Okaloosa County BOCC — July 6, 2016 — East County Transmission Main - Eglin Easement — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: July 6, 2016 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Jeff Littrell SUBJECT: East County Transmission Main - Eglin Easement DEPARTMENT: Water and Sewer BCC DISTRICT: 1,2 & 3 STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Okaloosa County Water & Sewer (OCWS) staff requests the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) execute a utility easement between Okaloosa County and Eglin Air Force Base for the East County Transmission Main Project. BACKGROUND: In April 2012, OCWS entered into an interlocal agreement with the City of Niceville and City of Valparaiso to transfer its ownership and treatment capacity from the Niceville, Valparaiso, Okaloosa County Regional Sewer Board, Inc. (NVOC), now called the Niceville-Valparaiso Regional Sewer Board, Inc. (NVRSB). As part of this agreement, OCWS transferred its cost sharing responsibility of constructing improvements to the NVOC facility to the City of Niceville, and all wastewater flow from OCWS' East County (Bluewater Bay) Service Area would need to be diverted to the Arbennie Pritchett Water Reclamation Facility (APWRF). As part of this relocation, OCWS would need to construct a new sanitary sewer force main to convey its flows to the APWRF. This 7.6-mile transmission main, depicted on the attached map, will convey all wastewater flows from the East County Service Area to OCWS' Eglin Main Base Pump Station, where it would then be pumped to the APWRF. OCWS currently pays approximately $800K annually to the NVRSB for wastewater treatment and disposal of our own sewer. Upon completion of this transmission main that expense will no longer be there, and operations and maintenance expenses (like power, for example) at the APWRF will rise incrementally/minimally. Projects like this are calculated into the OCWS Rate Model, and are what allow rate increases to remain nominal. To achieve the goal of constructing this transmission main, OCWS has to obtain an easement from Eglin Air Force Base that will run from our Eglin Main Base Pump Station easterly through Eglin property and connect to our existing force main located on College Blvd. Because the project is located on Eglin AFB property, a utility easement is required from Eglin Air Force for the County to own, operate, and maintain the above-mentioned infrastructure. The easement documents are attached, along with an aerial photo depicting the location of the easement. County Contract Review has been completed on the attached Grant of Easement, and the Coordination Sheet is attached. The Grant of Easement also has numerous exhibits attached to it, which can be viewed by clicking on the "Exhibits" attachment and then following the links. The term of the easement is 25 years. Because this infrastructure serves OCWS and not a direct benefit to Eglin AFB, by federal regulation, they have to charge fair market value (FMV). FMV has been negotiated and determined to be an up-front lump sum payment of $21,437.85 for the 25-year term. OCWS staff believes this amount is a fair and reasonable amount, and that the benefit far exceeds that dollar amount. This cost (and the total project cost) is funded from the proceeds from the 2012 Bank Loan. Upon execution of the easement by the Chairman, OCWS staff will coordinate w/ the Clerk of Court Finance Dept. for the payment to be made, per the requirements in the Grant of Easement. OPTIONS: Approve or deny. RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends BCC approval for the Chairman to execute the Air Force’s “Grant of Easement” for the East County Transmission Main Project. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator