LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Village Council approved proceeding with phase one of the sanitary sewer improvement project during a regular meeting on Aug. 26.

Phase one involves rehabilitating four sanitary sewer pump stations, which includes demolishing old equipment, installing new equipment, lighting and flooring, according to village documents. This phase is the first of three in rehabilitating the villages 16 sanitary pump stations.

Council’s decision required them to take three actions during their meeting, including increasing water and sewer fund revenues and phase one expenditures, approving proceeding with phase one and authorizing a lump sum payment from the village and sewer fund to the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s office.

Increasing revenues and expenditures

Council approved increasing water and sewer fund revenues by $3,163,000 and the phases expenditures were increased by $3,498,000.

The $3,498,000 increase is the same amount as the total project cost listed in village documents. The village also received $1,750,000 in Congressional Community Projects grant funding and $335,000 in ARPA funding. This leaves $1,413,000 to be funded by the village.

“The $1,413,000 is our local share of the project, and we anticipate we will be issuing bonds to be reimbursed for all but $100,000 of that amount,” village Manager Darwin McClary said. “The other $100,000 is a grant that we got from Oakland County.”

Council President Jerry Narsh said the project was broken into three phases in anticipation of getting federal funding in phase two that could match phase two and three costs. If not, then potentially receiving federal funding in both phases two and three seperately. Narsh said a majority of the council believes this is the most fiscally responsible approach.

According to village documents, the net cost of $1,313,000 will be funded through either water and sewer fund reserves, or a 20-year revenue bond being issued, with repayment through customer sewer rate adjustments.

Phase one approval

The second action taken was approving proceeding with phase one “subject to final award of the construction contract by the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office” (WRC) to DVM Utilities Inc.

On Aug. 19, engineering consulting company Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc. recommended that WRC award DVM with the construction contract for phase one of the project “in accordance with the project bid specifications and contract documents issued by WRC.”

The contract is worth $2,774,010, according to village documents. WRC’s Jennifer Cook anticipates the project to begin around January.

Authorizing village and sewer fund lump sum payment

McClary said the village will pay a lump-sum amount that represents the local share of the project, not including the grant amount the village is receiving. This invoice will come at the beginning of the project once the contract is awarded.

The reason for this, McClary said, is so that WRC has funds to pay invoices from the contractor. He added that WRC is willing to wait until the village receives the grant proceeds to pay the remaining costs.