#Breckenridge #Colorado
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| Summit Daily News |
Breckenridge Town Council unanimously passed an emergency ordinance Tuesday night authorizing a $59 million loan for a new water-treatment plant, but the only emergency was that town staff wanted to lock in a low interest rate.
Emergency ordinances require five affirmative votes to pass, instead of a simple majority, and they take effect immediately. On the other hand, standard town ordinances require passage on two different readings at separate council meetings and don't go into effect for 30 days.
Breckenridge Town Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month, and so authorizing the loan as an emergency ordinance Tuesday effectively saved town staff at least a month and a half they'd otherwise have to wait had council passed it as an ordinary measure.
The loan is coming from the state revolving fund through Colorado Water Resource and Power Development Authority, which offers low-interest loans on a 20-year term for qualified-water projects. According to town officials, they feel confident they can secure one for less than 2 percent interest.
A 2013 study projected Breckenridge will outgrow its water supply sometime between 2025 and 2030, and the town has been planning the second water facility for several years now. Construction is expected to begin in 2018.The existing facility, the Gary Roberts Water Treatment Plant, was built in 1971. It’s currently the only source of water for the town and leaves Breckenridge without a viable backup in case of emergency or plant failure.
As such, town staff were seeking to nail down financing for the project Tuesday, and with council's approval, they can proceed with the next steps for execution of the loan, which they expect to close in mid-November.
The existing facility, the Gary Roberts Water Treatment Plant, was built in 1971. It's currently the only source of water for the town and leaves Breckenridge without a viable backup in case of emergency or plant failure.
Additionally, the town has kept water levels low at the nearby Goose Pasture Tarn Lake because its dam's spillway has been found to have structural deficiencies. State and town officials are confident the dam will hold given current mitigation efforts, and that's a good thing because the town can't begin work on the dam until the second water plant is complete.
Tuesday night's emergency ordinance passed unanimously. Councilman Mark Burke missed the meeting after attending a three-hour council workshop earlier in the day.
