BCC Minutes 04/22/1980 W
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Naples, Florida, April 22, 1980
lET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Board of County Commissioners in and
for the County of Collier, and also acting as the Governing Board(s) of
such special districts as have been created according to law and having
conducted business herein. met on this date at 1:30 P.M. in Workshop
Sl'~~inn in fJlJilding "F" of the Courthouse Complex with the following
members present:
CHAIRMAN: Clifford Wenzel
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thomas Archer
John A. Pistor
David C. Brown
ALSO PRESENT: Irving Berzon. Utility Director; Harold Hall.
Chief Deputy Clerk/Fiscal Officer; Donald Pickworth, County Attorney and
Darlene Davidson, Deputy Clerk.
r.GENDA
1. County Regional Water System alternatives; Financial
Alternatives re same.
ALTERNATE CONCEPTS RE COUNTY WATER SUPPLY, TREATMENT AND DISTRIBUTION
SYSTE~I DISCUSSED; ALSO, FINANCIAL ALTERNATIVES
Utilities Director Irving Berzon recalled that last week the
Utility Depal-tment g.1Ve the BOJrd J summary regarding I.,here the District
is regarding the development of the County Water System. He said that
regarding the financial considerations, the County has to make some final
decisions re'larding policies that have to do with systems developent
charges in the near future; the possibility of levying an assessment in
the area where the new construction is going to be taking place; the
extent of investments that the Board is willing to commit itself to at
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April 22, 1980
this point in time; and, the effect that that investment is going to
have on the rate structure for the existing users of the system for the
next two to three years. He said that another thing that merits dis-
clJssion is the effect these decisions will have on the cost of water
within the COJnty sOllie five to ten years from now.
Mr. 8erzon referred to the Regional System plan adopted by the Board
in January of 1980, which is a modification of the plan that the Board
adopted in August of 1979. pointing out that it involves a substantial
investment now and the benefi t is that in the future the cost :Jf water
will be "minimal", compared to any lesser investment today whereby the
cost of water in the future will be much higher.
Mr. Berzon reported on the progress on the Regional System and the
financing of same, covering the meetings with the County Attorney, the
Bond Counsel, the two financial advisors for the project and himself.
He said that they have looked into some of the questions regarding the.
financial picture that the County will become part of and In particular
the I"elation of the ability of the County to help raise revenue via
assessments for properties relative to the placement of the transmission
lines that will be part of the water system. He said that because these
are translllission lines and not distribution lines, there is some problem.
He clarified this by saying that it has been rationalized that at least
a portion of the cost of these lines could be assessed to the various
property owners .lithin close proximity to the lines because those lines
will benefit these property owners In the future. He said that to that
extent, the financial advisors feel that somewhere around 1 to 2 ~illion
dollars of the investment can be arrived at through the subject assess-
ments, sallie having been spread out over a large area and resulting in a
minimal assessment per acre of land. Also, the "impact fee" could possibly
be raised to generate a larger cash flow within the financial pict~re of the
~ystem, ~nd thprphy redlJce the IJser rates in the future, or at least help
offset any large increase.
Chainnan Wenzel expressed his opposition to charging the present
users for the future use of the system by other people. He said that he
is in favor of letting "growth pay for growth".
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April 22, 1980
Mr. Berzon said that the County is trying to compete with the user
rates of the City of Naples, and this cannot be done effectively because
of the difference in the development dollars of the 60's and 70's of the
City's system and the dollars of the BO's and the 90's that the County
~ystelll will need, 11(' said that is \~hy he is considering the assessment
of non-developed lands in anticipation of the growth and, therefore, the
need for the system to be there when the growth takes place. He also
cited the need for larger "impact fees" from developers who are adding
to the burden of supplying services for all the "growth" that comps to an
area pursuant to new housing, etc.
Chairman Wenzel asked if the County is in a position whereby it cannot
keep up with the present rate of growth regarding the supplying of potable
water; and, if the County is unable to collect sufficient revenue through
user rates to earn the needed monies for capital improvements as needed.
