Agenda - 02-10-1998 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM TO: John Link, County Manager FROM: Paul Thames, PE, County Engineer DATE: December 4, 1997 C~Op~ SUBJECT: Process for proceeding with Efland sewer system expansion project(s) As I'm sure you will agree, the time is rapidly approaching when the County must begin making preparations to proceed with at least the planning phase of an expansion project or projects for the Efland sewer system. This fall's $1.2 million bond issue, at least to my understanding, was tazgeted at a project for central Efland (the azea roughly bounded on the west by Efland-Cedar Grove Road, on the south by the railroad, on the east by the Lloyd dairy and on the north by McGowan Creek). Although fairly , expensive for the number of customers to be served initially, this project should be relatively simple and straightforward. However, circumstances such as the County's past failures to obtain CDBG funding for sewer construction in Phase N and the situation at Boone Mobile Home Pazk (Phase VI) may encourage the BOCC to consider broadening the scope of the project. If the BOCC does decide to expand the project, the Board andlor staff should begin work to develop and pursue strategies to acquire additional funding. One such strategy could involve a County effort to use the bond funds to leverage grant funding of additional system expansion. Given the difficulty in obtaining grant funds and historical BOCC statements relative to their reluctance to use the County's General Fund to finance sewer expansion, the Board may also wish to establish a sewer assessment strategy applicable at least to those potential Efland sewer customers who were not parry to the 1985 Efland sewer agreement process. The most feasible strategy to complete additional phases of the Efland sewer system may be one which uses some combination of bond fiznds, grant funds and loan funds that would be repaid by sewer assessments paid in over a ten year period. Sewer assessments are the traditional and most widely used source of funding for governmentally initiated utility expansion projects, particulazly in recent yeazs when grant funding has been difficult to obtain. However, neither a historical nor a current BOCC position on sewer assessments have ever been formalized, fully defined or clarified. Although the official "Rules of Operation" for the Efland sewer system contains a section for reserved for sewer assessments, the section has never been developed. Accordingly, no sewer customers, regazdless of their status relative to the 1985 sewer sign-up process, who live in the azea served by the existing portion of sewer system have been charged any sewer assessments. Those customers who were not on the 1985 sewer sign-up list have been charged a "tap- on" fee of $600 plus Hillsborough's current tap-on fee (called a capital facilities fee by the Town). It is not clear if the current BOCC wishes to exempt from an assessment process those properties that are located in any new service areas (including those in the currently proposed bond project azea) or to continue exempting those who are in the existing service area, and that - in either case -were not included on the 1985 sewer service list, from an assessment process. The circumstances surrounding the creation of the Efland sewer system and its operation to date may have created a situation in which it will be very difficult to develop an assessment process that can be equitable to both existing and potential sewer customers.