MARK SCHUMANN

In apparent unanimity, Vero Beach City Council yesterday asked City Manager Jim O’Connor and Water & Sewer Utility Director Rob Bolton to develop a plan for building a new waste water treatment plant near the airport to replace the existing plant at the western base of the Alma Lee Loy Bridge.  The proposal is to include financial projections and target dates.

During yesterday’s budget workshop, Bolton explained that debt service on the water and sewer system will drop by more than $1 million a year in 2021, when existing bonds are paid off.  At that point, Boldon said, new bonds could be sold to fund the estimated $20 million to $25 million cost of building a new, more efficient plant near the existing water treatment plant east of the airport.

Over and above its contribution to reserves and to the City’s General Fund, the water and sewer system is currently earning an addition $1.2 million a year.  Bolton’s department has also been able to generate nearly a full year of operating reserves and currently has a replacement and reserve fund of nearly $6 million.

Bolton proposed allocating some of the additional water and sewer revenue over the next six years to create a separate $5 million to $7 million fund to pay for engineering and at least some of the initial construction costs for a new plant.  He estimated engineering costs at $2.5 million, construction costs at up to $25 million and demolishing the existing plant and clearing of the waterfront site at $1 million.