Detours coming as Cape Coral approves $140.8 million bond for utilities work
Detours, construction sounds, and, eventually, new utilities will head to a new section of Cape Coral beginning this year.
Cape Coral issued a bond for $140.8 million this week to finance the city's North 1 West Area Utilities Extension Project (UEP), whose cost will be borne by homeowners in the northwest part of the city.
The money will finance the development, construction, and installation of potable water, wastewater, and irrigation water utility capital improvements in the area.
About 8,800 neighbors have already wrapped up their portions of the Utilities Expansion Project in North 2, with work taking between late November 2017 to late 2020.
What is the UEP?
The UEP provides water, sewer, and irrigation services in phases to replace septic and shallow groundwater wells and connect households to the city's potable water treatment and distribution facilities.
Approximately 3,600 parcels within the North 1 West Area will have utility services available once completed.
Construction has already begun for several areas in North 1, which includes homes between Santa Barbara Boulevard and Del Prado Boulevard and Kismet Parkway East and Northeast 9th Street.
The vast majority of the cost will be borne by property owners through special assessments, which the city can collect to fund capital improvements and municipal services.
The line extension assessment and capital facility expansion charge costs to property owners depending on the size of their respective parcels. The city charges a 10,000-square-foot lot, which will pay $33,367 to $35,931 depending on when they pre-pay.
Connection costs are not included in the estimates.
Cape Coral Financial Service Director Mark Mason said the city has received approximately $11 million from prepayment.
By 2045, the entire city should have water, sewer, and irrigation as the population swells to more than 430,000 residents by 2070.
In October 2021, the city council approved a split for the North 1 UEP areas into Del Prado West and Del Prado East.
The expected completion of North 1 West Area is by the end of 2025.
An additional bond issuance of $100 million will also come before the council on Oct. 18 to pay for additional transmission lines and a master pump station for the project.
Bills coming next November:
In February, the city council approved an ordinance allowing for the enactment of special assessments on taxpayers in the North 1 area.
Any city-, county-, state- and federal-owned properties will be paid for by the city using available funds.
The initial prepayment periods concluded in September, but the adjusted prepayment period has started this month and will last through July 2024.
Taxpayers in the area can expect their first bill in November 2024 and can choose to be billed annually for 20, 25, or 30 years.
The default method, 30 years, will result in a household paying $3,740 annually.
According to U.S. Census data, the median household income in Cape Coral is $65,282.
A community development block grant is available for low-income families to connect from the meter to the home, sceptic abandonment fee, and water meter fee.
A hardship program is available to those based upon income qualification, which they must qualify for annually.
When the construction is complete and the utilities have passed inspection, homeowners will receive a letter from the city that they must connect to the new system within 180 days.
Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral utility extension coming; $141 million bond OK'd