Mr. Berzon replied that at the present rates, both for what we pay for the
wa ter and for wha t we are recei vi ng for same, the County is real i zi ng no
profit. lie stated that he ~'ould like to see the user rates stay the same
with the excertion of only allowing for the inflation factors regarding
the maintenance and upkeep of the system, however, no one has been able to
come up with a magic fonnula to be able to do this. He said that is the
reason he is favoring the alternative of assessing those property owners
that are not serviced at this point in L1rn!!, but that will be serviced
at some time in the future, instead of assessing the present users via
rate increases. etc.
~'r. Savilge. ?ubl ic l~orks Director for the City of Naples, was asked
by Chairman Wenzel how the City raises capital investment money, and he
replied that they do it through borrowing, however, these capital improve-
ments are figured into the City's rate schedule.
Mr. Berzon stated that the advantage to impact fees, from a financial
standpoint, is that they provide a means for borrowing monies against
collections in the future. Chairman Wenzel said that he is concerned with
expansion that will cost the present users and will only benefit future
users.
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052 pm 739 April 22, 1980
Commissioner Archer stated that it is his understanding that the
negotiations for contracts with certain firms for the prclimlnary Engineer-
ing for tllC subjcct projcct have not begun to date, even though the firms
werc approved for entering into negotiations with some eight months ago.
f1r. 8erzon stated that these firms were selected for the final
Engineel'ing negoti.ltions, and that CII2M lIill was selectcd as the firm for
preparing the prel illlinary engineering.
Commissionel' Archer stated that it is his fccling that somebody is
"dragging his feet" and hc wants to kno~1 who it is and why, adding that t!IP
Board is only being offered suppositions and no real hard facts and figures
and he is not sure whcre these suppositions are coming from. lie said It is
his wish to have all the concrete facts and numbers necessary to make decisions
regarding the cornmi trnent that the County has with the City of Naples regarding
the County/City wa ter agreement. He requested the r'easons why the County
does not have any negotiated contracts with the firms formerly approved;
why the exact figures are not presented; and who was responsible for this.
He stated that he feels that if certain members of staff cannot make
definitive decisions on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners, then, he
bel ieves tllat there may be a need for some changes among the staff, and he
concluded by saying that it is his opinion "hat the County has "dragged
this out long enough" and that there is a need to follow through and com-
plete the project and complete the commitments of the County/City Water
Agreement. Chairman Wenzel stressed the fact that the County is faced with
certain time limits regarding its commitments of the aforementioned water
agrt'ernent.
Consul tant Ted Smallwood of CH2r.' Hill stated that his firm has pre-
pared a prel irninary cost analysis of a system which was recommended within
a re[lort that was fllrnisherl the flCC some time in the past. He said the figure
for tllis recollvlIended system was approximately $19,000.000. ~ir. Smallwood
revie~led the systf'm ,l~ his firm has proposed it, including a raw water
supply to be taken from a proposed two squarc mile area located just south
of Alligator Alley; this wellfield will be developed to a 5 mgd capacity.
Also covered was the building of a treatment plant that will be located
within the wellfield; this water will be transported through a transmission
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April 22, 19BO
system to the present customers and to the potential acquisitions
including the Golden Gate system and the Isle of Capri system. He added
that the system would then pick up the customers in the East Naples area,
samr customers making up the portion of customers that the County is
committed to pick up by 1982 in the County/City WatEr Agreement. Mr.
Smallwood s,'id that il1so as part of Phase One, some transn.ission facilities
will be constructed In the North Naples area to facilitate the meeting of
the conrnitment for 1990 as stipulated within same water agreement with
the Ci ty of Naples. Mr. Smallwood stated that the primary resource that
will be tapped for potable water is a shallow groundwater table plus a
recharge from the Golden Gate Canal system. He said that the specific
site for tile main facility cOI~prised of two square miles has not been
finalized. however he is very confident in this type of concept; this
phase of the Water System will cost $19.000,ODO as an initial investment.
Regarding financing the project. he stated that this initial invest-
ment will have to be borne by the present users of the system plus those
customers within the two acquired systems as covered earl ier; by a com-
bination of assessments to benefited properties not presently developed
and revenues from the users; or, possibly the financing could be provided
through assessments to undeveloped properties, revenues from present users,
with the addition of revenues from systems development charges from new
users as they come on to the system. Mr. Smallwood explained that the
concept of using the revenues from the systems impact charges is to
sllpport the basic bond issue through revenues nonnal1y derived from the
monthly charge of the present users and the assessments of the benefited
properties ,"r' he said that the monthly user charge will be reduced by
the revenue arrived at through the impact charge. He explained that although
the County \'iould be required to meet its yearly obligations via revenue from
users und ussessments, the revenue from these impact charges could be IJsed to
retire part of the bonds. He said that the concept of using revenues only,
the cost of $2.33 per thousand gallons will result; and, this compares to
the present rate of approximately $1.0B per thousand gallons which is
approximately a 100% increase to the user for funding the proposed system.
