Council approves first reading for multi-million-dollar sewer collection system bond package

Utility staff presented the first reading of a bond ordinance to finance the 2023 collection system project, describing a multi-phased effort to rehabilitate aging sewer mains, decommission several pump stations and build a new pump station as needed. Presenters said the ordinance seeks authority for not-to-exceed borrowing (the motion asked for council permission to proceed with a combined package including up to $5,000,000 buffer for bid overruns) and reviewed funding scenarios that blend Clean Water SRF loans, forgivable 'green' principal forgiveness, capacity-improvement fees and internal renewal funds.

The presenter summarized the project's engineering estimate and bid strategy: "what we're asking for is a not to exceed $5,000,000 bond which we will know once we have bids in...the engineers estimates, all inclusive of the engineering fees, the legal fees, the easement acquisitions, that totals 9,582,000," they said. Council members pressed for clarity on how capacity improvement fees (CIFs) and SRF loans would be applied to growth- versus non-growth components, asked whether the project would raise customer rates (presenters said the current plan would not raise rates), and discussed postponing the Flowing Springs pump-station component as a bid alternate to reduce near-term cost. After Q&A, council moved, seconded and approved the first reading of the bond ordinance.