Okaloosa County BOCC — 2013 meeting #1123 (date undetermined) — Budget Policy Document FY14 — reading text

P.J. Adams Parkway/Antioch Road from SR 85 to US 90. Once approved, it is hoped that this study will lead the way for future design improvements and funding alternatives. As construction is being performed along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Fairchild Road, efforts to acquire the necessary right of way and finalize the design drawings for improvements to the unpaved portion of Okaloosa Lane and the adjacent Holley Drive are being performed. As soon as right of way is acquired, paving the final section of Okaloosa Lane will commence. Though these projects are not controlled by Okaloosa County, Public Works staff is heavily involved with the design and construction of the interchange between Cody Avenue and US 98 at the Hurlburt Field main gate. Recently, the Governor’s office announced that funding for the widening of SR 123 has been approved and staff will continue to participate in the development of that project. It is also anticipated that FDOT will provide funding through Local Agency Program (LAP) agreements for safety improvements to Airport Road in the Crestview area and Sidewalks along 12th Street in the Shalimar area. Along with periodic “push-button” projects, it is estimated that approximately $70 million in construction projects will be active in Okaloosa County through FDOT activities during Fiscal Year 2014. Stormwater The Stormwater staff is tasked with addressing all stormwater construction, failures, maintenance, regulatory compliance, and development of a future funding needs list. The Board made a commitment to pledge $400,000 for Fiscal Year 2013 to address stormwater needs. The Stormwater Division has a yearly operating and maintenance cost of $1,000,000. This budget includes $200,000 for reactionary repairs of stormwater failures. Fortunately, the Stormwater Division has been able to take advantage of funding pledged Page 30 in previous years which has remained in the stormwater budget as available cash. These funds are becoming critically depleted by increasing stormwater needs and system failures. The Stormwater Division is committed to maximizing the efficient use of existing stormwater budget dollars and researching all avenues to increase available funding. Staff will continue to apply for Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to perform repairs for problem stormwater areas despite the fact that funding in these programs continues to be reduced. A Clean Water Act section 319 grant, for approximately $700,000 with a $300,000 match, has been received through an agreement with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for the design and construction of stormwater improvements in the Gap Creek area. Funding from this grant will be utilized for improvements targeting water quality and storage capacity near Poplar Avenue in the Sylvania Heights neighborhood. Construction of this project is anticipated to begin in Fiscal Year 2014. No capital projects are proposed for Fiscal Year 2014 due to the cash match requirement for Gap Creek which will deplete all capital funding. All stormwater projects will be reactionary for failures except for upgrades planned as part of road reconstruction projects or restoration in preparation for dirt-to-pave projects. Amendment of the Stormwater Master Plan is in progress. During the process of updating the plan, staff will be developing a list of stormwater capital projects that would possibly meet the criteria for State Revolving Fund loans. These low interest loans could be used to fund some of the larger stormwater projects that could have broad regional impacts. This is a cooperative effort with the City of Fort Walton Beach. In Fiscal Year 2014, compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit will include the completion of our reporting period in July 2013. This compliance is essential to avoid possible compliance penalties from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the FDEP. The report covering this period will be submitted in early 2014. In order to maintain permit compliance, a Notice of Intent is required to be submitted by January 8, 2014 with an on-site audit by FDEP to follow. This audit will provide guidance on meeting compliance objectives. This assessment will provide a forecast of how compliance requirements will impact funding levels in future years. Water & Sewer Consolidation of Wastewater Services for Duke Field, Eglin Main Base and Camp Rudder. Okaloosa County Water & Sewer (OCWS) is under contract with the U.S. Air Force to divert the wastewater from the above- mentioned cantonments into our Arbennie Pritchett Water Reclamation Facility (APWRF). The $16,699,568 contract includes reimbursement of construction costs for $8,026,192 and Capacity Expansion Charges (CECs) for $8,673,376. The contract will also result in increased monthly revenue. When the three-phase project is completed, OCWS will provide wastewater transmission, treatment, and disposal service to Eglin AFB, and four aging Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) will be decommissioned. Construction of the Duke Field phase is 95 percent complete and will be online before summer. The Eglin Main Base phase is being designed in Fiscal Year 2013; construction will also begin in this year and continue through Fiscal Year 2014. Regarding Camp Rudder, the design has just begun and construction will occur in Fiscal Year 2014. The CECs from this contract will go into a restricted reserve account to help fund a future 5 million gallons per day (MGD) plant expansion to the APWRF. In a separate contract, OCWS will also be providing wholesale water and wastewater services to the Navy EOD School off of Range Road, just northeast of Bluewater Bay. Design and construction will occur in Fiscal Year 2013, and this project will also result in