REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Adopt Resolution for the City of Sunnyvale to Seek Reimbursement for Costs Related to the Water Pollution Control Plant Secondary Treatment and Dewatering Facilities Project to be Included in the City's Low-Interest Loan from the State Water Resources Control Board
Report
BACKGROUND
The City has embarked on the most significant single public works program in its history, the rebuild of its aged Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP), which is responsible for the treatment of sewage from all of Sunnyvale and a small area inside the cities of Cupertino and San Jose. Named the "Sunnyvale Cleanwater Program" (Program), current cost estimates for Phases 1-3 of this program are approximately $735 million over twenty years. The Master Plan for the Program was developed as a long-term guide for replacing facilities at the WPCP. The City adopted the Master Plan (RTC No. 16-0663) on August 23, 2016 (Attachment 1).
During Phase 1 of the Program, staff identified that favorable financing was available for the Headworks and Primary Treatment Project through the State of California Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). The State Division of Financial Assistance administers the implementation of the State Water Resources Control Board's financial assistance programs, which include loan and grant funding for construction of municipal sewage and water recycling facilities. The CWSRF Program provides low-interest loans (approximately 2%) for a term of 30 years for water quality improvement projects. In 2016, the City applied for and received a CWSRF loan in the amount of $127 million for the Program's first phase, the Headworks and Primary Treatment Project. By securing this financing, debt service for the City's Wastewater Management Fund was reduced by more than $47 million, compared to the default assumption of standard utility revenue bond financing.
In 2018, the Council adopted a financial resolution and reimbursement resolution enablin...
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