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Time Set # 32.
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| Board of Supervisors |
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| Subject |
| Hold a Proposition 218 public hearing, tabulate protests and, if no majority protest exists, adopt resolution increasing water fees for future fiscal years for the North Davis Meadows County Service Area. (No general fund impact) (Echiburu/Espinoza) |
| Recommended Action |
- Direct staff to tabulate Proposition 218 protests received by the close of the public hearing;
- If a majority protest does not exist, adopt resolution increasing water fees for future fiscal years for the North Davis Meadows County Service Area (CSA); and
- Direct the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to forward a certified copy of the resolution to the Department of Financial Services.
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| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Operational Excellence
Thriving Residents
Safe Communities |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
The recommended actions are required for the North Davis Meadows County Service Area (CSA) to adopt a fee increase to cover the increasing costs of providing water service in the CSA. Future water service to the community will be adversely impacted unless such a fee increase occurs. Any change in the water fee is subject to Proposition 218, which requires the CSA to hold a public protest hearing prior to adopting the proposed fee increase. If more than 50% of the affected property owners submit written protests against the proposed fee increase, the increase cannot be adopted.
The CSA is currently pursuing approval of a State Revolving Fund (SRF) Planning and Construction Loan to cover the cost of consolidating the CSA water system with the City of Davis Public Water System. The SRF requires the CSA to secure repayment of any loan approved. A successful fee increase will provide that security. The proposed changes to the water fees are included in the Notice of Public Hearing and Protest (Attachment A). Over the last several years, the CSA has been working toward a permanent solution for the mitigation of water quality concerns in the subdivision. In the last two years, the CSA Advisory Committee and County staff have been in discussions with the City of Davis and have reached agreement the City of Davis will provide water service to the CSA if the CSA provides the necessary infrastructure to do so. The Davis City Council, at its February 23, 2016 meeting, approved providing a will-serve letter for the CSA's connection to the City’s potable water system. The will-serve letter is an important and necessary step for the CSA to move forward with a SRF planning loan. The CSA has already submitted the initial draft of a SRF construction loan application to the State Water Board for funding. However, in order to complete the final draft of the construction loan application, the plans and specifications as well as an engineer’s report must be completed, all at a cost to the CSA. The CSA intends to cover these costs with a planning loan from the SRF. This fee increase will provide security for the repayment of the planning loan.
An additional, future fee increase will be necessary to repay the construction loan that will be necessary to fund the construction costs of the consolidation. Several costs have been included in this Proposition 218 rate increase. Those are: 1. The cost to produce the required technical documents. This is an estimated $384,000 based on the anticipated fees of West Yost Associates. 2. The cost to produce rate study reports that might be required by the City of Davis as a part of the consolidation agreement. This is an estimated $7,000 based on the anticipated fees of Bartle Wells Associates. 3. The contingency and administration costs for the planning portion of the consolidation agreement. This is an estimated $39,000, which is 10% of the planning project cost. 4. The loan costs. An estimated 3.0% interest rate over 20 years is being used for this proposition based on conservative interest rate values at the present time. These may vary further in the future. Based on these specifications and a total $430,000 loan amount, the calculation is $2,385 per month in repayment. This equates to $28,620 per year spread over 96 property owners, or $299 total cost per property owner per year. The information of fee breakdown has been included in the Public Notice for Increase Proceedings. It is conceivable that the increased charges would not be included in the 2016-17 tax roll, but placed on the 2017-18 tax roll instead depending on the SRF timeline for repayment if the Planning Loan is awarded. The Notice shows the earliest date the change in water charge would take place. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| North Davis Meadows CSA Advisory Committee, City of Davis, County Counsel |
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| Fiscal Impact |
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| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
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