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Commissioner Worley - Finance on behalf of Public Works - To Approve a Resolution to Accept and Appropriate an American Rescue Plan (ARP) Waterline Grant from the NC Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) / NC Division of Water Infrastructure (DWI) to Provide Water Service Between the City of High Shoals and the Town of Dallas in the Amount of $5,478,000, Authorize an Appropriation from the Community Investment Fund of $1,555,000, and Approve Administrative Correction to Res 2022-203 Adopted 6/28/2022 to Correct Project Account Number for Design Fees
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STAFF CONTACT
Cary Rodriguez - Public Works - 704-866-6791
BUDGET IMPACT
budget
Increase revenues and expense by $7,033,000 in both the Community Investment and General Government CIP funds. Estimated Project design fees of $894,000 were appropriated per Resolution 2022-203 (approved 6/28/2022).
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BUDGET ORDINANCE IMPACT
Minimal change to the Budget Ordinance.
BACKGROUND
The NC Division of Water Infrastructure will award a total of $1.69 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funding from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund for water, wastewater, and stormwater projects. Gaston County was appropriated $5,478,000 from the Drinking Water and Wastewater Reserve in the Other Projects Category for the High Shoals, Hardin, Dallas - Water Line Project (Project# SRP-D-ARP-0075). This project will construct the infrastructure necessary to provide water service between the Town of Dallas and the City of High Shoals. The water component to the project will create a water system interconnection between Dallas and High Shoals. The current water supply for the City of High Shoals is provided through a bulk purchase with Lincoln County. This purchase contract allowed for the purchase of up to 100,000 gal/clay and the contract expired in 2020. The best solution to resolve the water supply challenge between Lincoln County and High Shoals and to provide water service to the Hardin Road area, is to construct an interconnection between the Town of Dallas and the City of High Shoals. An interconnection between Dallas and High Shoals will allow High Shoals to purchase their water inside Gaston County and avoid paying outside rates to Lincoln County.
The water line project requires County funds totaling $2,449,000 as the project is not fully grant funded. Resolution #2022-203 approved on June 28, 2022 appropriated $894,000 from the Community Investment Fund (CIF) fund balance for the design fees associated with the project. This board action appropriates the additional $1,555,00 needed for the county portion which is also being appropriated from the Community Investment Fund (CIF) fund balance and is reflected on the attached Budget Change Request. An application has been submitted by Public Works for an additional $2,375,000 in grant funding to help cover the funding gap and reduce the county costs. We are awaiting notification from NCDEQ regarding the status of funding from this grant application. If the additional funds are awarded, they would be used to return the fund balance appropriation to the CIF fund balance.
This Board Action also serves as an administrative correction for Resolution 2022-203 due to an account number change. The original budget change request listed the project expense account for the design fees as 4005-PWK-000-00000-WSLine-HShlDal-0000-01-540007-P2213. The account has been changed to 4005-PWK-000-00000-WSLine-HShlDal-0000-01-540016-AG011 for the purpose of keeping the design and administrative costs of the project separate from construction costs and to add the correct ARPA project code.
POLICY IMPACT
N/A
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution; Budget Change Request (BCR)