Mr. Smallwood said that he feel s that approximately $2,000,000 could be
assessed on properties presently undeveloped, but which would benefit
directly from the construction of the system and thereby reduce the burden
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of the users through their rate base by approximately 15%.
April n, 1r.;;0
He said that will
still result In over $2.00 per thousand gallons for water; however, if
the entire scope of the system is looked at and "growth" is considered
whereby impact fees will be charged new customers. and developers of lands
within the system. then, an additional reduction to the base cost of
apprJxilllately 10-12% per year; resulting in an approximate cost of $1.80
to $1.90 per thousand gallons for water. Mr. Smallwood stated that although
any alternative for financing will affect user rates, the combination of
all ~hree sources of revenue results in the lower impact on user rate:;
and that there is no way to build a new Regional Water System in the County
witholJt Impacting the user rates somewhat. He stated that it is the conclu-
sion of .111 the relntive experts, including the Financial Consultants for
the project, that the system can be built and maintained at the current
rates; this is due to the inflation rate of today; the investment dollars
of today in cOl1parison to the investment dollars of the 60's and 70's are
reflective of higher costs; and, that present rates do not reflect these
facts and do not provide the water system with "extra" dollars with which
to build or expand the system.
Regarding alternative plans, Mr. Smallwood stated that CH2M Hill has
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provided some 13 different alternatives that would provide certain degrees
and levels of service for the users, and that the most cost effective
al ternative is the possibil i ty of ignoring the acquisition of the Util ities
in [sle of Capri and Golden Gate; ignoring the need to develop a Regional
System; and concentrating on the obligations of the County as part of the
County/City Water Agreement and provide water to the users in the East
Nap ", area by 1982. He said that will include substantial reductions
in the overall concept and the facilities and just provide that service.
He said that the most economical way to do that will be to simply tie into
the City's raw water 1 ine unuer the terms of the agreement; blJild a small
treatment plant; and construct a distribution system to serve the East
Naples customers. He said the plant would have the capacity of 2.5 m.g.d.
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and would have to supply approximately 4 m.g.d. by 1990. He said that this
alternative concept will provide only for the East Naples area and would
not provide for expansion to the North Naples area where the County is
co~nitted to provide water to the users by 1990, without substantially
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April 22, 1980
greater investments that will have to be forthcoming at the time of said
expansion. He said that if the Board chooses to take this alternative
concept, then, the rate for the users will be approximately $1.60 per
thousand gallons. He said that this represents a rate increase for the
pcople in East Naples of approximately 50%, effective in 1982, with yearly
incrcascs of approximately 13-15Z each year up to that time.
Comnissioner Archer asked Mr. Smallwood if what he is proposing through
thc latter al tcrnative is essentially to place a moratorium on development;
and ~,It"ovjde services for those people who live in the arca at '.he fJrcscllt
time and nobody clse. Mr. Smallwood clarified this by saying that what he
llIeans to say is that the County proliferate a series of small package
treatment plants throughout the County, to serve each area as needed. i.e.
East Naples, North Naples, etc. He pointed out that the effiCiency of small
plants is not as desirable nor as economical, in the long run, as a Regional
System; however this type of concept will not necessitate the large initial
invcstments required for a Re9ional System.
Conmissloner Archer asked exactly what percentage in increase to the
present users of the systcm will have to be effective in order to provide
a Rcgional Water System and Mr. Smallwood answered that it will be approxi-
mately 80-100% increase, at the very minimum. Commissioner Archer asked how
Mr. Smallwood could get the exact percentage and Mr. Smallwood explained
tha t these figures have not been arrived i1t thus far because it is a com-
pl icatcd matter and would take some time, and without assurance from the Board
that this is the direction in which they wish to go, his firm has seen fit
to hold hack 'rom undertaking this lengthy process as it will take a number
of man-hours to do so.
