Body
Department of Utilities
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BRIGHTON, COLORADO, ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS WATER ACTIVITY ENTERPRISE, AUTHORIZING CITY OF BRIGHTON STAFF TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR FUNDING FROM COLORADO’S WATER PLAN GRANT FUND FOR THE ERGER’S AUGMENTATION STATION, AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE STATEMENT REGARDING AVAILABLE FUNDING IN THE APPLICATION, AND THE CITY MANAGER TO UNDERTAKE SUCH TASKS AND EXECUTE SUCH DOCUMENTS AS MAY BE REQUIRED TO FINALIZE THE GRANT APPLICATION.
To: Mayor Richard N. McLean and Members of City Council
Through: Philip Rodriguez, City Manager
Prepared By: Curtis Bauers, Director of Utilities
Date Prepared: September 13, 2016
PURPOSE
To consider a resolution authorizing City of Brighton Staff to submit an application for funding of the Erger’s Augmentation Station through the Colorado’s Water Plan Grant Fund with the understanding that any funds supplied through a grant will not fully cover the cost of any project, therefore requiring further financial contribution from the City. Grant is available up to $1M, with total project cost estimated at over $3M.
BACKGROUND
In 2015, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) completed Colorado’s Water Plan (CWP), a statewide master plan for the Colorado’s water resources, which included a set of critical strategies for municipalities to implement to reach the goals outlined in the CWP.
In order to work towards these goals, the CWCB has allocated funds to Colorado’s Water Plan Grant Fund, which will disperse these funds to projects that demonstrate the potential to move forward the efficiency and sustainability of Colorado’s water infrastructure. The City of Brighton has many projects whose goals overlap with the goals of the CWCB and therefore the City has a reasonable chance of being awarded one of these grants, thereby funding projects that will move forward the City’s water infrastructure in accordance with the City’s own goals as well as the State’s.
In particular, the City is interested in applying for a grant to help fund the Erger’s Augmentation Station. The augmentation station will be a crucial piece of infrastructure for the expansion of the City’s augmentation capabilities, which will expand the amount of water available to the City through its wellfields for consumption.
By expanding the capabilities of the City’s augmentation infrastructure, the City will be better equipped to store and ultimately release its available excess water rights or during Free River conditions when the South Platte is flowing at high volumes. The augmentation station will increase the available water supply of Brighton in particular and to the South Platte Basin in general, which is one of the highest priorities of Colorado’s Water Plan. For this reason, there is a good chance CWCB will see fit to award the City a grant towards building the Erger’s Augmentation Station.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The City is not obligated to spend any additional funds as a result of applying for this grant. However, even if the City is successful in procuring a grant from CWCB, this grant would only pay for a percentage of the project’s cost. As a result, the City would still need to financially contribute towards the project, but the grant would help the City by saving funds. If the City is awarded the grant, Staff will bring the Grant Agreement, together with any financial obligations of the City associated with the grant, to the City Council for review, comment, and approval.
The Erger’s Augmentation Station is a critical project to bring Erger’s online for augmentation storage, which is necessary to expand the City’s water portfolio. This project is currently included in its entirety in the 2017 budget. Therefore, the City has already deemed this project worth funding, even if the City is required to pay for the entire cost of the project. As a result, even a grant that covers a fraction of the cost will save the City funding, and therefore there is really no downside in applying for this grant.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
In order to help fund the Erger’s Augmentation Station, which will increase the augmentation capacity of the City, staff recommends approval of a resolution authorizing staff to submit a grant application to Colorado’s Water Plan Grant Fund for funding.
OPTIONS FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
• Approve the resolution as presented
• Reject the resolution as presented
• Postpone consideration of the resolution as presented with direction to staff to make modification or clarification to the resolution
ATTACHMENTS
• Resolution