The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Details of final expansion plan being worked out
[ By Mark Reaman ]Property owners in a large portion of Mt. Crested Butte will be helping to finance a major sewer line capacity expansion project through a new tap fee now in place.
The cost of the Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District project being planned to expand sewer capacity along the main trunk line in Mt. Crested Butte will be borne by undeveloped lots within the expansion area into the future. The overall cost of the project is currently estimated to be approximately $24.2 million but as plans on how to conduct the expansion solidify, that number could change.
Repayment of the expansion cost will come primarily from a newly implemented tap fee approved by the Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District board of directors at the May 20 meeting. The “capacity expansion sewer tap fee” will be split proportionately by every new lot coming online. There are hundreds of such lots ranging from small single-family home lots to two major proposed developments in the Villages at Mt. Crested Butte (formerly the North Village) and Upper Prospect that could eventually include retail and hotel sites. Both of those developments are located in the north end of the town and will need lift stations to access the main wastewater trunk line.
The actual fee to each individual will be determined by the district and be based on the “amount of additional peak hour flows going into the sewer line.” That will likely be a minimum of $12,000 for the smallest lot and much more for some larger properties, but again, it is determined by expected wastewater flows. District manager Mike Fabbre said individual property owners can go to the district’s website to get a clearer estimate of what the new tap fee would cost each lot. The current water and sewer tap fees will also remain in place and that base tap fee is about $26,000 for a 2,000 square foot house with three bedrooms and two baths.
The district has not yet said when the work on increasing the trunk line capacity will begin but engineering estimates indicate it will likely take two building seasons to complete and significantly impact Gothic Road in Mt. Crested Butte given the location of the current line.
Fabbre explained that the current “30% Engineer’s Opinion of Probable Construction Costs (OPCC)” for the “Total Project Costs” in the year 2030 are $29,500,000 for the entire alignment and $24,220,000 for the capacity expansion portion. He said it is reasonable “for the District to bear some portion of the cost, approximately 18%, where repairs to the trunk line may be necessary and unrelated to the required expansion driven by new development.”
The district is investigating ways to finance the major project and plans to try and obtain loans and grants to pay for the initial multi-million-dollar cost of the line expansion. It would then be reimbursed through the new tap fees. Just the engineering design of the final expansion plan is expected to cost approximately $1 million.
That final plan recommendation should be completed by early 2026. That is when the district board will choose a path forward. It could involve using multiple new pipes, replacing the current pipe with a larger one or determining another alternative to handle the capacity that comes with new development in the district.
The Mt. Crested Butte Water and San board has consistently called for new growth to pay its own way and the resolution approved in May regulating the new tap fee emphasizes that point several times. “The existing tap fee is used for current capital improvements,” the resolution states. “In contrast, revenue generated by the Capacity Expansion Sewer Tap Fee will be used exclusively to complete the capacity expansion necessary to provide wastewater treatment services to future growth and development within the Capacity Expansion Service Area.”
Fabbre said representatives of the major developers have been at the public meetings where the issue was discussed and been involved with the discussions over the issue. How they will be involved with the funding element is still undecided.
In the meantime, tap fee applications submitted to the district will be evaluated on a case-by-case analysis by district engineers to determine whether the district’s existing trunk line has sufficient capacity to serve the project based on its location, size, design, and anticipated impact on the existing trunk line. If there is sufficient capacity, the district can approve a project tying into the line before the expansion is completed. If there is not, the district could deny the application until the expansion is completed.
