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0 Consent Agenda
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Jefferson County
Board of Commissioners
Agenda Request
To: Board of Commissioners
Mark McCauley, Interim County Administrator
From: Monte Reinders, Public Works Director/County Engineer//'
Agenda Date: September'2021
Subject: Interlocal MOU with PUD#1 for Port Hadlock Sewer
Statement of Issue: Jefferson County and the PUD#1 of Jefferson County propose to
enter into a Memorandum of Understanding for exploring how the PUD#1 could
provide operations, maintenance, and administrative services for a completed Phase
Port Hadlock sewer system.
Analysis/Strategic Goals/Pro's Et Con's: Jefferson County desires to find the most
cost-effective and reliable way to operate, maintain, provide administrative services
(such as customer billing) for the Port Hadlock sewer. The PUD of Jefferson County
has expressed a desire to partner in this endeavor and is well positioned to provide
these services since the PUD already the water and electricity provider for Port
Hadlock. The PUD also operates some large on-site septic systems for customers
already. It makes sense to have the County's established utility provider assume
these responsibilities rather than starting a new stand-alone utility.
Fiscal Impact/Cost Benefit Analysis: This MOU has no fiscal impact. It is designed to
create a partnership between Jefferson County and the PUD to find the most cost-
effective way to provide reliable sewer service to Port Hadlock.
Recommendation: Please sign the MOU and return to Public Works for further
processing.
Department Contact: Monte Reinders, Public Works Director x242
Reviewed By:
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Mark McCaule , nterim County Admini�sor Dat
Exhibit A
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN
PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT #1 OF JEFFERSON COUNTY
AND JEFFERSON COUNTY
FOR
EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES FOR THE
PORT HADLOCK WASTEWATER (SEWER) SYSTEM
This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is entered into on the ___ day of _____ _, 2021
between the Public Utility District #1 of Jefferson County (the "PUD") and Jefferson County, a political
subdivision of the State of Washington (the "County").
WHEREAS, the County and the PUD entered into an lnterlocal Agreement on April 4, 2016, pursuant to
the provisions of Chapter 39.34 RCW for the purposes of resource sharing, and
WHEREAS, planning efforts undertaken in the late 1990s to comply with the Growth Management Act
(GMA) resulted in the creation of the Port Hadlock-Irondale Urban Growth Area (UGA) in 2002 in order
to provide an area for urban growth in the unincorporated county and because this area was already
"characterized by urban growth", and
WHEREAS, under GMA, urban levels of services including the provision of public sewers are required in
UGAs in order to have urban zoning and development, and
WHEREAS, there is a demand for urban commercial services and housing density in the unincorporated
county in order to provide for a growing population and a healthy and diversified economy within the
region, and
WHEREAS, the County has been pursuing the development of the Port Hadlock Wastewater (Sewer)
project since the UGA was created and has completed many of the steps required to bring sewer to the
UGA including creation of a Sewer Facility Plan in 2008 (and subsequent updates), significant public
outreach, design studies, land purchases, and agency approvals, but until recently has not received
adequate funding to pursue construction of a sewer, and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Departments of Ecology and Health, in approving the Sewer Facility
Plan (March 30, 2021 Facility Plan Update Approval Letter), approved the County as the owner of the
Port Hadlock Wastewater system, and
WHEREAS, a significant number of property owners in the Port Hadlock core area approached the
County in June of 2018 with a petition expressing renewed interest in seeing the project completed, and
WHEREAS, the County received $1.4 million in State funding in 2020 to complete the final design of the
sewer for the Phase I (Core Area) of Port Hadlock, and
WHEREAS, the County received $20.2 million in State funding in 2021 for construction of a Phase I
wastewater treatment facility, pressurized collection system, and wastewater re-use (infiltration) area,
and
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Exhibit A
WHEREAS, the County intends to have the project substantially completed in the Phase I area by the end
of2024,and
WHEREAS, operations, maintenance, and administrative services will be necessary once customers are
connected and the system is running, and
WHEREAS, the PUD currently operates utilities including domestic water, electricity, and large on-site
septic systems, and the PUD is the water provider for the Port Hadlock area and as such already has an
established billing system for water customers in Port Hadlock, and
WHEREAS, the PUD rather than the County, is well-positioned to provide billing, operation, and
maintenance services for the sewer system in Port Hadlock based on the PU D's experience and the
economies/efficiencies that can be gained by having an existing utility provider such as the PUD take on
this role, and
WHEREAS, the PUD has expressed interest in providing this service to the community of Port Hadlock as
a partner with the County to realize the advantages that the UGA can provide, and
WHEREAS, the PUD has already been assisting the County to identify water line locations to facilitate the
layout of the sewer collection system and will continue to do so.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the recitals stated above and the terms, conditions, and mutual
promises contained herein, the parties agree as follows:
1.This MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) shall be governed by the terms of the
lnterlocal Agreement between the PUD and the County, entered into on April 4, 2016.
2.The PUD and the County will work cooperatively together to explore and analyze the operations,
maintenance, and administrative needs of the sewer project and determine how best to meet
these needs. The analysis will include a cooperative effort at analyzing, estimating, and
determining costs of providing these services. Such estimates will be necessary, especially for
property owners, in order to fine-tune administrative, operation and maintenance costs as the
project progresses. Additionally, the parties will work together in determining how the PU D's
existing billing system can incorporate billing for sewer customers.
3.This exploratory work will begin immediately, and the County will coordinate to bring
appropriate PUD staff into the design process which is currently underway.
4.The PUD and the County will both provide reasonable staff time to facilitate this work. Each
agency will be responsible for its own costs to provide this staff time.
5.The County, as the lead agency for the design and construction of this project, will continue to
provide the financial resources for consulting engineers and other experts on this project. If
additional consultant resources or other expenses, other than agency staffing, are necessary to
perform the work described in this MOU, the parties will work cooperatively together to identify
and select those resources, and the County will either contract directly for these services or
reimburse the PUD for these services.
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Exhibit A
6.Time is of the essence on this project. The parties commit to diligently pursuing the work
described herein and will provide the resources necessary to do so.
7.The PUD and County agree to investigate all potential options for service with the goal of finding
the most cost-effective and responsive service model for the Phase I sewer customers.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed the MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING as
of the day and year first written above.
PUD No. 1 of Jefferson County Jefferson County
Board of Commissioners
Kevin Streett, General Manager Kate Dean, District 1
Heidi Eisenhour, District 2
Greg Brotherton, District 3
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