Conmissioner Archer stated that he is under the impression that the
Board has decided to go through with the Regional System, some eight months ago
and asked if this concept was not part of the Water Agreement with the City,
and was not this to be the means by ~Ihich the County would fulfill its
commitments of said agreent? Mr. Smallwood concurred.
Comnissioner Archer expressed his confusion regarding exactly what it
is that Mr. Berzon and Mr. Smallwood wish the Board to do and stated that he
cannot understand why the County is no further along with the subject
systcm today, then it was some eight months ago.
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April 22, 1980
Mr. Scrzon statcd that the County is further along than even six months
ago; and, "hat Mr. Smallwood has not mentioned and what needs to be clarified
is that in the Agreement with the City there are only two specific provisions;
1) that the County take the City out of East Naples by 1982; and 2) that the
County take the City out of North Naples by 1990. He said that what he is
presenting the Board is the choice of which alternative to take In light
of how this choice will affect the present users. He said It becomes a
problelll because the COlJnty is trying to compete with the rate structure of
the City which is based on a lo,ler investment; and also that the County is
trying to provide servic~s today that will, hopefully, have a minimal impact
on the future. He said that the decision this Board has to reach is how
much do they want to save today at the expense of the future? He said that
the plans for the Regional System can be initiated as early as tomorrow, but
the direction must come from this Board.
Commissioner Archer stated that that is exactly his point; how much
must be spent today; and how m~ch will be lost tomorrow?
~'r. Gerzon reminded the Board that in August of 1979 and in January of
1980, the Goard was told that if the investment in the Regional System is
made, the cost per thousand gallons of water is going to be much higher
today; but as tillle goes on, the cost will go down. He stated that a list of
these costs was furnished.
After a discussion regarding the material that Mr. Berzon alluded to
as having been presented to the Commissioners, and of the various figures
within same, Mr. Be~zon stated that the figures for one thousand gallons of
water \ :"1 be $1.65 today, and that by 1987-1990, that same thousand gallons
of water will be reduced to $1.23, if the Regional System is constructed.
He said that when deviations from the Regional System are experienced
two things happen: 1) the initial cost goes down; and 2) the cost of the
future stays higher.
Mr. Berzon stated that he, as the Utility Director of this County,
cannot make the decision to cut the Regional System out and replace it with
two smaller plants; rather, he can tell the BCC his opinion as to the advis-
ability of this type of a decision. He also said that he cannot say that the
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April 22. 1980
County will increase impact fees from $325. which are not adequate in his
opinion, but he can recommend a higher fee as he did two years ago. fie
added that the impact fee needs to be raised immediately to offset any
impact on the present users. He reaffirmed his position as being concerned
with protectina the present users from having to bear the load of financing
the expansion of the system for future users' benefit. He asked the Board
if they arc in favor of increasing the impact fee by $150-$200 in the next
six months: do they want to elect to go with a rate increase on the present
users of no less than 13%-15% a year for the next three years; or, do they w;<;h
to cut back, and try to go with a minimal investment?
COlnmissioner Archer asked Mr. Berzon what his recommendations are and
Mr. [lerzon stated that as an engineer, he recommends that the County go
ahead with the Regional System, but as a practical matter and looking at the
next five years, he recommends cutting back to the minimum that is feasible
and go wi th a system that will provide the County with the least cost today,
and still give the County at least JS great an opportunity as feasible for
expansion later on.
In answer to Con~issioner Archer, Mr. Smallwood said that in order to
expand the system later on as opposed to the initial investment, the County
will be faced with the need to provide a means of expansion or the acquisition
of a wellfield; the development of that wellfield in the future will run
sOlllewhere in the range of $12,000,000 to $14,000,000 investment that will
occur somewhere in the 1988-89 period of time. He said that will be in
addition to the current investments; resulting In the discarding of some
concepts ~f the plan because they will be inadequate for future expansion,
however, the specific details of this type of concept have not been looked into
at length, and he stated that at this time the specifics of a plan such as
has been rt'cnllll11ended by Mr. Berzon have not been developed.
There was considerable discussion regarding additional alternatives; other
concepts; and, several alternatives for water plans. Chairman Wenzel asked if
the County could meet all its commitments by buying water from the City for
the time being and going out to wel Hi"lds at a later time, and Mr. Smallwood
said that this is incorporated in the alternative suggested by Mr. Berzon.
