Monticello City considers bond for sewer lines

by David Boyle
News Director
The Monticello City Council authorized issuance of a sewer bond, got an update on the Spring Creek water project and received a grant for ADA playground equipment at their latest meeting.
The council authorized the issuance of sewer revenue bonds on December 10.
City Manager Kaeden Kulow said the action will allow the city to obtain revenue bonds to pay for a sewer project slated for 2025 which will tackle issues in the city sewer system.
A representative of Zions Bank outlined the bond noting the city is intending to bond for $1.2 million at an interest rate of 2.5 percent.
As part of the process, the city will hold a public hearing on January 14 as well as a 30-day contest period to allow the public to refute the project if they so choose.
Zions Bank said that the 2.5 percent interest rate is favorable, adding another small town in Utah recently passed a bond with a nearly five percent interest rate, and added that a bond was recently rejected in Piute County but that was the first the bank bond attorney had seen in a 25-year career.
Going through the proposed bond, staff estimated the bond would require a 15 percent raise in rates to cover a full $1.5 million in debt, but with the city likely bonding for a smaller amount, estimated rate increases would be about eight percent. The likely amount is a $6 increase in monthly sewer rates for residents, with commercial rates being a bit higher.
The two phase project will replace sewer lines in town that are in failure, with tree roots growing in some of them. Lines have been identified by the public works department, who cleans the lines at least twice a year. The project will upgrade existing infrastructure, meaning not many changes. One identified change would move a manhole about 50 feet but the majority of the project will replace existing pipes in the city.
Staff noted that much of the cost for the project comes from repairing city roadways where they overlap with city sewer lines.
Should the project timeline advance as expected, the project would go out to bid in February 2025.
At the meeting, members of the council also got an update from Jones and DeMille Engineering on the city Spring Creek water development project.
Jones and DeMille Engineer Javen Ivins shared a simplified timeline for the Spring Creek water development project.
The project is waiting to finalize environmental work on the project, followed by securing funding from rural development. Then the project can go to bid, with estimations from the engineering company of bids in early May of 2025.
Ivins said one delay relates to a discrepancy in water rights, with the family who sold the rights only intending to sell Spring Creek rights and not parts of their North Creek rights.
Ivins said the issue is being resolved with the parties involved and added that the project should be ready to bid in May, with construction hoping to begin in the mid-to-end part of the summer. The construction timeline is approximately eight months, with weather likely being a factor in that timeline.
City staff and council thanked Jones and DeMille Engineering for their work on the project in the last few years.
The council also held a public hearing for the updated consolidated fee schedul. No public comment was provided.
Among the proposed fee changes are adjustments to water connection fees, golf course fees, garbage rates, and increasing from $100 to $500 the annexation filing fee.
City council also approved a resolution amending the yearly compensation of elected officials. The Mayor’s stipend will be $3,500 in 2025 with an increase to $4,000 in 2026. City council stipend will be $1,750 in 2025 and $2,000 in 2026. The resolution includes direction for the council to review the amount every two years.
Members of the city council also discussed new playground equipment at Veterans Park to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Assistant City Manager Megan Gallegos explained the city applied for and received a $70,000 grant through the San Juan Clean Energy Foundation for the new facility.
The proposed playground would feature a variety of music and sensory equipment, wood fiber flooring, and cover a larger area than the existing playground.
A cost estimate to install the equipment and make the sidewalk and other areas in the park ADA compliant came in at $194,000.
As a result the city will likely divide the project into phases, with a first phase to install the equipment coming in at a cost of $132,000, leaving the city short about $65,000 to get the equipment purchased and delivered to Monticello.
Kulow said some repairs to the old golf pro shop, purchase of parks equipment and other items means the city may have to push some other project back to purchase the playground equipment.
With other ongoing capital projects underway, and no deadline to use the grant funds, members of the council informally tabled the item to determine the best time to move forward on the project.
Members of the council thanked city staff for their efforts on the project which has been discussed for several years now.
Members of the city council also approved an update to city landscape standards. The updated code requirements will make future developments more water-wise and are a requirement by the state for residents to access state funding for water-wise landscape incentive programs.
Members of the Monticello city council also approved a tiny home park code, which is an update of the city mobile home park standards code to include tiny home structures.
Members of the Monticello city council also approved a letter of support for the county application for a federal grant for a mini Materials Recycling Facility (MRF).
The facility and equipment would use variety of processes, including magnets, filters and other processes to mechanically sort garbage into recyclable materials.
Members of the council also approved an application for a CDBG grant for water infrastructure projects.