Moore Haven council debates who will pay for lift-station upgrades tied to new school and local development

Moore Haven City Council members on July 1 discussed who should pay to upgrade the Ball Field lift station to handle flows from a new school and nearby development.

City Manager Larry Tibbs said engineers will analyze flows and demand to determine which parties should participate in funding the upgrades. Tibbs said the city had earlier expected the School Board to take responsibility for the work but that circumstances have changed: "the School Board stated they would take care of upgrading the lift station, but there was no dollar amount," Tibbs said, and later the contractor indicated upgrades should not come out of his contract allocation. The minutes name the general contractor as Wiseman and record a $40 million contract for school construction.

Clerk Ashley Wills said the bid opening for the Ball Field Lift Station is set for July 18 and that the bids will inform decisions about a fair funding split. Tibbs said six sites missed in earlier sewer Phases 5A–C are out for bid and that completed engineer flow studies will guide participation decisions.

Tibbs described the broader sewer context: the state’s AB-map management plan is driving septic-to-sewer conversions and is the reason the city obtained conversion funding. He said Washington Park, County Side Medows and Bowdon's (as recorded in the minutes) are lined up for sewer work and that about 85 new single-family homes are planned near Wagon Trail Road; even with recent expansions the city is approaching the capacity envisioned in the original sewer plan and future development along U.S. 27 may need its own treatment plant.

Councilmember RaShonda Croskey, reporting from an Economic Development Council meeting, warned of increased traffic on West Avenue from the new school and relayed a public comment that the city might complete more work if meetings lasted longer than 18 minutes. City Attorney Steve Ramunni cautioned that some issues, such as filling a county ditch on West Avenue or road widening, appear to be county responsibilities rather than city work.

The council did not make a funding decision at this meeting. Members agreed to wait for the July 18 bid results and for engineers’ rate and flow studies before determining cost-sharing, and to revisit the issue in a future meeting.

The council also approved routine minutes and bills during the meeting and adjourned at 6:37 p.m.