By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Atlas Twp. — At 4:30 p.m. Aug. 13 the Atlas Township Board of Trustees will meet at the township hall 7386 Gale Road to discuss a cost adjustment for the proposed construction of the Kearsley Creek Interceptor sewer project.
The KCI project was proposed about two years ago, then with a $36 million price tag. The project would provide public sewer service to some areas and add sewer capacity to other communities where it may be insufficient. Several communities in Genesee and northern Oakland counties are participating including Goodrich (3.6%), Grand Blanc (74.5%), Davison (12.2%) and Atlas township (9.7%).
In March, the township board of trustees approved the contract for the KCI and the KCI financing resolution.
The township is purchasing 800 REUs, with financing through the State of Michigan State Revolving Fund, 40 years at 1.85% interest rate. The number of REUs or Residential Equivalency Unit are for the future and current needs of the community.
Atlas Township’s share of the bonds will not exceed $2,086,000 of the estimated $36,402,000 project.
However, earlier this month the County Agency opened the construction bids for Phase I and II of the KCI project with significantly higher costs. Phase I construction is now $49,312,033 and Phase II $2,394,922. The project increases the Phase I cost per REU from $2,444 to $3,976 a 62% increase in costs.
However, in an effort to keep the project within the township budget the county will keep 100 REUs in reserve and make available 700 units when the project is completed. Similarly, the Village of Goodrich who agreed to 300 REUs at $775,000 will now have 220 REUs with 80 set in reserve.
“The communities will have first right of refusal on the reserved REUs,” said John O’Brien, Director Division of Water & Waste Services. “The cost estimate in the agreement was created in 2021 when we started working with the communities to put this project together. Since that time costs have escalated significantly. We attribute these increases to a number of factors including increased labor costs, increased material costs, supply chain issues, the depth of the gravity sewer, and the large quantity of work that is currently available to contractors.”
“To help us keep the costs down is to reduce the number (of REUs) to 720,” said Jim Busch, interim township supervisor.
A final decision must be made by Aug. 17, as to the direction of the project.
“If any one member (of the KCI project) says no, the project is dead,” he said. “We want to look at this and find the best way forward. There is currently good support for the project.”
O’Brien emphasized the need for the project.
“While the bids came in higher than anticipated, we believe this is a very important project to protect the health and welfare of Genesee and Oakland counties while providing additional capacity in Grand Blanc and Davison townships,” he stated. “This project will ultimately provide sewer service to areas of Oakland County that currently have failing septic systems which impact the watersheds of Genesee County.”
The project will bring sewer lines down from Grand Blanc into Oakland County via Dixie Highway, then over to Brandon Township and the village of Ortonville. The project will take several years, and cost around $80 million total.