Item J2BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date: August 16, 2006___ Division: County Administration_____
Bulk Item: Yes X No Department: County Administration
Staff Contact Person:_T. Willi____________
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Approval of County Administrator’s recommended State of Florida wastewater funding allocation for
unincorporated Monroe County, Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District and the City of Marathon.
ITEM BACKGROUND:
The 2007 State budget includes $20 million dollars for Monroe County for wastewater and water
quality projects. Proviso language contained within the legislation dedicates $2 million for the City of
Key West and $18 million for Monroe County. This agenda item addresses the $18 million earmarked
for unincorporated Monroe County.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
The County entered into an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment
District committing $20 million towards wastewater efforts in Key Largo. The County also has an
ILA with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, working in partnership to provide wastewater services
in the unincorporated areas of Monroe County.
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
__________________________________________________________________________________
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Approval of recommended funding split: $6.038 million for Key Largo Wastewater Treatment
District, $ 1 million dollars for the city of Marathon and $10, 962,000 for joint FKAA/Monroe
County projects in unincorporated Monroe County.
TOTAL COST: BUDGETED:
NA Yes No
COST TO COUNTY:SOURCE OF FUNDS:
NA
REVENUE PRODUCING:AMOUNT PER MONTHYear ____
Yes No X
APPROVED BY:
County Atty OMB/Purchasing Risk Management ____
̸±³¿ Ö É·´´·
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL:
(TYPE NAME HERE)
DOCUMENTATION:
Included X Not Required_____
DISPOSITION:AGENDA ITEM #
Revised 2/05
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From: Thomas J. Willi, County Administrator
Date: July 11, 2006
RE: 2007 State Wastewater Funding Split
__________________________________________________________________________________
The 2007 State budget includes $20 million dollars for Monroe County for wastewater and water
quality projects. Proviso language contained within the legislation dedicates $2 million for the City of
Key West and $18 million for Monroe County. This agenda item addresses the $18 million earmarked
for unincorporated Monroe County.
Various entities with wastewater responsibility have made significant progress in providing
wastewater services countywide. It should be noted that Monroe County, KLWTD and Marathon all
have projects ready to proceed by May 1, 2007 in accordance with the eleven requirements contained
within the legislation. The criteria for funding eligibility is listed below.
The project(s) proposed by Monroe County:
Is designed to meet the wastewater treatment and disposal requirements in Chapter 99-395, Laws of
Florida, as amended;
The proposed Big Coppitt, Summerland, Cudjoe, Sugarloaf and Duck Key projects all meet this
requirement.
Is included in the Monroe County Sanitary Wastewater Master Plan or other formally adopted
planning document addressing engineering and financing;
The proposed Big Coppitt, Summerland, Cudjoe, Sugarloaf and Duck Key projects are
incorporated in the WWMP and therefore meet this requirement.
Involves exclusively construction or design-build; has been openly procured among contractors
qualified to build wastewater facilities in the physical environment of the Florida Keys;
The proposed Big Coppitt, Summerland, Cudjoe, Sugarloaf and Duck Key projects are design-
build or construction, all openly procured and, therefore meet this requirement.
Is to be located on sites acquired no later than March 1, 2007;
Sites already acquired, therefore meeting this requirement.
Will initiate construction no later than May 1, 2007;
Big Coppitt and Duck Key can easily meet this deadline. The project will be ready to bid by
the third quarter of 06’.
Will result in the completion of entire facilities or significant phases of facilities;
The proposed projects will complete entire facilities.
Leverages other moneys (local funds, including local bonding; Department of Environmental
Protection State Revolving Fund loans; or other sources of money) to the maximum extent possible;
The projects will include MSTU collections, connection assessments derived from end users as
well as Fund 304 Capital and SRF monies.
Shall provide at least a 60 percent match from any other sources except a direct line item appropriation
from the State Legislature.
The above revenues/funds committed to the project exceed the 60% match requirement (18+
million provided by County as match for $10.9 million grant funding).