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April 22, 1980
Chairman Wenzel stated that he does not feel it is necessary to buy two
sections of land and that the purchase price of the land alone would be
a very large investment. Mr. Smallwood stated that the difference would be
that the recommended acquisition for a wellfield site will allow for future
expansion anrl th~ ultimate service on a "step basis" according to the future
needs. He said that the cost of buying water from the City would be com-
parable to the cost of developing a Couty owned wellfield, and would not
afford the future expansion capabilities that a Couhty-owned well field would;
and, that sometime in the future there will have to be additir.llcil watt:1" sources
bu II t.
A discussion regarding the possibility of developing two well field sites
rather than the one indicated earlier by Mr. Smallwood, and also of the costs
of each such systems took place as well as the effects each of these a lterna-
tives llIight have on the present users. Also discussed were the pros and cons
of tapping into the City's water supply, in relation to serving the people In
East Naples. and the feasibil ity of same on a long-term basis.
Mr. Rerzon recommended that the County tap into the City's lines now,
and that will allow the commitment for supplying East Naples through 1990.
He suggested that the Board consider the "paring down" of the Regional System
and look into going with the minimal investment. He said that if the
County crnmlits itself to a certain amount of water from the City, rather than
say that the County will use the full allowance of 10 million gallons a day,
then at that point, a rate can be established on the amount the County will
use rather than based on the whole 10 million gallons per day that is set
fort~ in the Agreement with the City. He said that at the point that the
County sees it will require more than that amount which it is using, then
the County has tile choice of raising the amount of water used from the City
at a higher cost to the County, or building another smaller plant in North
Naples, to serve that area or even of going to the Golden Gate area and building
nnother wellfield comparable to the City's and running a transmission line
to North Naples, and East Naples. He said that in the early years, it is
much cheaper to go with using the City of Naples' line.
Regarding future growth, Mr. Berzon said Chat if the Board chooses to
go with the development of the Regional System, then, it will be prepared
to meet future needs, at a large investment now; and, if the Board chooses
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April 22, 1980
to hold down the large initial investmcnt and go to the recommended
alternative, including the prcsent use of the City's water lines, this
being the more cautious and prudent means for providing water, then, it
will only have to hope that it can meet the demands of the future for
potable wat~r. ln sunmarization, regarding future growth, Mr. Brrzon
stated that the only way to insure the capability of furnishing future
demands for water because of growth is to deve10p a Regional System. In
answer to Chairman Wenzel, Mr. Berzon slated that he feels one method of
insuring the capability of the County to provide water fo~' Llie tutlJr'e d'lmands
due to growth is to raise impact fees, and let the new users as well as the
developers pay for expansion, adding that this is a policy decision that the
Board must make.
Mr. Smallwood stated that the basic difference that will be faced by
the users is that with a Regional System, there will be a 100% increase,
and with a partial system as Mr. Berzon recommends, then the users will face
a 50% increase in rates.
There was some discussion regarding the rates that the City will charge
and whether or not they will be based on the full 10 mgd that is allowable
under the agreement or whether it \~ill be based on what the County will
actually use during which Mr. Berzon said that the figure of 10 mgd will be
more than what is needed and that that much water will be burdensome, from a
financial standpoint. Also discussed is what areas of the County will
experience the most growth. and it \'laS stated by Chairman Wenzel that the
point of the most probable growth \~ill be the North end of the County;
Mr. Berzon concurred.
Ano ther subj ec t 0 f discuss i on revo 1 ved around the fact tha t the i nteres t
r~tes re financing differ so greatly from one month to another, and actually
from one day to another as confirmed by the Financial Consul tant r1r. John
Gocle, of Southeastern Municipal Bonds, who addressed the Board and stated
that these differences could influence the investment direction as well and
the decision of how much the Board is going to be willing to invest. Mr.
Berzon stated that the Board must consider two things regarding financing a
water system: 1) How big of an issue can the County borrow and be able
to justi fy that figure; and 2) HOI~ do we invest that money during the time
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that the County holds It, same being approximately three years, and see
what kind of "earnings" can be derived from that borro~led money, for the
purpose of reducing the effect that the cost of the system will have on
tile users of the system. He added that rate increases are to be gradual,
over the next tHO to three years, and will become effective by 1982.
