It has been an overfull month – with work on District Policy as well as the Rejuvenation Projects.
This communication covers work underway in the following areas:
- Cell Tower to pay for Forest-Watershed operating costs? Complete a survey by October 10.
- Direction the Board has taken with Multi-family houses
- Public Access & Recreation Plan for the Forest-Watershed has been Updated
- Sale of Surplus Water Policy Adopted
- Tax Levy has been put on the November Ballot
- Progress on District Rejuvenation Projects
A. Cell Tower to pay for Forest-Watershed operating costs? Complete a Survey by October 10th!
Verizon has approached the District requesting to lease space in the Forest (outside of the Watershed) for a cell-tower. Their current proposed is to pay the District at least $18,000 / year. They will also pay for all costs to build and maintain the cell tower site. Note: This payment would help to ease the burden of annual costs for ongoing operations of the Forest-Watershed.
Before making a decision, the Board is reaching out to Arch Cape Water District property owner to get their perspective.
Property owners are invited and encouraged to complete a survey during the period of September 20 – October 10. The survey and related information about the cell tower can be found on the District’s web site (www.archcapewater.org and see the notice at the bottom of the home page) or click on the below link:
B. Direction the Board has taken with Multi-Family Houses
On August 13th the County posted a second draft of their proposed amendments to the Land Use Code (County Document). Based on that document, the County is still moving forward with allowing multi-family residences and cottage clusters in Arch Cape. These multi-family residences / cottage clusters could have a single owner or multiple owners.
Anticipating the real possibility of multi-family homes being built in Arch Cape, the Board approved newly drafted Ordinances to require, for each dwelling unit in a multi-family home or cottage clusters, a separate meter, a separate Systems Development Charge (SDC) for water services, and a separate Systems Development Charge (SDC) for sanitary services.
Separate System Development Charges (SDCs) by dwelling unit are critical as SDCs are the primary vehicle to fund infrastructure / capital improvements. Separate meters are required to monitor and bill for actual water and sanitary usage for each residence in a multi-family residence.
C. Public Access & Recreation Plan for the Forest-Watershed has been Updated
Last June, the Board adopted the Public Access & Recreation Policy for the Forest-Watershed after confirming with ODF that the policy was consistent with Forest Legacy Program requirements for Arch Cape (a contractual obligation of the grant used to purchase the property).
Since that time, there have been incidents of shooting of firearms that are not related to hunting.
ODF has approved adding the following restriction to the Policy.
Prohibited Activities
Shooting of firearms, except for legal hunting consistent with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) regulations
D. Sale of Surplus Water Policy Adopted
The Board is sensitive to the increasing rates and excess usage fees and has been exploring other revenue opportunities to stem that tide and still cover the District’s costs. One of those opportunities is the sale of Surplus Water to interested parties outside of the district. Work to date has indicated that the District’s pricing of Surplus water will need to be competitive in order to be successful is securing this revenue stream.
In moving forward in this direction, the Board has two objectives:
- Create a revenue stream that is sufficient enough to make meaningful impact on reducing rate payer fees for operating the District’s plant & equipment.
- Unless otherwise directed by the Board, rates and fees charged to rate payers for a specific volume of water MUST BE LESS THAN the price charged to purchasing parties for that same volume of water.
The Sale of Surplus Water policy adopted by the Board can be found on the District’s web site (www.archcapewater.org, click on District Business and then on Current Policies) or click on this link. Link to Sale of Surplus Water Policy
E. Tax Levy has been put on the November Ballot
As mentioned in the previous months, a tax levy will be put on the November ballot to pay for a 2 -year contract with an experienced Administrator, starting next July (2025). With this ballot measure, voters will choose between paying for the Administrator with taxes rather than rate increases. Taxes offer an alternative that is less burdensome to most ratepayers as, unlike rates, taxes apply to all properties and vary with property value.
If this ballot measure does not pass, the interim Administrator would be paid through rate increases of up to $95 per quarter The final documents for the Ballot were filed with the County on September 9th. Reminder letters will be sent to registered voter in mid-October just before ballots come out
F. Progress on District Rejuvenation Projects
In addition to standard operations tasks and addressing unexpected challenges that present themselves, the following progress has been made on the projects listed below. (The complete set of projects with status can be found by clicking here)
Project 2 – Replace Webb Lift Station:
The District has been advised of approval for all funds needed for the project. The District is still awaiting formal notification. That would mean that no loans or rate payer money will be needed.
The contractor has begun the process of building the new lift station. You can view snapshots of the process on the District’s web site (www.archcapewater.org and click on News & Updates) or click on this link. Click here
Project 3 – Upgrade & Bring Current the Business/Admin Computer and Data System
The new computer system is now installed, operational and being used as the primary computer, with regularly scheduled backups locally and to the cloud. Our IT consultant has remote access to the system for off-site support. The old computer system is set up as a back-up.
The only remaining task is to install the firewall
Project 5 – Implement an Asset Management System
Matt was trained on the software, has implemented it for both plants and is actively using it on a daily basis.
The last step is to define Management Reports.
Project 6 – Upgrade & Bring Current the Districts’ Web Site: COMPLETED
The new web site has been launched. Check it out at www.archcapewater.org.
Project 7 – Inspect Water Lines for Lead
87% of the water lines have now been inspected.
Project 8 – Address Corrosion in Water Plant
Electrician is now scheduled to wire the fans into an automated control process and to service/ replace the critically corroded fan parts.
Still awaiting quote from electrician to repair the critical circuitry eroded by corrosion
A.C. Water District Board (Go to Home Page) 