PORT ANGELES — After decades of planning, crews will be ready to move dirt on the Carlsborg sewer project by mid-April, Clallam County commissioners learned Monday.
Public Works Administrative Director Bob Martin said the $15.3 million project is on schedule to go out to bid in early February.
Commissioners are expected to open bids in early March, followed by a six-week review of the proposals.
Martin said the goal is to issue a notice to proceed to a contractor to break ground on or about April 15.
“That sounds like a solid timeline to me,” said first-year Commissioner Mark Ozias, whose district includes Carlsborg.
Clallam County will give the contractor 200 days to build a pump station and install a sewer connection pipe and underground pressure lines.
Wastewater will be pumped from Carlsborg to an existing treatment facility in Sequim.
Martin said the system should be up and running by February 2017.
Clallam County has been planning for a sewer in Carlsborg since the late 1980s.
Failing septic systems have contributed to polluted groundwater in the loosely-soiled Dungeness Valley, county officials have said.
“One of the things that you should understand, and the public should understand, is that the cost of building this system is not being borne by the rate payers,” Martin told commissioners in their weekly work session.
“So if the cost goes up, that’s not going to have any impact on the service fees.”
The bulk of the capital costs will be paid through a state loan, which will be paid back over time from the county’s Opportunity Fund.
The sales tax-supported Opportunity Fund supports infrastructure projects in rural areas.
Officials estimate that a residential customer who chooses to connect to the sewer will pay about $70 per month for the service.
Incentive to hook up
Connection fees have been structured to provide an incentive to hooking up before the pipes are buried.
Those who connect prior to pavement restoration will pay $500.
Those who connect within two years of the system’s operation will pay $1,500.
After that, the connection fee will be $8,000.
“Nobody is required to connect immediately,” Martin said.
“The exception to that is that if you’re within 200 feet to the sewer line, and you sell the property, then within a year of selling the property you do have to connect.”
Commissioner Bill Peach said he and Commissioner Mike Chapman “worked pretty hard to push for that graduated connection” scheme.
Required under law
The Carlsborg Urban Growth Area is required to have a sewer under state law.
In 2008, the hamlet was found to be out of compliance with the Growth Management Act, and a subsequent order of invalidity prevented businesses from expanding.
The county secured a $10 million, 30-year loan from the state Public Works Trust Fund to build a sewer for Carlsborg.
Martin said the 0.5 percent interest rate will be lowered to 0.25 percent if the sewer is operational by May 2017.
“We’re aimed at making sure we do that, and it’s part of what’s driving the schedule,” Martin said.
Rather than build a treatment plant in Carlsborg, which was originally planned, the county agreed to pay the city of Sequim $1.3 million for about 20 years of capacity at the city treatment plant.
Under a 2014 interlocal agreement, the county will pay the city a 0.98-cent-per-gallon metered rate for operations and maintenance.
So far, the county has spent about $2.7 million on the sewer, Martin said.
Even with the $10 million loan and a $1.4 million Carlsborg sewer account, the project has an estimated shortfall of about $1.2 million.
“We will refine this, of course, once we open the bids,” Martin said.
“These are just estimates at this point.”
A shortfall could be made up with real estate excise taxes, capital funds, Opportunity Funds or by dropping components of the project, Martin said.
The sewer budget includes about $1 million in contingency funds.
“We’re optimistic that we’ll get a pretty good bid,” Martin added.
The county is also awaiting final approval from the state Department of Transportation to hang the sewer main under the U.S. Highway 101 bridge over the Dungeness River.
The pump station will be on Carlsborg Road near the Olympic Discovery Trail crossing.
Chapman recommended that the costs be vetted by the county Treasurer’s Office and Auditor’s Office before a contract is awarded.
He suggested a contingency of at least $2 million — preferably $4 million — to ensure that the work will be completed.
“Once you take it on, you gotta finish it,” Chapman said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
