have viewer access.

Lambert also reviewed related capital work: a recently completed Dushman's Creek lift station (a $1.2 million project funded with ARPA, placed in service March 2), progress on a Devon Road pump station (staff will present a resolution to accept a competitive low bid after further value engineering) and an AMR‑meter replacement plan. The meter replacement will be phased as warranties expire and will use sonic (no moving‑part) meters to reduce field failures, Lambert said.

The utilities update prompted questions from multiple commissioners about timing, potential customer impacts and contract terms. Lambert emphasized staff's aim to limit customer burden by avoiding a single large rate spike and instead smoothing necessary increases over time.

The board took no formal vote on rates at Tuesday's meeting; staff will return with updated rate modeling and any ordinance or budget proposals tied to debt service and capacity fees as the plant approaches commissioning.