No connection to any city-owned trunk sanitary sewer shall be allowed until a permit is obtained and payment as a contribution to aid in construction has been made into the city sewage collection fund, which is a depository of such contributions and designated funds. These contributions shall be regarded as a benefit as defined by the Common Council. This is a benefit cost intended to provide funds for sewage collection and improvement projects by the city or owners of real estate and provide owners of real estate such protection as is afforded by the provisions of statutes of the state for sanitary sewerage facilities constructed by said owners of real estate under contract with the city.
(A) Amount.
(1) These costs, designated as availability costs, shall be fixed by the city as hereinafter provided. Such availability costs shall be and are hereby established in the sum as specified in § 34-627 of this code of ordinances per single-family residence to be served or its wastewater flow equivalent as defined in Attachment Number 1, EDU Schedule, to Ord. 2003-1500, and shall be from time to time updated and set by the city after receiving input by the Board of Public Works and Safety of the city.
(2) Project costs, in all cases, shall expressly include reasonable and documented construction costs, legal costs, engineering costs, construction inspection and testing costs and easement acquisition costs as shall be administered and defined by the Board of Public Works and Safety. Easements in each case, as may be required by the Board of Public Works and Safety, must be obtained by the owner of the real estate. Projects that shall be funded from the Sewage Collection Fund shall include new trunk and interceptor sewers, improvements to existing trunk or intercept sewers and such sewage collection improvements projects as determined by the Board of Public Works and Safety and subject to approval by the Common Council when necessary.
(3) The availability cost as specified in § 34-627 of this code of ordinances per equivalent dwelling unit or its waste load equivalent may be allocated to and paid into the project cost of the specific interceptor extension (offsite interceptor and on-site oversizing) for which it is paid.
(4) The applicant-owners of real estate applying for sewer extensions shall make payments to the city utility office for such payment in accordance with costs, as set forth. Payments are due and shall be made in accordance with § 82-354 of this chapter.
(5) Payment of the availability cost may be made in cash or by the dedication to the city’s sewer system facilities consisting of interceptor sewers, forced mains, lift stations and other related sewer system facilities other than on-site sewers and service lines acceptable to and preapproved by the Board of Public Works and Safety. To the extent that the cost of such dedicated property is less than the required availability cost, the owner or developer shall pay the balance of said cost in cash.
(6) Trunk sewer extension projects shall be, in accordance with the latest development plan, developed and approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety. Plans and specification for specific trunk sewerage extensions, and for all local, lateral and sub-trunk sewers, shall be submitted to and receive approval from the Board of Public Works and Safety and all applicable regulatory agencies prior to start of construction. A copy of all such approvals shall be filed with the City Superintendent in the City Hall within ten days after receipt of approval.
(B) Additional funds contributed. The above availability costs shall be strictly non-refundable. If by prior agreement, in order to extend the trunk sewer system, additional funds are necessary to extend the sewer to the owners of real estate, such additional funds advanced or contributed by said owners of real estate for the extensions and/or oversizing to meet the requirements of the city are refundable without interest. However, such refunds may be made only from the developer availability accounts deposits. In no event will any of the city sewerage revenues be used, committed or encumbered to repay any such funds advanced or contributed, nor will the city’s General Fund be used, committed or encumbered to repay any such funds advanced or contributed. It is expressly declared that such repayment, if any, will be made under the provisions of and will be repaid only from funds deposited in the Sewage Collection Fund on the basis of first in, first out. No provision of this division shall be construed as a guarantee by the city that the owners of real estate advancing funds will be fully reimbursed therefor.
(C) Accounts. Two separate accounts will be established from the availability costs assessed and proceeds shall be placed in the Sewage Collection Fund, which will consist of the two funds set out below.
(1) In one account will be deposited 50% of the assessed availability cost that shall be used, at the discretion of the Board of Public Works and Safety, subject to approval, when necessary, by the Common Council, for work on the existing sewerage. The name of this account will be the city availability account.
(2) The second account will be established from 50% of the availability cost assessed. This second account shall be used for reimbursement, refunds and repayment to owners of real estate for extension and/or resizing to meet requirements of the city and for which a prior written agreement was negotiated. The name of this account will be the developer availability account.
(D) Oversizing. Refunding of costs for oversizing to meet city requirements shall be made only for the portion of the oversizing which lies within the real estate owner’s development as requested in writing by the Board of Public Works and Safety. In the event the availability cost does not provide sufficient funds to extend and/or oversize the trunk sewer as needed, no such sewer extension into the development, or oversizing, will be considered by the Board of Public Works and Safety unless the owners of real estate desire to advance and pay the excess costs of the project. In the event oversizing of sewage lift stations and other applicable appurtenances and/or oversizing and extensions of trunk sewers constructed within their development by owners of real estate are necessary to deliver sewage from other areas to the trunk sewer, or from one trunk to another, such oversizing shall be deemed to be part of the trunk sewer cost to the extent of the oversizing only, and as such would be considered for refund under the provisions of subsection (B) above. Any required extensions to the property line by owners of real estate necessary to deliver sewage from other areas to the trunk sewer, or from one trunk to another, will be considered part of the trunk sewer cost and not part of the on-site local sewer cost, and as such would be considered for refund under provisions of subsection (B) above.
(E) Repayment method. Repayment, reimbursement or refund for oversizing or extension costs must be requested by the real estate owner at the time of application for sewer extension and should be requested from the Board of Public Works and Safety. The amount of eligible repayment will be negotiated with the Board of Public Works and Safety prior to signing of the final plat by the city’s Plan Commission and, in the event there is not a final plat to be executed, then this must be accomplished prior to the filing for approval of the sewer extension (infrastructure) with the state’s Department of Environmental Management. The amount of eligible repayment, reimbursement or refund set by the Board of Public Works and Safety for oversizing shall be for construction, labor and materials only. The repayment, reimbursement or refund for sewer extension shall be the project cost as defined in § 82-352(A) of this chapter.
(Ord. 2003-1500, passed 1-6-2003)
Editor’s note:
Attachment Number 1, EDU Schedule, to Ord. 2003-1500, mentioned in this section, is not printed herein but is on file in the city’s Clerk-Treasurer’s office.