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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-02-2004-9bORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 2, 2004 Action Agend Item No. ~_~ SUBJECT: Expansion of Sewer and/or Water Utilities into Areas Defined by the 1997 Efland Sewer Bond and the EPA Grant for the Buckhorn EDD/Communit DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y!N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Thames, Cnty. Engineer, ext 2300 Utility Maps (under separate cover) TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To provide for BQCC approval a recommendation (with associated proposed utility extension mapping) that will: 1) define the boundaries and scope of work for the design portion of the project that will extend sewer to the area of Efland defined by the 1997 sewer bond and extend water and sewer to the Buckhorn Economic Development District (EDD)/community; and 2) authorize staff to solicit Requests for Proposals for the consultants that will provide the surveying, engineering and master planning services for the project, BACKGROUND: Since the mid-1980's, Orange County has been involved in the process of planning for or developing utility service areas in specific portions of the US 70/ Efland/I-85/40 corridor. The utility service that the County has caused or allowed to be developed has to date been primarily limited to wastewater collection intended to address serious pubic health issues related to failing on-site wastewater treatment systems and to enhance the availability of affordable housing, Since 1997, Orange County has passed a sewer bond intended to address public health issues and fulfill sewer system expansion commitments in the central Efland area and secured an EPA sewer grant intended to: a) enhance development opportunities for the Buckhorn Road EDD; b) provide sewer utilities for a new Efland middle school; and c) address environmental justice/public health issues in the Buckhorn Road community. The initiation of the project to be funded by the band issue and grant has been delayed by a number of practical as well as procedural concerns related to the availability of resources and land use, Specifically, the BQCC, through its formal goal process, set a number of preconditions related to initiation of sewer utility expansion in the Efland community. Specific preconditions have included; incorporating the development of the Buckhorn Road EDD into the sewer expansion planning; and establishing a joint planning relationship with the City of Mebane; and developing a comprehensive small area plan far Efland; and addressing the water shortage issues related to the role of the Orange-Alamance Water System in providing water to the area] and defining a utility service district for the Efland area. Over the years, all of these goal elements have been addressed in some fashion or as far as is practicable, by activities such as: 1) acquiring an EPA grant to fund extension of sewer service into the Buckhorn Road EDD/community; 2) BOCC approval of Orange County/Mebane annexation and utility extension agreements; 3) the update/modification of the County's land use plan currently in process; 4) Orange-Alamance actions to secure new water purchase agreements and reduce water demand by removing Swepsonville from its system; and 5) formal BOCC approval of the Efland sewer service district in 2003. There are a number of near-term timing and funding challenges that remain to be addressed in the effort to extend sewer service to central Efland and water and sewer service to the Buckhorn Road EDD and community: a The Efland Sewer Bond was passed in 1997. To be in compliance with the rules of the Local Government Commission (LGC), the County must either sell the bonds or request that the Local Government Commission approve an extension to the standard seven year bond sale requirement, ® The adopted timetable for the opening of Orange County Schools' Middle School #3 in Efland demands that the process to extend the water and sewer utilities necessary for that opening be initiated now. • The EPA grant which will pay for the extension of sewer utilities to the school is a matching fund grant (55% EPA/45% local), the County must either tie the Efland Sewer Bond project to the Buckhorn project so that the bond funds serve as the grant match or acquire another source of funding to serve as the match, a If the Bond and Grant projects are to be tied together, the simultaneous design and bidding of both projects will be required (although actual construction may be accomplished in two or more time-sequential phases). • No existing funding sources have been identified to address the $500,000 to $1.25 million dollar costs of extending water service to the southern portion of the Buckhorn community, the southern portion of the EDD, the middle school ($500,000) and the northern portion of the EDD ($750,000), ® The County has or will have available approximately $2,15 million in bond and grant funds to address $3,35 million in identified sewer infrastructure needs, ® The total funding shortfall in combined water and sewer infrastructure needs approaches $2..5 million, ® Although the County has formally requested that Congressman Price help the County get additional no-match grants that will be necessary to fund all identified water and sewer infrastructure costs, the outcome of the request and timing of funding availability is uncertain. The BOGC is asked to consider the following steps to initiate the Buckhorn EDD/community and Efland Bond project: approve a scope of consultant design work that includes all of the identified water and sewer development needs (as indicated graphically on the attached maps); and 3 • direct staff to seek (through a formal Request for Proposals [RFP] process) an engineering consultant to develop all necessary documents needed to comply with Grant requirements (Engineer's Report and Environmental Assessment), an EDD utility master plan (internal) and project construction documents; and approve a consultant's contract to at its first meeting in August 2004; and • direct the consultant to complete design and permitting activities by late-spring of 2005; and • authorize the bidding of the project in late spring 2005 (the portion of the project necessary to serve the middle school could be then be completed by late summer of 2006). The second level of activity necessary to move forward with constructing the project - identifying additional funding sources and acquiring additional funding -can run concurrently with the project design and permitting. The project design/construction documents can be structured in a way that allows the project size to be reduced by eliminating sections of the infrastructure and related service areas should the County's efforts to secure additional funding be unsuccessful (the attached mapping indicates core infrastructure as well as that which could be eliminated). The portion of the project that is constructed will provide for future project extension to accomplish the full extent of the approved project. Design/construction documents for omitted sections of the service areas would still be available for future extension. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The initial financial impact is approximately $400,000 (approximately 10% of project construction costs) in design fees (counted in the overall $4.6 million project budget), and the ultimate impact is approximately $4..6 million (net impact will be less all secured grant funding) if the maximum size project (water main loop, all sewer extension possible in the portion of the Buckhorn Community between I-85 and Norfolk-Southern railroad) is developed. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the steps to initiate the project as described above and direct staff to proceed accordingly.