Board of Commissioners
Ben Hill County Georgia
402 East Pine Street
Fitzgerald, Georgia 31750-2954
Telephone (229) 426-5100 Telefax (229) 426-5104

June 25, 2013

Queensland Well Project – Ben Hill County

FY 2010 Community Development Block Grant No. 10-p-y-009-1-5270

Project Update

  1. Coordinating Draft of Revised Project Concept was forwarded to DCA, Water Well Trust, Ingram & Associates and ALGA on March 22, 2013.
  2. Master Loan Agreement, Developer Agreement, and Policies and Procedures were developed using the Jones County Project documents as a model. Draft documents were coordinated with DCA, Water Well Trust, Ingram & Associates, and ALGA on April 30, 2013.
  3. Water Well Trust Board of Directors has reviewed and concurs in the drafts. The budget is being reviewed and finalized. The documents will be presented to the Ben Hill County Board of Commissioners at its Regular Meeting on July 9, 2013 for approval and signature. The Water Well Trust Board must also approve and sign the Master Loan Agreement and Developer Agreement before the documents can be sent to DCA for approval and .
  4. Water Well Trust has not yet accrued all the fundsproposed as their contribution. However, they are prepared to begin work on 4-5 wells with their cash on hand,and are confident additional funding support will be forthcoming. The Consulting Engineer has confirmed the estimated cost per well at $6,600.
  5. Water Well Trust wants to schedule a town hall meeting as soon as possible to meet with the affected residents of the Queensland community, explain the process, and help them fill out applications. We propose holding the meeting in one of the Queensland churches after DCA approves the documents, confirms its contribution, and issues a Grant Adjustment Notice.
  6. During June 24th coordination, DCA clarified that the individual well activities are a “loan”; while the fire-suppression component can be a “grant” to Ben Hill County if it is maintained for 20-years. DCA requested a full Grant Amendment be prepared and submitted; with special emphasis on the DCA 5, 7 and 8 forms. Fire suppression component and loans should be listed separately; along with sources and amounts of funding and costs. Fire suppression component primarily benefits Queensland Community since it is permanent; and only the water could be moved in emergency. DCA requests letter from engineer be included detailing public and private funding costs. DCA suggests public hearing will be needed since this is a substantial change from original concept. DCA requests Water Well Trust letter documenting funds on hand and projected funding to support project. DCA also requests the County document its funding commitment by letter.

Coordinating Draft6/25/13

Objectives

  • Residents have clean and reliable water; at a minimal cost
  • CDBG Grant is closed-out as quickly as possible
  • County gets out of the water business

After exploring multiple options, the following concept appears to have the greatest probability of success. It involves a DCA, Water Well Trust and Ben Hill County Partnership; with individual residential wells and a fire suppression water supply component.

Concept

The Queensland Project will include 20 individual 4” wells; 19 to be drilled on the occupied parcels, and one to serve the 2 churches. There are 10 LMI-qualified, owner-occupied parcels. 6 will be addressed with CDBG loan funds. The remaining 14 wells will be addressed by Water Well Trust and/or Ben Hill County funds.

Ben Hill County will purchase, move and install a 5,000 gallon water storage tank on elevated pilings. This will serve as a permanently-installed, fire-suppression water supply source for the Queensland Community; designed to gravity-feed a fire truck, water trailer or other vessel. This tank can also serve as an emergency fire-suppression water source for Ben Hill County. The tank and 6” well will be co-located on Ben Hill County property at the existing manned garbage container site; automatically fed with a cut-off float valve. The tank will be accessible to provide fire-suppression water 24-7. DCA grant funds may be used to support this component if the County maintains the system for 20-years.

Funding

  • DCA provides the County a $ 66,000 CDBG loan; which will be put into a revolving loan fund account. $41,000 will be used exclusively for repayable loans; executed thru Ben Hill County and the Water Well Trust. The loan funds will support expeditiously drilling 6 wells on LMI-qualified, owner-occupied properties, and will be repaid to DCA when the project is completed. $25,000 will be used as a grant and applied to constructing the Queensland Community fire-suppression component.
  • The Water Well Trust provides $ 66,000 to support drilling the remaining 14 wells. The Water Well Trust will handle all applications, loan agreements, contracting, well drilling, collection of loans, and repayment to the County for all 20 wells to be drilled. Some well projects may be handled as grants; depending on the household income. The residents will have to apply for funding from the Water Well Trust and meet HUD income thresholds. They will be required to sign promissory notes, but there will be no lien on their properties. The County will contribute $25,000 towards the Water Well Trust drilling of the remaining 14 wells.
  • The County provides $ 55,000 to the project. $ 30,000 is for the fire suppression component; which includes purchasing, disassembling, moving and erecting the water tank; drilling a 6” well to serve the tank; and connecting them with an automatic shut-off valve. The County will maintain the revolving loan fund account, and provide in-kind services as required. The County is responsible for all engineering, permitting, administration, inspection, legal and other costs not specified in the DCA grant or the agreement with the Water Well Trust. The County will contribute $25,000 towards the Water Well Trust drilling of the remaining 14 wells.
  • The project will cost approximately $187,000; plus engineering, administration and other County in-kind expenses. The cost of the 4” wells is estimated at $6,600 per well; for a total of $132,000. The remaining $55,000 is for the fire suppression component.

General

· A contractor will drill the 4” wells 200’ deep and case them with PVC to minimize lightning strikes. Estimated cost per well drilled is $3,500. Sludge will be removed by the County as an in-kind contribution; with an estimated value of $ 200 per well.

· The County will build forms and pour a 6’ x 6’ protective concrete collar around each well head after drilling as an in-kind contribution; with an estimated value of $ 350 per well.

· A second contractor will install the pump, pipe, tank, electrical supply, and water and electrical disconnects; attach the electrical and plumbing to the residence; then cap the existing water supply. All equipment will be purchased thru a local supplier. Estimated cost is $2,550 per well.

· Well water testing and certification will be performed by the Ben Hill County Health Department Environmental Health Inspector before the water supply is connected to a residence. Follow-up water testing will be scheduled and performed by the UGA Agricultural Extension Office in Ben Hill County.

Timeline

July 30, 2013Revised Concept, Master Loan Agreement, Developer Agreement and Policies & Procedures approved and signed by Ben Hill County Board of Commissioners and The Water Well Trust. Grant amendment and all supporting documents forwarded to DCA for review and approval.

August 30Grant Adjustment Notice and Grant Extension issued.

Meet with residents and begin processing applications.

September 30Finalize contracts with applicants

County purchases 5,000 gal. water tank

October 15Begin drilling first 6individual 4” wells using DCA CDBG Loan/Water Well Trust funds.

December 15 Complete installation of first 6individual 4” wells

Jan. 15, 2014Begin drilling remaining 14individual 4” wells using Water Well Trust/Ben Hill County funds

County drills 6” well and installs 5,000 gal. water tank

June 1All 20 individual 4” wells installed.

Community water system disconnected.

5,000 gal. water tank operational.