Has in place a system of user charges, fees, assessments, or other funding mechanisms to pay for
the completion of construction and long-term operation and maintenance of the project; and
Assessment levied by BOCC, operations, construction, maintenance by the FKAA.
Provides mechanisms to ease the cost-burden of the project on low-income residents.
Monroe County will beusing available CDBG funds to offset connection charges and onsite
lateral costs.
The proposed project(s) meet all of the above criteria.
The City of Marathon will provide documentation to DEP to determine the City’s eligibility for
wastewater allocation.
The Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District will provide documentation to DEP to determine the
District’s eligibility for wastewater allocation. The $ 6.038 million allocation is based upon Analysys
of Grant Funding Requirements – North Half provided by the District (See exhibit 1). The
recommended allocation will provide funding to complete the balance of “Basin E” and complete all of
“Basin B”.
Arguments could be made to allocate these monies to a single entity; however, it is the responsibility
of the Board of County Commissioners to advance wastewater efforts on a countywide basis, using
state and federal grants to augment current projects.
Therefore, I recommend that the entities listed above receive monies from 2007 State Wastewater
Grant funds as follows;
Unincorporated Monroe County/FKAA joint projects - $10.962 million,
Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District - $6.038 million,
City of Marathon - $1 million.
Total 2007 State grant funding received – $18 million
KEY lARGO WASTEWATER TREATMENT DISTRICT
98880 OVERSEAS HWY, KEY LARGO, FL 33037
POST OFFICE BOX 491; KEY LARGO, FLORIDA 33037
PHONE (305) 453.5804 FAX (305) 453.5807
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August 9, 2006
Mayor Charles "SOill1Y" MeCoy
1100 Simonton Street
Key West, FL 33040
INTRODUCTION
The Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District submits the following in support of distribution of
the $ ] 8,000,000 in wastewater funding under Specific Appropriation 1818.
The District is the only entity in Monroe County that meets all of the criteria identified in the
Specific Appropriation, and is thus the entity that should receive all of the funding.
DISTRICT PROJECT STATUS
At present, the District has completed construction of a central wastewater treatment plant
designed to treat 183,000 gallons per day to A WT standards, and a collection system serving
approximately 1,060 equivalent dwelling units. These facilities are now in the startup phase, and
are expected to be fully functional wi thin the next 30 - 60 days. The neighborhoods served by
the completed wastewater facilities comprise Service Area E. (The various service areas are
described in detail in the attached Facilities Plan.)
The next phase of construction is a group of facilities known as the "North Components." The
North Components consist of:
. A central wastewater treatment plant designed to treat 2,300,000 gallons per day to A WT
standards, which the District expects to be sufficient to treat all of the wastewater
generatcd in the District through the year 2026.
.' A transmission main to deliver wastewater from the northern portion of the District -
between MM 106 and the central wastcwater treatment plant at MM 100.5. The
transmission main will include connections to nearly all of the adjacent commercial
properties along US I.
. Collection systems serving Service Areas A and D.
When the North Components become operational in early 2008, the District will have the
operational capacity to serve approximately 4,500 EDU's.
At completion of the North Components, the District will have in place most of the major
components of a very efficient wastewater treatment system. The efficiency of the central
wastewater treatment plant and transmission mains, however, is dependent on receiving
quantities of wastewater that meet design capacity. Therefore, in order to reach the anticipated
efficiency, it will be necessary to construct additional components as quickly as practicable.
If the funds requested by the District are approved, the District will be able to implement the
next phase of construction, which consists of collection systems for Service Areas Band D, and
a transmission main from Tavernier Creek to the central wastewater treatment plant. Upon
completion of these facilities, the District will be serve all of the commercial properties along
US I from Tavernier Creek to MM 106, and all other properties from approximately MM 100 to
MM 106, for a total of9,000 EDU's, or about 70% ofthe District's total flow.
