By CARA LORELLO
Staff Reporter
During a Nov. 17 presentation at their regular meeting, Airway Heights City Council got an update on the status of the first phase of the city’s proposed water reclamation facility, a $44.5 million project that’s secured all funding for the first half of its initial phase of installation.
Officials from Century West Engineering, the consulting firm that’s helped the city design the plant, reported that Phase 1A will go out for construction bids in spring 2009 and should begin construction by next summer. All funding is currently secured for this phase, Century West Engineering lead consultant Dennis Fuller said, through a $2.9 million Department of Ecology grant, $7 million state Public Works Trust Fund Loan, and $1 in matching capital funds from the city.
This past year the city finalized both design and updated costs estimates for the reclamation facility, to be located on a 75,000-acre plot north of 21st Avenue in Airway Heights. Design plans for Phase 1A the state should finish reviewing by the end of the year, Fuller said. Design plans for the bigger Phase 1B, a project that will cost about $32.5 million, were also submitted last week.
“Plans had to be broken out and submitted for review by the state based on the funding available,†Fuller said. Only one funding source for Phase1B the state’s promised, but not yet secured, is a DOE grant for $2 million, he added.
Since grant and loan funds are highly sought after and competitive, it is anticipated that the city will only be able to secure a portion of the funds needed to construct Phase 1B. Ed Cebron, vice president of Financial Consulting Solutions Group, shared recent data from rate studies explaining the city’s options for financing additional un-funded costs for Phase 1B. FCS proposed the city must raise its local sewer rates in order to cover those costs in addition to securing new funding sources, though water rates should remain stable for the next several years.
“Our findings are contingent on inflation and growth, and numbers could change if the capital needs increase, but right now the city’s water fund is healthy and continues to generate revenue,†Cebron said.
FCS proposed a $7.50 a month increase for both 2009 and 2010 in sewer rates, which Cebron explained are “driven primarily by new construction costs.†According to a November news release from the city on the plant project, the price of steel used in construction increased by more than 20 percent, and electrical wiring increased by 20-25 percent. These costs are seen throughout the country and are not tied specifically to the region.
With the cash flow needs of the project, Cebron said, the city “will need funds (of about $4 million) on hand to manage construction.â€
City manger Albert Tripp said at this time the city is pursuing three new funding sources for Phase 1B, including a $30.5 million DOE state revolving fund loan, another public works trust fund loan for $10 million and $6 million from the United States Department of Agriculture.
“Sources like these are very beneficial in keeping our monthly rates lower, and they are sources we will continue to pursue,†Tripp said.
Mayor Matthew Pederson said the planning and effort city staff has invested in this project would pay off soon in a way people can see and share the returns of.
“The level of need here in the city makes it a worthwhile project,†Pederson said.
In keeping with the project’s intended goal to accommodate growing demands for water on the West Plains, plus eliminate the city’s current wastewater discharge to the Spokane River, the plant will include a component for treating wastewater to “ultra†clean, Class A water, the highest water quality level to be used for three targeted non-potable needs: land/crop irrigation, commercial/industrial use, and aquifer recharge.
Local agencies in talks with the city to use reclaimed water from the plant include the Department of Corrections, Kalispell and Spokane Indian Tribes.
Cara Lorello can be reached [email protected]
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