Price estimate for Tallahassee sewer extension doubles as city officials take up proposal

It could cost as much as $20 million to complete a proposal to extend city sewer and water lines to 203 properties in south Tallahassee.

The figure is double the estimate floated by Mayor John Dailey and top city staffers when he pitched the idea first at press conference earlier this month and then on Oct. 12 on the City Commission dais, where it gained unanimous support.

Commissioners will discuss whether to move forward with funding the project and its design and engineering phase at their meeting Wednesday. They meet at 3 p.m. in City Hall.

The proposal surfaced with just weeks until Election Day, in which Dailey is seeking re-election in a tight race against Leon County Commissioner Kristin Dozier. It also came days before a powerful endorsement from Leon County Chairman Bill Proctor.

Back story:

• Plans to extend Tallahassee's sewer system to south Capital Circle in the works

• Mayor's race analysis: Dailey, Dozier debate style, substance during feisty final forum

• Inside the mayoral money race: Dailey loans campaign $50K, dwarfs Dozier war chest; A PAC awakens

Extending city services to the area known as the Triangle — wedged between Crawfordville and Woodville highways, Capital Circle south and Gaile Avenue — is a long sought after project for Proctor and residents on the Southside.

Based on estimates by city staff, it could take as much as five years from design to hook up for the project to be completed.

The area falls inside the Urban Services Area, where municipal services like water and sewer can be extended, however, it is a patchwork of parcels that are in and out of the city limits.

Ongoing efforts at the Leon County Commission level have focused on replacing septic systems for environmental and health reasons while the county secures funding for the roughly $10,000 per property to cover costs to convert to the sewer system.

At the press conference announcing the project, Proctor said he’d already spoken with the county’s lobbying team about securing federal dollars to assist residents in making the transition. In addition to hook-up costs, residents have to pay abandonment and other fees to switch off of septic.

There are 203 properties within the Triangle where central sewer is not hooked up. Of those, 120 are served by septic tanks, another 83 are undeveloped and 63 have central sewer service but remain on septic. Buildings on those parcels near the existing sewer system will be required to connect once their septic systems fail.

More than 19,000 feet of main sewer piping and three pump stations will be required to complete the sewer extension. The bulk of the proposed funding, $14 million, will go toward the sewer extension.

At the same time, there are 156 parcels without existing city water infrastructure within 100 feet of the property. Of those, 79 get their water from wells and the rest are undeveloped.

More than 16,000 feet of water piping and 30 fire hydrants will have to be installed to extend water services. At least $6 million will fund the extension of water services.

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Southside Tallahassee sewage expansion: Cost estimate rises to $20M