Crystal River Council to set tentative assessment for city septic-to-sewer project | Local News

The Crystal River City Council will set a tentative amount for nearly 100 landowners who will pay for an urban septic tank project in their Citrus County neighborhood.

Councilors will call for orders for the special session on Tuesday, August 10 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 123 NW US 19, Crystal River.

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This septic tank to sewer endeavor – known as Crystal River’s Indian Waters Phase One Sewer Expansion Project – affects 90 lots within the county outside the city limits in the northwest.

According to the city, 13 of these properties are undeveloped or undeveloped.



Indian Waters Phase 1 Canal Expansion

This map shows the Citrus County properties (shaded in color) affected by a Crystal River septic tank expansion project.



The council has until September 27 to decide whether to grant a contractor $ 1,613,463 to get the job done. This also includes a 10% success rate to cover unforeseen circumstances.

City workers were on a budget and were hoping for lower project bids when they began looking for funding over six years ago.

Crystal River is using the remainder of a $ 997,000 (approximately $ 900,400) grant requested by the council in 2015 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to pay for the work.

The city’s employees also apply for a bank loan.

District and city officials reached an inter-local agreement in May 2021 that enables the municipal utilities to grow beyond the city limits.

In order to cover the construction costs, the city will issue a tax assessment to affected property owners from November 2021.

The council will make an initial assessment on Tuesday before approving a final figure during a public hearing on September 13 at City Hall.

As of now, affected property owners can prepay their entire valuation, which would be either $ 10,304 or $ 10,811, depending on how soon they pay after the valuation is complete.

Property owners would also have the option to pay it off over 20 years with an annual payment of no more than $ 861 per affected lot.

To lower the rating before it has to be set in September, city officials are asking the FDEP to increase their original grant amount by $ 500,000, bringing the overall rating for homeowners down to about $ 6,000.

In addition to paying Crystal River to upgrade its sewer system, the county’s residents will also have to pay an estimated $ 3,425 to plug their homes into municipal waste lines and pump out their septic tanks.

Connectivity costs drop to $ 2,740 when the property owner is willing and able to integrate into the city. One city resident is currently affected by the project.

According to a district ordinance, these sewer connections must be made within 365 days of the availability of the urban sewer network.

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