Further, when the next phase is completed, all that will remain to be completed will be
collection systems for Service Areas F through K, each of which can be constructed as a stand-
alone project as additional funds become available.
DISTRICT FUNDING
The District received grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection to construct the existing facilities, which serve Service
Area E. .
In 2005, the District adopted a non-ad valorem assessment on the tax parcels in Service Area Eat
the rate of approximately $4,770 per EDU. The District has pledged funds raised as a result of
the 2005 non-ad valorem assessment, and future assessments, as security for loans issued by the
Department of Environmental Protection State Revolving Fund ("SRF").
A critical part of District financing is the anticipated grant funding from various sources.
Together with the non-ad valorem assessments, these grants, provide the leverage to borrow
additional funds to complete construction of central wastewater facilities expected to serve
13,000 EDU's.
The District has secured $40,000,000 to design and construct the North Components. These
funds consist of a $20,000,000 grant from Monroe County, which, based upon non-ad valorem
assessment revenue, will enable the District to borrow $20,000,000 from SRF.
The District is in the process of adopting a non-ad valorem assessment for 2006. The assessment
is expected to be at the rate of approximately $4,970 per EDU, and will be placed on all of the
commercial properties along US I from MM 100.5 to MM 106 (other than parcels assessed in
2005) and all other parcels in Service Areas A and D.
If the funds in Specific Appropriation 1818 are given to the District, they will be leveraged with
non-ad valorem assessments to borrow additional SRF funds to complete the next phase of
construction, estimated at $35,000,000. The non-ad valorem assessments will be placed on all
commercial properties along US I from Tavernier Creek to MM 100.5, and all other parcels in
Service Areas B and C.
KL WTD Application for Grant Funds
Page 2 of5
GRANT CRITERIA
As noted above, the District believes that it meets all of the criteria set out In Specific
Appropriation 1818. A discussion of each of the criteria follows:
1. The project is designed to meet the wastewater treatment and disposal requirements in
chapter 99-395, Laws of Florida, as amended.
The existing central wastewater treatment plant, and the plant to be constructed as part of the
North Components, are designed to meet A WT, as required under ch. 99-395. The resulting
effluent will be treated to meet or exceed the following maximum levels.
. Biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD5) of 5 mg/!.
. Suspended solids of 5 mg/!.
. Total nitrogen, expressed as N, of 3 mg/!.
. Total phosphorus, expressed as P, of 1 mg/!.
In addition, the Monroe County and the District require all onsite sewage disposal and treatment
systems, including cesspits, septic tanks, and package plants, to connect to the central wastewater
system when it is available.
2. The project is included in the Monroe County Sanitary Wastewater Master Plan and the
Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District Facilities Plan.
The Monroe County Sanitary Wastewater Plan ("Plan") contemplates wastewater collection and
treatment on a regional basis. The project will add significant components to the District's
regional facility.
The Plan identifies "hot spots" - a ranking of wastewater service areas that should be addressed
first, due to the high levels of nutrients that they disperse into nearshore waters. The Plan
describes 45 hot spots. The areas to be addressed first have a lower numerical ranking than the
areas that should be addressed later. Of the 45 hot spots, 12 are in the District. The hot spots in
the District comprise 13 of the 16 hot spots in the Upper Keys, and they are ranked from 2
through 29 in the ranking for the entire keys.
The hot spots do not necessarily represent compact, uniform service areas amenable to efficient
construction. Therefore, an individual construction project may include higher- and lower-
ranked hot spots.
The District's first project addressed hot spots ranked 4 and 27. The North Components will
address hot spots ranked 2 and 19. The proposed project will address hot spots ranked 7, IS, and
29. The project will also facilitate connection of the remainder of the District to the central
wastewater system, because the central wastewater treatment plant and the transmission mains
will be in place. As noted above, at completion of the proposed project, the District will have
connected 6800 of the 13,000 EDU's to be served.
