The Lake County Board of Commissioners heard plans last week on the cost of two major sewer projects, which will “nearly completely” cost the $94 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds the county has received, officials said.
Last month, the commissioners approved a recovery plan for how to spend the money during a special meeting. The recovery plan focuses on funding for sewer infrastructure improvements, replacing lost revenue and addressing the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Lake County will receive $94,301,324 in Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, according to the plan, and in June the Treasury Department gave $47,150,662 of those funds to the county. The remaining funds will be deposited in June 2022, said Doug Baldessari, a municipal adviser with Baker Tilly, assisting the county.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury guidelines for spending the money state the money has to: Support the public health response, address the negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, replace lost public sector revenue, provide “premium pay” for essential workers and invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure, Baldessari said.
The plan specifically lists two sewer infrastructure improvement projects in unincorporated Calumet Township and Center Township, which have been in the works before the federal funding became available while the remaining elements of the plan are a road map, Board President Michael Repay, D-3rd, previously said.
The two sewer projects, Baldessari said, will address health issues caused by septic systems and create jobs to construct the projects. Repay agreed with the benefits of the projects, even if the projects aren’t “aesthetically pleasing.”
“These projects are extremely impactful to water quality, environmental (quality), property values, all the things that are super important for the Board of Commissioners who care about what happens in the unincorporated areas,” Repay sad.
Last week, Sam Weber, the senior project manager for VS Engineering, updated the commissioners on the Calumet Township project, which extends as far north as Ridge Road, as far south as Main Street, as far west as Colfax Street and as far east as Indiana 55, Weber said.
In 2017, the commissioners asked the engineering company “to review this area” because no public sewer system is available in the area, Weber said. Structures in that area, he said, relay on septic systems.
“As septic systems age, they tend to fail. At some point, for the good of public and quality of life for the residents, it’s advantageous to get a public sewer system in there,” Weber said.
Since 1991, there have been 324 complaints about septic systems in this area of Calumet Township, Weber said. Additionally, in 2017-2018, the company conducted a study of Cady Marsh Ditch, which runs through the project area, which concluded that “elevated levels of E-Coli and other contaminants were found there, which really is indicative of failing septic systems which then creates runoff into your surface waters.”
“The raised some red flags that this area is in need of some fixes and some public water systems,” Weber said.
The project will be done in phases, Weber said, and phase one addresses the east side of the project area, which is the most dense area of the project as a whole. By starting on the east side, Weber said, the county can “service the most amount of residents for the least amount of money.”
Phase one would service about 700 acres and more than 900 residential units and businesses, Weber said, which covers one-third of the total project area.
The cost estimate for the first phase of the project is $42 million, Weber said, for construction costs, mains, main connection and land acquisition costs, among other things.
The American Rescue Plan has a clause stating that money has to be spent by 2026, Weber said. The first phase of the Calumet Township project is expected to start in 2023 and completed by 2025, he said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified nine subdivisions in Center Township with water-system issues, said Commissioner Jerry Tippy, R-2nd. Of those subdivisions, county officials identified five subdivisions that are of highest priority, he said.
“The value of the projects is we’re limiting a serious E-Coli problem in our waterways, and also the problems the subdivisions have directly with failing septic systems,” Tippy said.
Baldessari said the Center Township project is estimated to cost $25 million.
So far, the two projects are estimated to cost $94 million, which is the total of the federal funds, but there is $27 million in contingencies, Repay said, which means those funds could potentially go toward other projects. While Repay said $27 million in contingencies is a lot of money, the commissioners planned the funding that way because the final cost of the projects could shift, for example the cost of materials.
But, Repay said officials will spend “nearly completely” all the federal funds on the two sewer projects, particularly in Calumet Townhisp, where “there’s much work to be done.”
The commissioners will look for other grants and funding sources to cover the costs of the projects as well, Baldessari said. The next immediate step is for the Lake County Council to appropriate the American Rescue Plan funds so that the projects can begin, he said.
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