Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Regional Partnerships topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Staff weighs route to City of Solvang; connection could shift major treatment costs
Summary
Staff compared building a local treatment solution against connecting to the City of Solvang. Solvang's published connection charge is $8,000 per residential connection; staff estimated roughly $3.5 million in upgrades Solvang would need to accept flow, producing an approximate $10 million treatment/connection burden the district would need to understand and negotiate.
Staff walked through the costs and assumptions for connecting the district to the City of Solvang rather than building a standalone plant. Staff cited the published Solvang new-residential connection fee: "The city of Solvang charges a new residential connection $8,000." (Staff member)
Staff also said Solvang has indicated it would consider treating the district as part-owner or offer a cost-allocation formula similar to San Ynez; however, staff has not yet obtained firm written commitments from Solvang or the water board. Committee members recommended seeking a written LOI or formula so the subcommittee can validate the assumptions used in the district's financial model.
Next steps: staff agreed to pursue written clarification from Solvang and the water board and to document assumptions used in any public materials posted with the decision matrix.
