Plain City officials are exploring the creation of a regional water and sewer district with Madison County Commissioners.
Following an executive session during Monday’s council meeting, council voted unanimously to sign a letter of understanding regarding “the negotiation and planning stages of formation of a proposed regional water and sewer district.”
If water and sewer services are regionalized with Madison County, Council President Michael Terry said all water and sewer assets would be combined to become a separate entity – the district.
Finance Director Renee Sonnett said at this point the area that will be included in and serviced by the district is “to be determined.”
Terry emphasized that the letter is a non-binding agreement, but signals the village’s intent to work toward regionalizing water and sewer services.
“It’s hard to explore (the proposition) until you agree to explore,” he said Tuesday morning.
Sonnett noted that the village previously looked into garnering water and sewer services from the City of Marysville and the City of Columbus, but did not enter agreements with either.
“Those did not feel economically feasible,” she said.
The proposed district with the Madison County Commissioners would offer a better financial option for Plain City, Terry said, while allowing the village to “prioritize self-determination.”
“We would act as a founding member,” he explained.
Sonnett said officials envision a board of trustees for the district consisting of two individuals appointed by Plain City, two appointed by Madison County and a fifth member selected by both. If there is not a consensus surrounding the final trustee, the decision would go to the Madison County Common Pleas Court.
Terry said there are a number of benefits the village could see if district is created.
The first perk revolves around protection of the Big Darby Creek.
The village is currently in the process of obtaining a permit from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the expansion of Plain City’s wastewater treatment plant.
Terry said the EPA has imposed “the most stringent restrictions” in an effort to preserve the ecosystem of the Big Darby watershed. He said the regulations will restrict any further expansion of the village’s sewer plant.
“We can’t continue expanding on the Darby,” he said.
Terry said creating the district would allow for “bigger, more modernized” infrastructure that is built on “the right watershed.”
The council president said another benefit of regionalizing would be the ability to “leverage economies of scale.”
He said the formation of a district would result in a larger base of users who support infrastructure improvements, which would spread the cost across more people.
Additionally, Terry said regional water and sewer systems are considered the “best practice” for service provision. Sonnett noted that the Ohio EPA has “encouraged regionalization.”
Since “the government wants you to do this,” Terry said there are certain financial incentives involved.
Terry said, under Ohio Revised Code, the district would hold all debt for the water and sewer systems. Beyond that, he said certain grants are available to areas that operate under regionalized service, and lending rates are more favorable than the village would be able to obtain on its own.
Both Terry and Sonnett said implementation of a regionalized service provider would be about five to six years out.
Although that “has always been our end goal,” Terry said the expansion and modernization of the wastewater treatment plant cannot wait until then.
He emphasized “that asset” – the expanded plant – “isn’t going away” but would become part of the district.
Terry said “we were a little behind” with expanding the plant, which prevented the village from growing at the rate desired.
Regionalizing services could help to prevent an instance in which infrastructure development is lagging behind the rate of growth, Terry said.
“It kind of secures our future,” he said.
If a water and sewer district is created, Terry said users would not notice a change in their service aside from paying bills to the district as opposed to the village.
He said regionalizing will help to build redundancy and “if anything, improve service.”
While Terry said it is too early in the process to know how the cost of water and sewer services would be affected, he underlined that he and other council members are viewing the agreement as users who pay the bills as well.
“We are certainly not going to go into something that has a significant (cost) increase on any resident,” he said.
Sonnett reiterated that the letter of understanding is a “preliminary” stage in the process and “there are a lot of things we have to vet.”
Still, she said she is optimistic about the potential of regionalizing services.
“At this point, there’s no down side,” Sonnett said.
Terry said he expects council will know more about the details of the proposed district at the end of 2021 or early next year.