LRSD Hopes to Hear About $5M Extra Funds
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
The district is seeking funds above the original $23.6 million bond approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, after receiving construction bids $4 million to $5 million higher than the engineer’s estimate. They came away from a meeting with state-level USDA officials last month with a list of tasks and a tight timeline to try to get the extra financing secured before construction bids expire May 11.
They decided at last month’s board meeting that the get-together was needed to discuss a USDA response that board members found baffling. The agency said in response to the district’s request for additional money that it must further cut costs and should even consider changing parts of the plan altogether, which could have forced the district to dump all the bids received and start the process over.
Board members were frustrated because the USDA had already seen project plans and had been notified that bids were coming in higher than expected. Haney observed Thursday that he wasn’t sure each sector of the department had a full understanding of where the district was at, and said if nothing else, the USDA got a clearer picture at the meeting of the time constraints they’re under.
The board completed earlier this week every task on the list that emerged from last month’s joint talk, Haney noted, and so hope to hear in the next seven to 10 days if the additional $5 million will be granted.
He added it was disappointing that some of the requests weren’t made during a meeting with the USDA in January, which could have helped avoid the time crunch, while board member Bob Sanders remarked that some of the things the USDA wanted done had already been done.
The board will hold a special meeting April 15, after it expects to hear the fate of the funding request.
Also Thursday, board members gave a page-by-page final review of the rate ordinance draft. Among items discussed, they noted that under the definitions of “campground” versus “mobile home park,” only Pick-A-Spot on Little Barbee Lake will be recognized as a campground; and considered whether follow-up visits for system hookup inspection of residential customers will be charged the same as the $100 for initial inspections, or closer to the $30 set for follow-ups for commercial customers.
And the board discussed the need to protect against lost income in the case of someone buying multiple properties and replacing several residences with only one, as they have seen happen in other sewer districts. They will begin considering in June an ordinance that may specify that debt service will be charged for every parcel of land, even if there is only one utility customer on the consolidated land.
Otherwise, noted board member Bob Marcuccilli, the lost debt service income would have to be spread among other customers.[[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
The district is seeking funds above the original $23.6 million bond approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, after receiving construction bids $4 million to $5 million higher than the engineer’s estimate. They came away from a meeting with state-level USDA officials last month with a list of tasks and a tight timeline to try to get the extra financing secured before construction bids expire May 11.
They decided at last month’s board meeting that the get-together was needed to discuss a USDA response that board members found baffling. The agency said in response to the district’s request for additional money that it must further cut costs and should even consider changing parts of the plan altogether, which could have forced the district to dump all the bids received and start the process over.
Board members were frustrated because the USDA had already seen project plans and had been notified that bids were coming in higher than expected. Haney observed Thursday that he wasn’t sure each sector of the department had a full understanding of where the district was at, and said if nothing else, the USDA got a clearer picture at the meeting of the time constraints they’re under.
The board completed earlier this week every task on the list that emerged from last month’s joint talk, Haney noted, and so hope to hear in the next seven to 10 days if the additional $5 million will be granted.
He added it was disappointing that some of the requests weren’t made during a meeting with the USDA in January, which could have helped avoid the time crunch, while board member Bob Sanders remarked that some of the things the USDA wanted done had already been done.
The board will hold a special meeting April 15, after it expects to hear the fate of the funding request.
Also Thursday, board members gave a page-by-page final review of the rate ordinance draft. Among items discussed, they noted that under the definitions of “campground” versus “mobile home park,” only Pick-A-Spot on Little Barbee Lake will be recognized as a campground; and considered whether follow-up visits for system hookup inspection of residential customers will be charged the same as the $100 for initial inspections, or closer to the $30 set for follow-ups for commercial customers.
And the board discussed the need to protect against lost income in the case of someone buying multiple properties and replacing several residences with only one, as they have seen happen in other sewer districts. They will begin considering in June an ordinance that may specify that debt service will be charged for every parcel of land, even if there is only one utility customer on the consolidated land.
Otherwise, noted board member Bob Marcuccilli, the lost debt service income would have to be spread among other customers.[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092