Sewer Benefit District Approved:
Benefit District Final PDF
The following article from the Dec. 22, 2010 edition of the Linn Valley News provides an excellent overview of the two ongoing projects for improvements to the City of Linn Valley water & sewers systems. www.linncountynews.net
Linn Valley council, POA set benefit district for sewer project
Q&A gives residents a clearer understanding of project scope and costs
By BARBARA PROFFITT
Linn County News Reporter
barbara@linncountynews.net
Members of the Linn Valley City Council and the Linn Valley Property Owners Association Board met on Saturday, Dec. 18, to finalize a benefit district for the sewer project.
Speaking to the small crowd Mayor Jeanne Dwyer noted that the city has outgrown its current system and reminded those present that that was one of the reasons the community became a city in the first place.
David Freer, president of the POA Board, then spoke noting that two months ago a benefit district for the sewer installation had been roughly outlined.
“Since then,” said Freer, “engineer Ken Shetlar has attached some figures and when we really got to looking at it we wanted to include as many houses as we could and still be conservative so that we have enough money to do this.”
Freer went on to explain that representatives of both the council and the board had looked at maps and figures and explained to the crowd that they had also taken into account the number of lots that were behind on assessments.
“Our thoughts were that if they’re already behind, the add-on to the assessments for the benefit district probably won’t be paid either.”
Freer then explained that the city was looking at a 40 year loan at approximately 3.25 percent interest and that to gain USDA funding a target sewer rate of $40 or lower per month must be met.
Freer and council member Jack Colgin then went over the figures for three different options for the benefit district and noted that the third proposal was most likely the best option.
The proposed benefit district would include 755 lots less 87 lots that are either owned by the POA, are public common property or are behind in assessments, leaving 668 lots for the calculations.
Of those 95 percent, 635 lots were used in the figures to calculate the estimated rates that would be added to the assessments and costs for installation of grinder pump stations.
Project costs were estimated at $1,080,000 for this number of lots, which was multiplied by .0450 to come up with a $48,600 principal and interest payment per year.
The $48,600 was then divided by the 635 lots to come up with a figure of $76.54, which would be added to the assessments each year for each lot within the benefit district.
Some of the sewer lines will be gravity lines; however, some will require grinder pump stations to be installed and hard-wired into the house or structure on the lot.
Each grinder pump station is estimated to cost $7,000. That number was multiplied by the same .0450 to come up with a figure of $315 per year. Add in the $76.54 and the total is now $391.54.
That figure was then divided by twelve (months per year) and an amount of $32.63 per month was derived. Another $10 was added in to cover costs of operation and maintenance and the total per month would now be $42.63 per month total per lot for those that will require grinder pumps.
At final configuration, vacant lots will pay an additional $76.54 per lot per year (approximately) on their assessments while lots with homes on them will pay approximately $42.63 per month.
Members of the audience had several questions for the council and board, first and foremost being whether assessments would increase for every lot in the community or only those in the benefit district. Freer clarified that only those lots in the district would see an increase.
Freer went on to explain that not every lot in the city will get sewer lines in this first phase and that at this point there is no timeline for the next phase.
The next concern addressed was up front costs to the residents and Freer explained that there will be no up front costs to any resident within the benefit district or anywhere else in the community.
“All of it is coming out of the $1,080,000,” said Freer. “Your costs will only be what we’re adding to your assessments and the monthly sewer rates.”
One gentleman asked if he lived in proximity to but not in the benefit district if he could opt in and several options for doing so were explained. Another asked if he could opt out if he were inside the district and didn’t want it and it was explained that while outside lines could be added, those inside the district could not opt out.
Another resident asked when exactly they could expect their assessments to increase and Freer explained that there would be no increase to the assessments until the installations were complete.
Yet another resident asked where the sewage would be pumped to and Freer explained it would go to the lagoon the community already has in place. The resident then asked if the lagoon was adequate to handle the increase in volume and Freer stated it was and that it had plenty of room for growth.
Several questions had been brought to POA Manager Pam McCoy, one being what would happen to the grinder pumps in a power outage.
Engineer Ken Shetlar, with Shaffer, Kline and Warren, explained that in a power outage people were not likely to be using large amounts of water, such as with dishwashers, and that in an extreme outage, the units’ tanks could be pumped out by attaching a portable generator to them.
Shetlar then also noted again that the grinder pumps will have to be hard-wired into the homes electrical system and explained that the pumps shouldn’t increase an electrical bill by more than one or two dollars per month.
Current water & sewer systems improvement projects for Linn Valley, Kansas.
The City of Linn Valley, along with the Linn Valley Property Owners Association Board of Directors,
are currently working together on two (2) separate projects to improve water and sewer systems
for Linn Valley residents & property owners.
Project # 1 - Construction of a Sewage Collection System
The City & the POA are working with the engineering firm of Shafer, Kline & Warren to design and calculate costs for the construction of a new sewage collection system for Linn Valley. Plans are for this project to be financed by a long term USDA loan. This system will be constructed in stages and not all lots will be included in the first stage. Plans for the first stage of the project call for establishing a “special benefit district” which will determine the boundaries for the area to be included.
A special meeting of the City Council and POA Board was held Saturday, Dec. 18th following the regularly scheduled monthly POA Board meeting. Another joint meeting will be held Saturday, January 15th, 2011 at 10:30 AM at the Community Center. . As a property owner it is important for you to attend this meeting, as it is hoped that the benefit district boundaries can be finalized at this meeting. Click on the link below to view the proposals being considerd for the boundaries of the benefit district. At this point in time it appears that proposal #2 will be the chosen.
Project # 2 – Water Supply Chlorine Collection Basin
As property owners we all know that we have received letters from time to time over the past several years, informing us that our Linn Valley water was not meeting all of the Kansas Department of Health quality standards. To correct this ongoing problem, and to ensure that our water is safe and of high quality, it is necessary that a chlorine collection basin be constructed at our water plant.
To help finance this project we have applied for a grant, that is adminstered by the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission (SEKRPC). In order to qualify for this grant, SEKRPC requires a survey of our Linn Valley water customers be completed and returned. This survey was mailed out in early November and it is imperative that all of the surveys be returned in order for us to qualify for the grant monies. Your participation will SAVE you MONEY, and will ensure better QUALITY WATER for our community.
If you have not returned your survey PLEASE do so as soon as possible. Your participation is vital for the future safety and quality of our water supply. If you have misplaced your survey, or need assistance in filling it out, please call Linn Valley City Hall at 913-757-2926, or City Councilman Jack Colgin at 913-757-3572.
