Wellington City will be accepting new loans to fund an upcoming water system project, which aims to resolve chronic problems within the system. System problems are related to aging asbestos concrete pipes, frequent leaks and breaks, system capacity, and the health and safety of the city crews and Wellington residents.
“It is the city’s intent, pending authorization of funding, to construct the water improvements concurrently with the planned sewer improvements in 2022,” the city shared. “In order to fund these improvements, the city intends to apply to the Drinking Water Board and the Permanent Community Impact Board (CIB) for loan and grant funds.”
The respective funding requests include $1,717,000 from the Drinking Water Board and $5,813,000 from the CIB. If the funding is approved by the boards, it is anticipated that it will include a significant loan obligation, which will be required to be paid back through water user rates.
During the Wellington City Council meeting on Wednesday evening, council members considered the fee schedule for sewer rates. It was explained that Curtis Ludvingston of Rural Water spent the past two weeks conducting a fee study for Wellington City’s sewer rates, with consideration of the upcoming project.
With information gathered from this study, Wellington City discovered that it will need to increase its revenues receivable by $52,424 per year in order to meet its bond obligations and reserves. Currently, the city has 628 connections. Based on the calculations by Ludvingston, the city will need to increase its rates to $52 per month. This is a $24 per month increase as residents are currently paying $29 per month.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the council opened a public hearing to gather feedback from residents on the project. A number of residents spoke in favor of the project, deeming it necessary for the future of Wellington City. There was no opposition to the project or the rate increase voiced during the meeting.
With these considerations, the council approved the sewer rate increase, which will be effective on July 1. The council also authorized the city to apply for the loan and grant funding from the Utah Drinking Water Board and CIB.
The project schedule anticipates that funding would be awarded by October 2021. The design and permitting phase would then begin and run through February 2022, at which time the bidding phase would begin. Construction is planned for April 2022 through December 2022.