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*Commissioner Archer left the meeting during the discussion _ Time
2:22 r.r1.
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Mr. Smallwood explained how the recharge of the wellfields will work
includi~q the use of the water fr0m the Gold~n Gate Canal system, via,
underground stol'dqe; a series of storage wells, and the recovery at' water
from these various sources. He also explained the method of using both
the existing plants and proposed plants and developing a well site that
would ultimately furnish water for their respective use and treatment
prior to being furnished to the users of the water system. He also made
several COlllnents regarding the past dealings with the City and the economical
feasibility of dealing with them in the future with regards to buying water
from them, Included in his comments was the fact that the rate which the
City is prC'sf'ntly selling water to the County is the rate that was estab-
1 ished based upon the revenues that were being derived by the City during the
period of the changeover; this represents the revenue that is collected in
order to ful fi II the financial commitments of the City and their bond issue.
Mr. Smallwood said that what was attempted was to make sure that the City did
not ~ose financ;'111y, at the time when the County takes over the customers.
Regarding the raw water line, if the County needs 5 m.g.d., then the
County will piCk up the debt service on that capacity of the system.
Commissioner Brown stated that he is in favor of the Regional System;
because of inflation, the costs of expansion will be tremendous. He asked
!k. Smal1wooJ I,uw IIluLli the eventudl eXIJdnsion will cost and Mr. Smallwood
answered that based on 101 inflation rate, and based on today's dollars.
in 1990 there will be approximately a 30t per gallon increase. for the
expansion of a plant in the North Naples area, and one somewhere in the south
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April 22. ] 980
of the County; he said that the user rates of near $2.80 to $3.20 per thousand
gallons based on the 1980 dollar for the recommended type of system that
Mr. Berzon has alluded to earlier.
Commissioner Brown stated that he favors the Regional Plan because he
fcels it will 9uarantee the future growth of thfs County. He said that he
is looking at the point that recently the BCC has been uncomfortable with
granting a rise in density, and he asked Mr. Smallwood if the smaller,
chcaper initial plan will "crimp" growth in Collfer County? r~r. Smallwood
stated that thc growth in the area must conform to the servi.;e~ lnat are
pro v i ded, a I'd tha t the sma II er system wil 1 not offer the un Horm prov is i on
for growth as the Regional plan, however, neither will offer any guarantee
of availability to all areas of the County for potable water. He said that
the Goard cannot ignore the fact that if growth does not occur where services
are availablr., then there will be some "crimping" of development within the
County.
Mr. Gode explained the varying costs of financing; past loans and their
relative costs; and projected intcrest rates. He covered two things that
the Gee should consider before making their decision as to which way to go
and what kind of Investment Is best initially as well as in the future. The
following are his recommended considerations:
1. How much can the County afford to spend?
2. How high can the rate structure for users go?
lie explained that when these things are determined, then the Bee should
consider the possibility of extending the time frame for financing, in
order to k~ep the rate structure at an even scale. Other things that
Mr. Gode brought to the attention of the Board the fact that the
rate structure must include maintenance, and to protect the users from a
burden regarding rates, the impact fees should be structured so as to absorb
a portion of debt service. He suggested that the Board set aside the
amount of monies that they wish to invest; set aside the projects that
the BCC wish to address; then the financial advisors can come back and
tell you what the cost per year in debt service will be and what the
rates will have to be to finance these projects. for the years to
come. He said that these figures will be based on the Engineer's estimates
for the number of users in the future years.
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April 22, 1980
The limits as to what the users fees can go, to was discussed, during
which r'lr. Berzon stated that he recommends that same rates not exceed over
a 15% annual rate increase.
In answer to Commissioner Plstor, Mr. Gode said that he favors, the
approximately $50,000,000 Regional Program being handled in stages. because
of the fact that there is no way for the County to know where the customers
will be in 1990, nnd this is simply a matter of deciding how many stages,
each phase should have, and keeping in mind that each extension means more
dollars in the future.
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*Commissioner Archer returned to the meeting - Time 2:30 P.M.
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Mr. Gode stated that the rate increase percentage must be established,
and then based on this and the number of expected users, the extent to which
the County can go into debt can be determined.
