To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Matt Benak, P.E. Water Resources Manager
Scott Tait, P.E., WR Project Manager
Title
Resolution Approving the Amended and Restated Intergovernmental Agreement Between the Town of Castle Rock and Douglas County for the Highway 85 Wastewater Collection and Treatment System [Located along the Highway 85 Corridor North of E. Happy Canyon Rd to W. Titan Rd in northern Douglas County]
Body
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Executive Summary
Castle Rock Water (CRW) staff recommends Town Council approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) approving an Amended and Restated Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Douglas County for CRW to manage the design and construction of a wastewater collection and treatment system to be located along the Highway 85 corridor. Key terms of the Amended and Restated IGA with Douglas County are as follows:
• Provides CRW with $14 Million in Douglas County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to design and construct the system with funds needing to be spent by December 31, 2026;
• Allows CRW to charge a 1% project management fee for these services;
• Dedicates the constructed system assets in the corridor to CRW for long term operation, maintenance, repair and replacement;
• Makes CRW the retail and wholesale wastewater provider in the Service Area (see
Attachment B);
• Requires CRW to develop rates and fees for the Service Area;
• Allows CRW to charge a 10% extraterritorial surcharge for all aspects of this service; and
• Ensures that new development in the corridor can only occur if renewable water supplies are available.
The benefits of the IGA to Chatfield Reservoir, Douglas County, the corridor and CRW are as follows:
• Improves water quality in Chatfield Reservoir (drinking water source for CRW) by removing untreated or poorly treated wastewater sources in the corridor (e.g. failing septic systems in Sedalia);
• Allows reusable water supplies used in the corridor by customers that decide to connect to the CRW infrastructure to be captured for reuse by CRW;
• Creates wastewater solutions for existing communities in the corridor (e.g. Sedalia) and existing businesses (e.g. CORE a big employer in the region);
• Improves the economic viability and vitality of this key transportation corridor (good location for primary jobs) by ensuring that wastewater service is available;
• Provides opportunities for additional water quality and environmental projects along Plum Creek utilizing easements obtained from this project;
• Gives the opportunity for consolidation of some of the small underfunded water and sanitation districts into more sustainable systems like CRW; and
• Allows for collaboration on a trail system running from Castle Rock all the way to Chatfield Reservoir by co-locating the sewer system with trails on easements obtained in the corridor.
Additional benefits of the IGA to CRW include:
• Ensures that CRW has oversight of water and wastewater development in this critical CRW water resources corridor;
• Contributes to economies of scale for CRW’s operations over the long-term helping to spread our costs amongst a larger customer base;
• Gives CRW more financial resources from the extraterritorial surcharge to accomplish our core mission and vision; and
• Provides ARPA funding for a lift station and force main that will allow CRW to bring reusable supplies directly back to the Plum Creek Water Reclamation Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant where those supplies can easily be accessed using CRW’s existing infrastructure.
The Highway 85 corridor is adjacent to East Plum Creek and Plum Creek which discharges into Chatfield Reservoir. The majority of wastewater collection and treatment systems along the corridor consist of individual onsite septic tanks with leach fields that discharge to groundwater. The exception to this is that the community of Louviers has a gravity sewer collection system that treats its wastewater in a facultative pond and discharges effluent via land application.
CRW will utilize $14 million in ARPA funds provided through and by Douglas County to manage the project for the design and construction of infrastructure for the major wastewater components which include a force main and lift station in Sedalia. CRW will provide CRW owned capacity in PCWRA’s Wastewater Treatment Plant to serve the corridor at cost plus a 10% extraterritorial surcharge.
Budget Impact
CRW will receive a 10% surcharge on all rates and fees and system development fees towards the operations and overhead cost of CRW.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends Town Council approval of this Amended and Restated IGA with Douglas County for the Highway 85 Wastewater Collection and Treatment System.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Alternative Motions
“I move to approve the resolution as introduced by title, with the following conditions: (list conditions).
“I move to continue this item to the Town Council meeting on date to allow additional time to (list information needed).”
Attachments
Staff Report
Attachment A: Resolution
Exhibit 1: Agreement
Attachment B: Service Area
Attachment C: Preliminary Map of Infrastructure
Attachment D: Preliminary Cost Estimates