The cost of drinkable water is increasing in Colorado. Greeley wants new development rules to keep down the costs
By Trenton Sperry
The city of Greeley on Tuesday debuted new rules for future developments to keep down the costs of watering public parks, golf courses and cemeteries.
During Tuesday’s regular city council meeting, Sean Chambers, the director of Greeley’s Water and Sewer Department, discussed an ordinance to amend the Greeley Municipal Code to require new developments to include infrastructure for non-potable water sources in exchange for reduced fees paid to the city.
Chambers broke the issue down like this: The cost of potable (read: drinkable) water in Colorado is skyrocketing, so it doesn’t make sense to use drinkable water to keep parks and golf courses green and growing. Instead, those areas can be irrigated with non-potable (or non-drinkable) water, which is $25,000 to $40,000 cheaper per acre-foot, according to city documents.
The city currently has 31 pump stations, 10 wells and 90,000 feet of pipe in its non-potable system, according to city documents presented to the council. That infrastructure was put into place by the city in the late 1990s and early 2000s to reduce peak water treatment demands. The city has rights to water that by law can’t go through its water treatment plants, and so that water instead flows through Greeley’s non-potable systems and feeds things like sprinkler systems at city-owned parks, golf courses and cemeteries.
The problem, Chambers noted, is it’s expensive to retrofit existing lots and open spaces to connect to non-potable water sources in Greeley. So to get ahead of the curve, the city wants to require new developments – especially high-density areas – to include access to non-potable systems.
Here’s the rub: This would mean added costs for developers, who would be required to pay for the system. So in exchange, city staff recommend reducing fees developers would normally pay to the city to install the pumping plants that would feed those systems. Plus, non-potable water systems wouldn’t be required for all new developments, just those with more than 2 acres of irrigated common areas and house-to-house lots of more than 13,000 square feet – which, Chambers noted, is a pretty rare sight in Greeley. (The average home size in Colorado is 2,126 square feet, according to bobvila.com, which puts it among the top in the nation.)
In the long run, Chambers said, this concept is a win-win. Developers would end up paying less for retrofitted infrastructure, and Greeley’s potable water users could end up paying less as less expensive water could be used for things like golf course sprinklers, potentially keeping prices down.
Plus, the city notes, this scheme is exactly the path other nearby municipalities are taking with regard to non-potable water. Windsor, Evans and Brighton already reduce plant investment fees for developers if non-potable water systems are included in their plans.
The city council unanimously approved the first reading of the changes Tuesday night, although Johnny Olson (Ward III) did request a work session or some more information provided by city staff so he could be assured developers would actually be saving money in the end. The council will take up the issue again and offer the public a chance to have a say on the changes in the middle of January.
Other things the city council did Tuesday evening:
Unanimously approved the first readings of ordinances to issue $77.5 million in Water Revenue Bonds and $22.5 million in First-Lien Sewer Improvement Revenue Bonds. The water bonds would serve to finance improvements to the city’s water system, including the new Terry Ranch Water Project, as well as the installation of smart water meters throughout the city. The sewer bonds would be used to acquire and construct additions to the city’s sewage systems. You can bet those $100 million in bonds will be the subject of intense debate in future city council hearings, which Hall hinted at Tuesday night.
In the first 5-2 vote since new members Deb DeBoutez (Ward II) and Olson were seated, the council approved a rezoning ordinance for a property across from North Colorado Medical Center from commercial low-intensity to commercial high-intensity. Developers are working with Starbucks to put in a store with a drive-thru at the long-vacant plot, but a rezoning was required to allow a drive-thru. The proposal failed to get the approval of the Greeley Planning Commission after concerns from members about increased traffic near the hospital and two schools, as well as the location’s proximity to a small neighborhood. Presenters Tuesday night, however, allayed the concerns of enough council members to get approval. Mayor John Gates noted there was little negative input from the neighborhood’s residents about the potential business moving in, and he said the developers convinced him traffic wouldn’t be an issue with enough work put in during the site review process. Restrictions on the hours a business at that location could operate also may be part of the final rezoning, as well as a restriction that vehicles turning out of the business’ access road onto 16th Street will be forced to turn right, or toward the NCMC parking garage. Gates, Olson, Dale Hall (Ward IV), Brett Payton (at-large) and Ed Clark (at-large) voted for the proposal. Tommy Butler (Ward I) and DeBoutez voted against it. Butler and DeBoutez repeatedly asked the developers to simply drop the drive-thru aspect of the proposal to better fit the area, but the developer and other representatives of the business said food service in the COVID era isn’t profitable without the inclusion of drive-thrus.
Unanimously approved the city’s final budget allocations for 2021. Greeley received more than $14 million more than it planned for this year. About $2.3 million of that was grant money it successfully pursued, and $10.5 million was from sales and use taxes above what the city expected to pull in, said John Karner, the city’s finance director. Really, just $1.6 million of the $14 million was allocated to new spending Tuesday, Karner said.
Unanimously approved changes to the way Greeley will spend its COVID relief money from the federal government. The city has had trouble figuring out how to spend more than $1 million from these funds.
Unanimously approved pay increases for the Greeley municipal judge and city attorney retroactive to this year. Deputy City Manager for Enterprise Resources Paul Fetherston also introduced council to interim Human Resources Director Kathleen Hix during this portion of the meeting.
Unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale of a 133-acre, city-owned farm in Weld County. The city bought the property and its associated water rights in 2016 for about $4,900 an acre, and now it plans to sell the property to 3T LLC (registered agent is Alie Thiel) for $800,000, or $6,000 per acre. The city notes it plans to retain the water rights and lease some of them back to the new owners for standard farm irrigation use. This item will come up again for a second reading and public input in early January.
Unanimously approved a change order to pay $113,321 to Ayres Associates for fire mitigation work following the Cameron Peak wildfire in Larimer County to “complete design and construction management services” because “the scope of the overall project has expanded.” The city has a stake in the recovery of this area because it draws some of its source water from here. The work is being funded by federal grant money, though Chambers noted the city will need to match some of the money at a later time.
Unanimously approved a couple resolutions pertaining to the Greeley Downtown Development Authority. The DDA’s budget of $370,700 was approved, as was a continuance of the 5 mills levied on downtown district property taxes for 2022.
Greeley Police Deputy Chief Michael Zeller was named the city’s representative to the Weld County E-911 Authority Board, which carries a two-year term.
Unanimously approved a resolution ratifying the appointment of Joyce Smock to represent Briggsdale, Galeton, Grover, Kersey, New Raymer and Stoneham on the High Plains Library District Board of Trustees.
Unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the adoption of the Weld County 2021 Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Greeley Office of Emergency Management worked with Weld OEM and Synergy Disaster Recovery to craft the plan, which already has been approved by FEMA. Cities do these risk assessments every so often so they can become eligible for federal grants to combat flooding, fires, etc. The last plan was implemented in 2016.
Cancelled city council meetings scheduled for Dec. 14, Dec. 21 and Dec. 28. The council will next meet Jan. 4, 2022.