CECs ($343,000) and increased monthly revenue. Page 31 Future Water Supply. OCWS has received good news and bad news in this planning effort. The Department has received numerous grants and funding opportunities related to future water supply planning and land acquisition, such as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) Planning-Assistance-to-the-States (PAS) Program, Defense Infrastructure grants (DIG), and Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI) grants. The majority of these grants are to purchase land used for military buffering, watershed protection, and/or wetland mitigation. As a result of changes at the Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD), the Shoal River Offline Reservoir Project is on hold as funding was removed from the Fiscal Year 2013 budget for acquisition of land for the project. OCWS has learned NWFWMD is considering restoring the land acquisition funding for the Shoal River Offline Reservoir project in Fiscal Year 2014. The Shoal River Ranch parcel is in bankruptcy and the bank may sell all or part of the land the County hoped to acquire for the reservoir. OCWS will continue working closely with NWFWMD staff, and partnering with them on ideas related to future water supply. Some of the feasibility/treatability work that is being funded by the COE PAS money is still proceeding. The current work is relevant whether the ultimate source is direct withdrawal with an offline reservoir, or direct withdrawal without an offline reservoir. OCWS secured a bank loan in Fiscal Year 2012 to fund the following projects: Divert Niceville, Valparaiso and Okaloosa County Regional Sewer Board (NVOC) Flow to the Arbennie Pritchett WRF. In April of 2012, OCWS entered into an Interlocal Agreement with the City of Niceville and City of Valparaiso to transfer its ownership and treatment capacity at the NVOC Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant to the City of Niceville. As part of this agreement, OCWS transferred its cost sharing responsibility of the NVOC facility, and will divert of all of the flows from the East County/Bluewater Bay Service Area to the APWRF. As part of this planned diversion of flow, OCWS needs to construct a new sanitary sewer force main and repumping station to convey its flows to the APWRF. Included with this project, is upsizing the Eglin Main Lift Station and Force Main to accommodate East County flows. Design is now underway for this project, which totals $4,500,000. As it will take some time to do the environmental work and obtain the Eglin Easement, construction is expected to occur beyond Fiscal Year 2014. Main Island Lift Station. The Main Island Lift Station has reached the end of its useful life and requires replacement at a total estimated cost of $2,500,000. This pump station handles all of the flow from Okaloosa Island and during the summer season pumps up to 1.5 MGD of raw wastewater off of the island for treatment and disposal. The station is sited at a very low elevation and is in extremely poor condition. Failure of this pump station could result in catastrophic environmental and regulatory consequences. The construction is being performed in-house by OCWS personnel. Construction is currently underway and will be complete in a matter of weeks. Cost Share 36” Force Main with City of Fort Walton Beach (FWB). OCWS is working with the City of Fort Walton Beach on cost-sharing a 36” force main project that will provide significant financial savings to the public. OCWS has two force mains and the City has one force main that all flow into the APWRF. These force mains are aging and in need of replacement. Instead of replacing each pipe, OCWS and the City will consolidate flow into one large-diameter force main from Bob Sikes Boulevard to Roberts Boulevard via Denton Road and the Fort Walton Beach Golf Course. An Interlocal Agreement was executed in August 2012, and construction began in February 2013. The OCWS portion of the project is budgeted at $2,000,000. Del Cerro II Public Water Supply Well. A new public water supply well will be constructed east of Crestview on Chestnut Avenue, just west of the intersection with Okaloosa Lane. OCWS will also construct a 12” water Page 32 transmission main on Chestnut Avenue to connect the well to the water system. Estimated cost of the project is $1,350,000 with construction scheduled to begin in April 2013 and expected to last one year. Gravity Sewer Rehab. OCWS has a large quantity of clay tile gravity sewer lines on Okaloosa Island and older parts of unincorporated Fort Walton Beach. We are experiencing significant inflow and infiltration of storm water and ground water into our sanitary sewer system because of the deterioration of this sewer lines. OCWS has completed a $285,000 project on Okaloosa Island. We have a contract with Insituform LLC, and will continue to line more sewer lines as the budget allows in the upcoming fiscal years. Rocky Bayou Force Main Replacement and Lift Station Upgrade. This project will replace 26,000 feet of aging ductile iron force main from the Rocky Bayou Lift Station to the NVOC Sewer Plant until a new pump station can be constructed to divert flow to the APWRF. This force main is in very poor condition and parts of it are in imminent danger of failure. Fortunately, construction is 95 percent completed on this pipeline project. Due to hydraulic limitations, OCWS needs to also install force mains along Highway 20 in two other locations. The Meigs-Seminole Pump Station will also be upgraded and two large older pump stations will be taken off line, resulting in estimated saving of $88,000 per year in power and chemical costs. Construction will be performed in-house by OCWS personnel. The above-mentioned sub-projects total $2,900,000 and construction is from Fiscal Year 2012 through Fiscal Year 2014. Brooks Bridge. The 16” water main to Okaloosa Island was damaged when struck by a crane being