Item M1BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date:March 18, 2015Division:Engineering & Public Works
Bulk Item: Yes No XDepartment:Wastewater
Staff Contact Person/Phone #:Wilson (453-8797)_
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Discussion and direction for costs charged to properties not providing
easements for grinder pumps or newlydeveloped after completion of the wastewater collection
systems.
ITEM BACKGROUND:
The Cudjoe Regional project, as well as others, were designed based on
serving all properties currently developed or on which building permits were issued.Undeveloped
properties were not included, nor were they assessed. In the case of the Cudjoe Regional system,
properties in the low pressure collection areas are also required to provide a utility easement before the
grinder pumps are installed on affected properties. Once construction of the system is complete, the
cost of providing service will be significantly higher than the cost to have the connection provided by
the main contractor.
FKAA & staff will recommend rules but need BOCC guidance on handling both those properties
whichdo not provide easements and those that are developed after project completion.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
N/A
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
N/A
__________________________________________________________________________________
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
See attached memo.
TOTAL COST:INDIRECT COST: BUDGETED:
N/A Staff TimeYes No _X_
DIFFERENTIALOF LOCAL PREFERENCE: ___________________________________
N/A
COST TO COUNTY:SOURCE OF FUNDS:
N/A____N/A____________
REVENUE PRODUCING:AMOUNT PER MONTHYear ____
Yes No X
APPROVED BY:
County Atty OMB/Purchasing Risk Management ____
DOCUMENTATION:
Included XNot Required___
DISPOSITION:AGENDA ITEM #
Revised 7/09
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2152(2817<
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DATE
: 9 March 2015
TO
: Commissioners
FROM
: Kevin G. Wilson
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SUBJECT
: Costs to Properties Refusing Easements for Grinder Pumps
or Newly Developed After Project Design Completion
Recommendation:
1. In the case of properties located in the low pressure area; that were included in the
original design because they were developed or under development; and that were not
installed before the end of construction because they did not furnish an easement,
a. The property should bear the full installation costs as set by FKAA less a credit of
$2,200 (from County funds) if the FKAA is contracted to install the grinder.
b. The property should bear the full installation costs with no credit (from County
funds) if the property owner opts for a self-engineered system without a
maintenance easement.
2. In all other cases no county credit should be provided.
Background:
There are four groups of properties who will be connecting to the sewer systems after the
construction contracts are completed by Giannetti and Layne. They are:
1. Those properties included in the system’s initial design who were in low pressure
(grinder pump) areas but who declined to provide easements for installation of grinders.
2. Those properties not included in the original design (the design included both developed
properties and those with active building permits) that are located in low pressure
service areas.
3. Those properties not included in the original design (the design included both developed
properties and those with active building permits) that are located in gravity service
areas.
4. Those properties included in the system’s initial design who were in gravity areas but
who declined to connect after notice of service availability and elapse of the statutory
connection times. These are similar to those in other gravity service areas and require
encouragement to make connection on their property. Eventually, these properties will
be referred to Code Compliance and eventually to the enforcement process.
The question posed is what cost will the properties in the above categories incur when
connecting to the central sewer system as required by both State and County laws and what, if
any, subsidies will be provided by the County / FKAA.
For properties that were included in the design(#1 above)
At the conclusion of the project, the contractor will provide a credit for the installation cost of
each grinder station that they did not install because the property owner declined to provide an
easement. The amount of that credit is approximately $ 3,700 for the inner islands and
approximately $ 2,200 for the outer islands. These are based on doing the work while working
in the respective areas. They are different because each contractor had his own bid and
quotation strategy. The material and equipment costs are already included in the project
through direct purchase by the FKAA to take advantage of their sales tax exemption.
When property owners in this category eventually allow installation of the grinder station on their
property, they will have the following options:
1. Provide an easement to the FKAA to install and maintain the grinder station. The owner
will be responsible for the cost of the installation of the grinder station as determined by
FKAA. These costs may be reduced because the FKAA already has the grinder station
in the warehouse.
2. The property owner may opt to install his own engineered system to FKAA
specifications and agree to maintain it at his own expense. They would thus be excluded
from FKAA’s centralized maintenance program and no easement is required.
For properties that were not included in the design (# 2 & 3 above)
These properties are responsible for the costs of connecting their properties to the central sewer
system.
1. In the case of properties located in low pressure service areas, this will include
installation of a grinder pump station. This means the costs of installing a grinder station
and connecting the grinder station to the collection system including tapping into the
main in the street. This must be done under a permit issued by and under the
supervision of the FKAA. If done by a private contractor, the property owner must apply
for acceptance of the installation for FKAA maintenance and provide an easement to
FKAA or personally accept responsibility for long term maintenance. FKAA may provide
an option to contract with the FKAA for this complete installation. The property owner
will still be responsible for connection of the structure to the grinder station.
2. The owner may not want to provide an easement to FKAA for installation or
maintenance of a grinder station. In this case, the owner must have his own engineered
grinder station installed by his own contractor. The station must meet FKAA
specifications. This option will require that the owner then apply for FKAA permit and
acceptance of the system prior to connection to the collection system. The property
owner will then be responsible for ongoing maintenance, and dealing with any and all
potential operational issues with his grinder station.
3. In the case of properties in the gravity collection areas, the property owner will be
responsible for the service lateral and tap into the collection main according to the FKAA
specifications at the property owner’s expense. The FKAA will typically make the
service tap to the gravity main and install the service lateral to the property line for a fee
rather than having the property owner’s contractor perform that work. In any event, the
portion of the work from the property line to the main must be dedicated to and accepted
by the FKAA for maintenance in the ROW. Connection from the structure to the service
connection remains a property owner expense.
Anticipated costs (in all cases the property owner is responsible for the connection of the
building to the “system”)
1. For properties in the low pressure areas that have not provided easements in time for
the main contractor to install the grinder station, the property owner will be responsible
for the full costs of installing a grinder station provided by FKAA from stock. If the
property owner opts to use a self-engineered system, those costs are the responsibility
of the property owner.
2. For properties in the gravity areas that were included in the design, the property owner
only has the responsible for connection costs on their property.
3. For properties in low pressure areas that were not included in the design because they
were not developed or under development, the property owner is responsible for the full
cost of purchasing and installing a grinder station.
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4. For properties in the gravity areas that were not included in the design because they
were not developed or under development, the property owner is responsible for the full
cost of connecting to the gravity main in the street. This connection may be performed
by FKAA for a fee or by the property owner’s contractor with permission and oversight by
the FKAA.
Possible subsidies:
In those cases (#1 above) in which low pressure grinder stations were proposed but in which
the property owners did not provide easements so that the FKAA’s contractor could install them,
the County could provide an installation subsidy of approximately $3,700 or $2,200 depending
on whether the property was located in the inner or outer island area, respectively. The FKAA
will already have the grinder stations on hand. Should the property owner contract with FKAA to
install the grinder station, the cost could be reduced by the appropriate contractor’s credit (from
County funds) and the property owner not charged for the purchase cost of the grinder station.
The options are:
a. No credit / subsidy provided to anyone.
b. If the owner opts to install his own system and not have FKAA maintain it, no credit
/subsidy should be provided.
c. Provide a credit equal to the contractor’s install credit / subsidy ($3,700 for an inner
island property or $2,700 for an outer island property) if providing a cash rebate is
possible. Record keeping and location of the property makes this more complicated.
d. Provide an average credit /subsidy amount used for all similarly situated properties (e.g.
$2,950) for ease of administration.
e. Provide a credit / subsidy of $2,200 for those properties covered since the majority of the
grinders (approximately 1,100 out of 1,400) are in the outer island area.
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