Agenda - 01-18-2001-9d - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 However, with the exception of water main construction costs, no formal decision has been made as to: a) which, if any, of the remaining costs will be financed by public funds; b) what level of funding will be provided; c) how those funds will be allocated among homeowners, landlords, economically disadvantaged households, etc.; or d) what the sources of funds will be. OWASA's availability fees must be paid for each home or structure that is connected to the water main system. For a residential unit, this fee is typically calculated on the basis of the square footage of the dwelling. Availability fees in the Rogers Road community are expected to average approximately $900 per unit. Insofar as the Rogers Road project is concerned, a case may be made that availability fee costs should be treated like water main construction costs and financed with landfill funds. That argument may be outlined as follows: 1) municipal water service is required to ensure that all household can avoid exposure to drinking water contaminated with landfill leachate; 2) water mains must. be constructed in the neighborhood to make water service available; 3) availability fees must be paid before homes or buildings can be connected to the water mains; and 4) accordingly, all availability fees should be financed in the same manner as the construction costs. That is, the landfill funds may and should be used to pay availability fees for all occupied homes within the Rogers Road community. The extension of municipal water service to the Rogers Road community will naturally increase the value of all of the properties to which that service is available. However, on several occasions the Board of County Commissioners has expressed its intent that the County's funding of water service to the Rogers Road community not unnecessarily enhance the revenue generating potential of non-owner occupied or development property. While all costs funded from the landfill funds must be made available for all homes existing at the time the funds are expended, costs that are funded from other sources may be allocated more selectively. One financing strategy or process that the BOCC could consider using (and that would be familiar to the Board) to finance much of the remaining costs of providing water service to the Rogers Road community is very similar to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) process. Historically in Orange County, CDBG projects have been used to fund utility service extensions and home improvements for low and moderate-income households. The typical CDBG process of identifying home improvement needs as well as determining whether households meet low and moderate income criteria could be easily adapted to determine which structures in the Rogers Road community need internal plumbing improvements and which households should receive public assistance for constructing service lines and plumbing upgrades. Unfortunately, the Rogers Road project is not a candidate for CDBG funds. However, Orange County could self fund a grant, deriving necessary funds from the General Fund, local sales tax receipts or some other funding source. Once a fixed total funding limit is established, the Orange County Department of Housing and Community Development could target and disperse those funds exactly as it would for a HUD funded CDBG project. Since the water main construction will not be complete prior to rune 2001, funds for this grant could be appropriated as a part of the FY 2001-2002 budget process. The original survey of the Rogers Road community in the fall of 1998 identified 119 properties which might be considered as apart of the community. Ultimately, five properties (parcel numbers 30,115, 116, 117 and 118 on the map attached with the 1999 Rogers Road report and survey spreadsheet) were