North 2 utilities plan: Info session set for Monday
City staff and project contractors will be available to answer questions from property owners in the North 2 Utilities Extension Project area at City Hall on Monday.
Staff encourages owners of the nearly 9,000 parcels to attend the informational meeting between 4 and 8 p.m. to have their concerns addressed and fully understand the project and the benefits they receive in return.
Public Works Director Paul Clinghan and UEP manager Kevin Higginson will be joined by representatives from the construction manager Greeley & Hansen and perhaps some of the seven different contractors. They will be located in Council Chambers to field general project questions.
“A representative from the health department will be there for the septic abandonment part of the project,” said Connie Barron, city spokesperson.
Property owners are encouraged to visit Conference Room 220 to get financial answers from several staff members handling the financing aspect of the project. If you learn that you qualify for the city’s hardship program you will be sent to Conference Room 224 to file an application.
The utilities assessment and Capital Facility Expansion Charge are broken down into water, sewer and irrigation fees. The three assessments total $12,632 plus the CFEC charge that with a 20 percent discount totals $5,400 when paid before July 31, 2018. Those fees bring the overall cost for individual home owners to $18,032 on a standard 10,000 square-foot parcel.
“People can pay the CFEC charge up front,” said Barron. “Let’s face it, not many have $18,000 expendable on hand, but they can pay any one, two or all of the six assessment/CFEC charges and you can do that anytime over the next year.”
The financed interest rate for the extension assessment is 5 percent while the rate for CFEC financing is 4.08 percent. Those rates are estimates and could change slightly when the city secures its State Revolving Finance loan. Property owners financing all of the assessed charges over the next 20 years could push the total cost over $32,000.
The city is expected to approve an SRF loan debt ordinance at the next City Council meeting on July 24 to fund the overall project. The current rate for an SRF loan for the city is less than 2 percent.
“SRF is a low interest loan that the city pays back over a period of years as we collect the assessments,” added Barron.
Construction on the $269 million project is slated to start in August with a completion date of August 2019.