Oviedo residents get rebate for water conservation, big projects move forward 

Oviedo City Council’s most recent meeting may have lasted less than an hour, but the unanimous approval of its consent agenda still saw multiple city infrastructure and water projects move forward.

The Council approved $200,000 to repair a pipe along Live Oak Reserve Boulevard, an application for the St. Johns River Water Management District’s water conservation rebate program, and a $1.3 million work order for the design of the city’s new Public Safety Annex Building and renovations of the current building.

Police headquarters moves forward

Oviedo Community News previously reported on continual opposition by Oviedo voters to adding more debt to the already-approved $11.4 million in bonds for a new public safety/police building. That funding amount was approved by voters in 2016.

During a February work session, Council members agreed to move forward with a version of the project that could be accomplished with the approved 2016 funds. 

City Manager Bryan Cobb’s report noted that the proposed fee for the architectural and engineering design services, totaling $1.3 million, includes the design of the new Public Safety Annex Building and renovations of the current public safety building. JL2 Architecture was selected in July as the design firm for the project. 

That fee includes the cost of the firm’s design services for the project’s architectural, interior design, civil, geotechnical, landscape, irrigation, land surveying, security and communication, environmental, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection plans. 

Services will be divided across six phases and will take the firm an estimated 10 months to complete. 

A draft proposal for the project’s architectural and engineering design services delivered by JL2 Architecture on Sept. 1 originally totaled about $1.5 million, before discussion between the firm and city staff later that month yielded a revised proposal for the new amount of $1.3 million. 

In addition to the approved bonds, during its Sept. 15 meeting the Council adopted a resolution approving a budget amendment to transfer about $2.2 million from its general fund balance to the Police Construction Fund for the project. 

The Council approved the carry-forward of those funds, or the process of transferring unused funding from the previous fiscal year, during its recent meeting to ensure “adequate funding” will be available for the project’s design costs. 

Improving city water infrastructure and incentive programs 

The city also plans to undertake a project to repair and replace a reinforced concrete pipe that serves part of the storm sewer system along Live Oak Reserve Boulevard.

According to Cobb’s report, the existing pipe “has failed in multiple locations and caused a portion of the roadway to crack and create a large pothole.” 

The project involves replacing 24 feet of the existing pipe under Live Oak Reserve Boulevard with a 48 inch diameter high density polyethylene pipe, pressure-grouting several pipe joints and restoring the associated roadway.

According to an email to Assistant City Engineer Paul Yeargain from Project Manager Brian Chittenden of Ovation Construction Inc., the project’s contractor, the cost to fully replace the pipe would’ve been “astronomical and most likely not necessary.”

“Worst-case scenario would be the pressure grouting doesn’t work and we replace the pipe while the asphalt is still open,” Chittenden wrote. “Our budget number for this scope is approximately $165,000.”

Approval of the budget amendment was required to fund the project, using a transfer of $200,000 within the city’s Stormwater Capital Series use of fund balance to the project construction account. 

St. John’s offers a rebate for saving water

Additionally, staff received approval to prepare an application to participate in the St. Johns River Water Management District’s Water Conservation Rebate Program. According to Cobb’s report, the program “supports eligible water conservation projects for non-agricultural water use through a cost-share rebate.”

Water conservation has been a focus for the city, especially following an increase in Oviedo’s stormwater and water utility rates, passed by the Council in January. The city increased them in order to combat issues such as inflation, aging infrastructure and facilities and increased population impacts. 

If the application is approved by the district, the city would be responsible for providing rebates of up to $100 to homeowners who wish to apply for projects that help reduce residential water consumption. 

Oviedo’s Public Information Officer Lisa McDonald said in an email to OCN there are two ways the city is able to provide the rebates.

“A resident can bring us a receipt and we can reimburse them on the spot,” McDonald wrote. “We will then provide receipts to St. Johns River Water Management District, who will then reimburse the City directly. A resident can [also] bring us a receipt and we submit it on behalf of homeowners to [the district]. Once they make the payment to the City, we will send the payment to the homeowner.”

While homeowners associations are able to apply directly to the district for the rebate, McDonald said, individual residents cannot. 

Staff recommended the city apply to offer rebates to homeowners for three eligible programs, including irrigation evaluations and time modifications, installing smart irrigation controllers that monitor conditions as well as adjust to apply the correct amount of water at appropriate times and retrofitting less-efficient irrigation systems with more efficient devices to limit water usage. 

The maximum reimbursement the city can receive for the program in a fiscal year is $10,000. 

According to a St. Johns River Water Management District memo, the program has about $50,000 in remaining funds. Any conservation projects approved will be able to be rebated on a “first-come, first-served” basis until the program’s funds are depleted. 

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