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State offers partial grant for Maricopa sewer project; council told remaining funds would be a loan
Summary
State Water Resources Control Board says Maricopa qualifies for $7.38 million in CWSRF principal‑forgiveness but not the additional $7.62 million the city requested; the board proposed the balance as a loan and recommended scope reductions or reconsideration. Council packet asks staff to seek reconsideration or withdraw the FBA if the loan cannot be serviced.
The State Water Resources Control Board has told Maricopa city officials that an earlier $7,378,169 principal‑forgiveness award for the city’s long‑planned sewer improvements stands, but the board declined the city’s August 2024 request for an additional $7,621,831 in grant funding and proposed that amount instead as a Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan. In an email included in the council packet, Water Board engineer Jonathan Miras wrote that “the Project has been deemed as a Non‑Priority Project. Therefore, the City is eligible to receive $7,378,169 in grant / principal forgiveness (PF) for the Project. The remaining amount ($7,621,831) would be in CWSRF Loan.”
The sewer project, planned after years of system failures and funded initially by a 2021 agreement, went to bid about a year ago and returned a low bid roughly double the original budget. City materials in the packet trace the project’s history to a 2016 planning grant and a September 1, 2021 agreement that set the project budget at $7,378,169 in grant/forgiveness aid.
City staff told the council the city faces three options recommended by the Water Board: accept the combination of grant and loan; reduce the project scope (remove additive bid items or phase the work) to fit the guaranteed grant amount; or seek reconsideration from the Water Board. Staff’s recommended motion asks the council to direct staff to work with A&M Consulting Engineers to seek reconsideration and, as a fallback, to reduce the project scope to conform to the $7,378,169 budget. The packet also recommends that staff inform the Water Board the city cannot service a $7.62 million loan and will withdraw the Final Budget Approval (FBA) request if necessary.
If the council moves to scale the project back, A&M Consulting would be asked to produce a revised scope and estimate that fits the grant amount; if staff pursues the loan, the Water Board asked the city to submit financial documents for an updated loan review. The Water Board listed required documents including audited financial statements for FY2020–FY2024, multi‑year budget projections, an updated rate adoption resolution, current debt schedules, and a debt management policy.
The council packet does not record a vote on the plan; it documents staff’s request for direction. Any formal acceptance of a loan, a reduced‑scope contract award, or a withdrawal of the FBA would be a separate council action.