Mr. Berzon stated tha t if the Board agrees on the fol lowing format, then,
he will have the pertinent figures prepared for next week and a decision can
be llIade at that time regarding how best to move in the direction of a water
system:
1. fncrease rates for users at approximately 15% per year,
on an anllua 1 basis, for the next three years.
2. Incrca~c impact fees from $325 to $500 - $700
3. 1~ - 2 llIillion dollars to be raised through assessments.
Chairman Wenzel agreed, and asked Mr. Berzon to come tack next week
with a . ecommenda t i on for the type 0 f a sys tem that will be bes t for the
~vJnty, and that same shall be fully presented; he requested that Mr.
[lerzon also make a recommendation on an exact amount for the new impact
fee; and, the reconlJ1ended percentage rate increase. The general concept
of the suggested figures of Mr. [lerzon was accepted as agreeable to the
Board members and no one offered any objection to figures within the range
offered by ~Ir. Berzon as long as he can justify same recommendations.
Commissioner Brown asked if the recommendation will be for a mini-
regional system, and Mr. Smallwood answered afirmative1y. He said that
according to the recommended figures stated by Mr. Berzon, and that seems
acceptable to the Board, then, this type of system will probably be what is
to be reconrnended; one that can be ultimately expanded.
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April 22, 1980
Commissioner Pistor brought forth the question of taking advantage
of the "arbitrage" of borrowed monies and Messrs. Smallwood and Pickworth
stated that the I.R.S. has said that this can only be done for the period of
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three years.
Mr. Berzon stated that he wants to follow up on this matter by making
several things clear. He said that as he sees the matter, the following dif-
ferences will occur between the County's going for the Regional Plan or the
"Piece-meal Plan":
1. The regional system, in addition to costing more right r,::;',:
and giving more benefits later on, also establishes and
casts the direction you are going very clearly.
2. If the Board chooses to go with the smaller plan, it gives
you the flexibility, but on the other hand, the certainty
of how well the County can keep up with the demands for expan-
sion is somewhat up in the air.
3. Financial benefits, in the long run, are favored with the
Re9ional Plan.
4. However, if growth does not occur where the County plans, and
at the rate the County plans for, the Regional Plan can bear
serious problems.
5. Growth demands can be met accordingly, with the smaller
"piece-meal" type of system.
The possibility of "uneven" rate structure through the Regional
System and the smaller system was discussed as were the problems of charging
the present users for the services of f~ture users.
Commissioner Brown stated that if a decision has to be made, then, he
is in favor of following through with Jne Regional System, as was approved
by the Board several months ago,
Fi~ancial Consultant John Gode stated that he is encouraging the
-'gional System, as opposed to "stop-gap" planning because when the County
goes into debt, the person who is loaning the money is going to look into the
future for a payback from the customers of the system over some 30 years.
When Mr. Berzon asked the Board how they feel regarding the assessment
of property for approximately l~ to 2 million dollars, to the property
owoers along the pipe lines and to the extent that accessability will be
available in the future to these lands, and spread out over a narrow band,
probably some 500 to 600 acres along the pipe line, Chairman Wenzel said
that as long as the County Attorney says it is legal he has no objection.
Cormli s s i oner Archer s ta ted tha t he has reached no consensus becau se he ha s
not been able to get any facts from the staff and consequently, he can
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052 pm 751
April 22, 1 ?ilO
make no decisions. Commissioner Pistor agreed to the concept and COlT111is-
sioner Brown agreed also as long as the County Attorney agrees.
County ^ttorney Pickworth stated that the County can do this wherever
the County can Justify the benefits to the property that will be assessed.
lie said thilt there is a limited number of so-called assessable lands, and
it will in no way cover the revenue needed in order to offset a large rate
fncre"~e. lie said that what will take place will have to be a program of
general revenue and some assessments.
Consultant Gode offered to crather data based on the various rate
increases, and will show the 80ard exactly how much debt they can go into.
Mr. Berzon said that the figures will be prepared and presented to the
Goard by Monday, April 28, so as to allow the Board time to study them before
taking action on the recolT111endations on Tuesday, April 29, 1980.
There being no further business for the good of the County the Workshop
session was adjourned at 3:05 P.M. by order of the Chair.
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