TITLE: Title
Update on the Rogers Road Sewer Project, Proposed Utility District, Community Outreach and Interlocal Agreement
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is to provide the Board of Aldermen an opportunity to receive information and discuss the status of the Rogers Road Sewer Project, Community Outreach, and Management and Funding.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Patricia McGuire - 919-918-7327; pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org
INFORMATION: This update seeks to provide the Board of Aldermen with information on the status of surveying work, engineering design and permitting of the Rogers Road sewer project, the community outreach/community first planning effort, and the framework and requirements for the proposed utility district. A draft interlocal agreement for cost-sharing has been prepared. Input from the Board of Aldermen on the provisions of the agreement and the water and sewer utility district is being sought at this time.
Engineering and Community Outreach. Work on the Rogers Road sewer project has continued since the Board’s last report on June 2nd. Following execution of an interlocal agreement between Orange County and OWASA, the services of AECOM were secured to design and prepare permit applications for the project. Mary Darr, OWASA’s Director of Planning and Engineering has prepared a project update (Attachment B) and will be in attendance to provide additional information and respond to any questions. In mid-July, Orange County executed an agreement with the Marion Cheek Jackson Center which, in partnership with the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association, will provide support for outreach and engagement and to facilitate a community first planning effort (as described in the project outline attached to the interlocal agreement between Orange County and the Jackson Center). Copies of the agreements between these two entities and Orange County are included as Attachments C and D. On July 28th, a community meeting was held at the Rogers Road Community Center to announce that surveying work for the engineering design would be starting in August. Over seventy people were in attendance. The meeting agenda and summary are included as Attachments E and F. A summary report on the community outreach and engagement that has taken place to date is also provided as Attachment G. Town and County staff have been meeting regularly for nearly a year and weekly since the summer to coordinate effort on the project.
Interlocal agreement. Board approval of funding for last year’s preliminary engineering and outreach occurred in March and April 2014. The town’s share of those activities totaled $25,200. The draft interlocal agreement in preparation at that time was not finalized. In April 2015, as OWASA considered the interlocal agreement that would authorize design and permitting to go forward (Attachment C, noted above), the Board of Aldermen adopted a resolution stating its intentions and expectations regarding cost-sharing. As part of its annual report from OWASA board members, the Board of Aldermen received an update on the work on June 2nd. Links to the Town website-archived agenda materials are provided in the table below
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Date |
Agenda |
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9/17/2013 |
<https://carrboro.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=261233&GUID=CFEE98FD-3143-4E94-BD6C-2182EBDA242D&Options=&Search>= (copy of Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood Task Force Final Report available at this link) |
9/16/2014 <https://carrboro.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=1907133&GUID=3C32E9F9-849A-49E4-B05D-DE8A562D0983&Options=ID%7CText%7CAttachments%7C&Search=sewer&FullText=1>
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<https://carrboro.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2280167&GUID=90FD88E3-30A5-4A23-9BFE-6D5FC752EECE&Options=ID|Text|Attachments|&Search=sewer>. |
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April 21, 2015 |
<https://carrboro.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2265712&GUID=1A57B711-13F3-44D5-A90B-BE498EB6C61A&Options=ID|Text|&Search=rogers+road> |
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June 2, 2015 |
<https://carrboro.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2324671&GUID=240C977A-EA65-4AB6-A979-5E96F670E1BB&Options=ID|Text|Attachments|&Search=sewer> |
An updated draft interlocal agreement that proposes a framework for the Town of Chapel Hill and the Town of Carrboro to reimburse Orange County for a portion of the costs of the project has been prepared (Attachment A). The agreement includes preliminary engineering and outreach (Phase 1), previously specified in the draft considered in 2014 as totaling $25,200, cost sharing for the community center, engineering/design/permitting and community outreach (Phase II) related to the sewer project, and community first planning. The staff is seeking input from the Board of Aldermen on the agreement and highlights the following provisions for the Board’s consideration.
1) Reference to agreement in principle related to community planning (page 2, fourth “Whereas” statement). The Board of Aldermen has had limited discussions on community planning related to this project.
2) The costs specified in the agreement total $1,334,900. Consistent with the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood Task Force (HRRNTF) recommendations and previous action of the Board of Aldermen, Carrboro’s share is proposed to be 14 percent of the total, $186,886. Per previous action, such expenses are expected to be paid out of the current $900,000 appropriation.
3) The payment responsibility for the Town of Chapel Hill is proposed to be 43 percent of the total, also consistent with the HRRNTF recommendations. The payment is further described as being assigned to cover costs of the Community Center, so long as it does not exceed the total cost.
4) Reference to the Towns’ participation in the work of OWASA and the Jackson Center is not yet included. The County’s work with OWASA and the Jackson Center, reflecting the contractual arrangements already in place, is noted.
Water and Sewer District. The proposed framework for payment of construction costs, management, and debt service is a utility district. A memo from the County and Town managers described the approach (Attachment H). The County Commissioners had a worksession with bond counsel, Bob Jessup, on the creation of a water/sewer district as a financing tool for getting sewer to the Rogers Road area. The agenda materials from the meeting may be found at this link: <http://www.orangecountync.gov/document_center/BOCCAgendaMinutes/151013.pdf> .
Residents of the HRRNTF parcels located within Carrboro and additional nearby lots that are expected to also be able to connect (in the future) to the sewer system under design were notified of this meeting and invited to attend and listen to the Board’s discussion.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: The Board of Aldermen has appropriated $900,000 for the Town’s share of this project. This is sufficient to cover the project costs identified so far in the draft interlocal agreement. A detailed breakdown of all costs will be provided when the final version of the interlocal agreement is presented for the Board’s consideration at a future meeting.
RECOMMENDATION:r Staff recommends that the Board of Aldermen review the information presented in this agenda item and provide input on the provisions of the interlocal agreement/proposed cost-sharing, and on the water and sewer utility district concept.