KL WTD Application for Grant Funds
Page 3 of 5
3. The project is a designlbidlbuild project, and Specific Appropriation funds will be
allocated to the construction portion.
The District has carefully considered the merits of various methods of construction project
delivery, including designlbuild, construction manager, and design/bidlbuild. As a result, the
District has concluded that designlbidlbuild is the most efficient method, providing higher levels
of project control and designer and contractor accountability than the other methods. With a
dedicated team of management, engineers, and other staff, the District is able to devote the time
and effort necessary to utilize the designlbidlbuild method of project delivery to advantage, and
to the benefit of the District. In order to meet this criterion, the District will allocate Specific
Appropriation funds to the construction portion of the project, and will use other funds for the
design portion.
4. The District uses open competitive procurement processes to select qualified design
professionals and contractors qualified to build wastewater facilities in the physical
environment of the Florida Keys;
The District follows the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act (9 287.055, Fla. Stat.) to
competitively procure the services of qualified design professionals. Further, the District has
adopted the practice of open bidding by qualified contractors to build the improvements.
As a result of using the designlbidlbuild method of project delivery, and competitive bidding, the
District has realized significant savings in projects to date, and expects to realize similar savings
in the future. Any savings realized would be used to construct further collection systems as
identified in the District Facilities Plan.
5. The project will be located on sites acquired no later than March 1,2007.
All of the facilities to be constructed with project funds will be in public rights-of:way, and no
further site acquisition is required.
6. The District will initiate construction no later than May 1,2007.
The District will meet this criterion.
7. The project will result in the completion of significant phases of District facilities.
As noted above, the project will make significant progress toward serving the entire north end of
the District by completing the collection systems for two service areas, the transmission main for
the southern portion of the District, and connecting all commercial properties along US I. As a
result, approximately 70% of the District's anticipated 13,000 EDU's will be served.
8. The District will leverage other moneys, including non-ad valorem assessments and
Department of Environmental P,"otection State Revolving Fund loans, to the maximum
extent possible.
The District's first project was funded almost entirely by grants. The District has imposed non-
ad valorem assessments on the tax parcels within the area served by the first project. These
KLWTD Application for Grant Funds
Page 4 of5
revenues, along with future non-ad valorem assessments, are pledged to secure funding for SRf
financing.
9. The District will provide at least a 60 percent match from any other sources except a
direct line item appropriation from the State Legislature.
The District will match these funds with the proceeds of non-ad valorem assessments and. loans
secured by District revenues. These funds will equal no less than 60 percent of project costs.
10. The District has the ability to adopt non-ad valorem assessments, and has adopted
assessments and user rates and fees to pay for the completion of construction and long-
term operation and maintenance of the project.
The Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District Act authorizes the District to levy non-ad
valorem assessments. The District adopted its first assessment in 2005, and anticipates another
assessment in 2006 and in succeeding years as construction proceeds. The District has also
adopted uniform customer rates for wastewater services. At the District's request, the state
recently enacted legislation that allows the District to impose liens for unpaid bills against the
property (other than homesteaded property) receiving service. The District's financial plans
have been reviewed and accepted by the Department of Environmental Protection in connection
with the current SRF funding.
11. The District provides mechanisms to ease the cost-burden of the project on low-income
residents.
The primary method of easing the cost burden of a project is the adoption of assessments and
rates that fairly allocate the capital and operating costs among the customers. The District has
done so.
By way of illustration:
· The District has adopted non-ad valorem assessments that are payable over a period of 20
years. In the first year, the typical non-ad valorem assessment amounted to about
$20.50/month.
. The District participates in Monroe County's community development block grant
program, which covers the cost of connection for low-income residents, as well as
landlords renting to qualified residents.
· The District caps the monthly consumption fees for residential users.
· The District limits the imposition of non-ad valorem assessments and monthly rates for
commercial laundromats.
(!~..._~t:~..~
Claude Bullock
Chairman KL WTD
KL WTD Application for Grant Funds
Page 5 of 5