Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 117, No. 30	July 22, 2009

Riverport sewer grant nearly suffers a fatal knock-out

By LARRY SEE JR.
Messenger Staff

Sewer improvements at the proposed Meade County Riverport, thanks to an expected state Kentucky Infrastructure Authority grant, were nearly dealt a fatal blow last week. But in the end, it may only be a temporary setback.

The actions came at two different times and two different meetings.

During the July 13 Brandenburg City Council meeting, Mayor David Pace wanted to review the engineering plans and learn what Fiscal Court would do at their July 14 meeting.

“I want to see those drawings and see what the county is going to do before I support this,” he said. “I would like to know more about this before we agree, especially before anyone else has.”

Pace said the city has the necessary capacity at their wastewater treatment plant to accommodate additional inflow, but wanted to ensure Meade County agreed before progressing further.

On July 14, magistrates balked at the request, asking what would happen to the two lift stations if they were built and sat idle for several years, whether the city could treat industrial sewage, and where the county’s funds for guaranteeing the debt service would come from.

This guarantee would be for the loan amount, of $296,875.

During the first two years, interest-only payments are due bi-annually for $4,460. In the third year, interest plus principal payments are due, totalling about $10,615 until the loan agreement is fulfilled.

Florence and Hutcheson engineer Brian Flynn said the KIA application was submitted at the end of June.

“Right now we’ve turned in an incomplete application, but that’s not that big of a deal,” he said.

He added the project needed to be under construction by Feb. 1, 2010, adding the engineers wanted it to start in late fall.

“If not, then the KIA will want to be able to move the money to some other people,” he said.

He explained one of the two lift stations would be constructed on the proposed second tier of the Riverport, above the flood plain.

One would serve a tank farm, office building and possibly a small maintenance building, The second will be constructed with the IDA’s developable property in mind and it would accommodate the area’s expected growth.

He said the facilities wouldn’t handle industrial sewage, but it could be handled with necessary pre-treatment.

“It could be commercial or light industrial,” Flynn said. “More or less it would be for an office complex,” adding he was unsure what was going to be located on-site.

These comments were opposite of what riverport consultant Mike Flint said at the July 7 Authority meeting.

At that meeting, Flint said there won’t be any industrial sewer involved – but left the door open for industrial sewers to come from the IDA section.

At the city council meeting, Pace said. “If this is domestic sewer only, then we can take this right into the system, but if not, it can’t be taken into the system unless it is pretreated. The one (lift station) is for the office planned out there but the other one I don’t know about.”

Judge Executive Harry Craycroft asked what would happen if the lift stations sat unused.

Flynn said the stations wouldn’t be unusable, adding they were concrete structures.

Craycroft thought the lift station valves and internal parts needed to be regularly used.

“This would be an asset for the riverport to have this there,” Flynn continued. When you look at the riverport, this is going to be a definite asset and people are going to want to see this.”

After a contractor is selected, Flynn said it would take about 60 days before construction.

“We still have to go through the KIA board and the Division of Water, so don’t hold me on this,” Flynn said. “It depends on the Division of Water and the KIA board.”

Magistrate Tom Goddard questioned how long the warranty would be on the lift station materials, adding he didn’t want to see it built, sit for three years and when someone flushed the toilet, the pumps blow up.

He referenced ongoing issues with the Muldraugh sewage system, saying their pumps, all under warranty, have been replaced countless times.

Flynn said normally the contractor would test the facility and remove the necessary pieces.

“My question is what is the warranty,” Goddard said. “You’re going to take the piece off and let it sit on the shelf. Who will say that’s going to work three years from now? That’s like buying a baler now and then waiting for three years until you buy the tractor.”

“The riverport is finally moving,” Flint Group representative Deanna Sandefur said. She admitted if people would look at the Meade County Riverport and another one they would choose the one further developed, but said the site was ready and shortly it could make money, both for the county and Riverport.

“Before you do that though, you have to have the infrastructure,” she said.

Magistrate Tony Staples suggested tabling the application, giving him and others time to review it.

“I don’t want to kill the plans, but I would like to table it for a month,” he said.

Magistrate Mark Hubbard asked if Flynn researched possibly hooking the sewers into the nearby Arch Chemical facility, but he acknowledged he didn’t.

“We went with the designated criteria and that may not have been too appealing,” Flynn said.

Craycroft reiterated the city couldn’t handle industrial waste, but the most pressing issue was the debt service payment.

“We have to put infrastructure up as the funds become available,” Sandefur said. “When the funding becomes available for the projects they need to be done.”

She said these were federal stimulus dollars and would benefit both the Riverport and Meade County.

“The time may come, where if we can’t do this we are going to have to hand the money back over,” she said. “And delaying it a month may kill the project.”

Craycroft understood, but had to justify spending $300,000 of the taxpayer’s money for 20 years.
Flynn spoke to KIA officials recently who reported several grants already were returned.
Riverport Authority chairman Joe Wright understood the Court’s concerns.

“As far as the Riverport goes this isn’t the way we hoped it would go,” he said, “but it had to be done.”

“This would be an asset to whatever else would be developed on that property,” he added. He didn’t see any problem with delaying it as long as magistrates understood this may kill it.

“The Riverport Authority is willing to do all they can do to move this along. It’s a slow job. No one is getting any payment for this and we all come up here for meetings and volunteer our time, but we keep moving this project foward and that is what it is all about,” he said.

“We can’t guarantee anything,” he said. “All we can do is keep working and working on this.”
Staples later thought the delay might be too long. he then suggested 10 to 15 days.

Craycroft appreciated the comments, but still expressed concerns regarding the financial support, the city’s ability to treat potential industrial waste and the Riverport road.

“I think you need to get with the IDA as there is some work needs to be done before I, in all good conscience, can support this for the taxpayers for 20 years,” he said.

“These are the questions that I’ve got to answer and I think that’s where magistrates Staples, Goddard and some others are coming from,” he said.

Sandefur said all commissions could meet together so their questions could be answered.

“We’ll do what we need to do to get the information together and the meeting set up,” she said.
Craycroft agreed all of the players need to be invited, including the IDA board, Riverport Authority and city and county officials.

Craycroft suggested Fiscal Court table the matter without a set timeline,.

“I think we need to do itpretty quick,” Staples said. “We can’t do it this week and then the following week is the fair.”

“We have no problem with that, but you understand we would like you to move the project,” Wright said. “We understand what your responsibilites are and we don’t want to kill it, but we need to decide whether we’re going to do it or not.”

Craycroft said the only budget line item where the funds could come from would be the Riverport’s,

“That will not leave you a lot of money, but there is nowhere else to take the funding from” he said.

“We’ll need to look at that too,” Wright answered.

Riverport Secretary/Treasurer Edd Pike said the Riverport Authority is trying to do Meade County a favor.

“We’re not doing the Riverport a favor, we’re trying to do Meade County a favor,” he said.

At the end of the meeting, Wright said he had taken Pace the business cards, plans and other information. He said Pace would review it by the end of last week. He also assured him the city could handle the necessary sewer capacity.

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