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NW Cape UEP Project Brings Sustainable Development Goals

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UEP Progress in 2022 by the City of Cape Coral

This past year saw the City of Cape Coral make considerable progress of the Utility Expansion Program (UEP).  Unfortunately, Hurricane Ian has slowed progress and the UEP has taken a backseat to repairing other critical infrastructure needs within the City.  Rest assured, the project is moving forward. 

Work recently completed to date includes the following:

  • Completion of punch-list items related to the construction of utilities in North 2.
  • Completion of the design and award of construction projects for about half of the North 1 area.
  • Completion and acceptance of the overall City-wide UEP Master Plan.
  • Nearing award of a design contract for North 3.

A map detailing the utility areas and anticipated service dates, as presented in the Master Plan, is as follows:

UEP Map

Each of the above-completed tasks is discussed briefly below. 

Completion of North 2

While there are still some minor items to be repaired, the installation of utilities in North 2 was essentially completed in 2022. Water, sewer, and reclaimed water lines were brought to all residential and commercial properties within North 2.  Roads have been reconstructed, landscaping repaired, and currently, there has been a good response from homeowners required to hook up to the new utilities.  For practical purposes, we are calling North 2 complete.

Completion of Design and Award of Construction for About Half of North 1

The City used much of what was learned in the design and construction of North 2 and incorporated pertinent items into the design of North 1.  North 1 will be broken into 11 different construction contracts, all of which will be considerably smaller than those of North 2.  North 1 east will have 5 construction contracts and North 1 west will have 6.  The 6 construction contracts of North 1 west have been bid and the total construction cost for the area is approximately $203 million.  Construction of the 5 contracts in North 1 east will be bid and commence in late 2023 or early 2024.

The City will use the same methodology to assess UEP costs to homeowners as has been previously used.  Unfortunately, due to current economic conditions in southern Florida and across the country, the assessment cost to the typical homeowner in the North 1 west area will average approximately $33,500.  While this amount may seem very high, it is in line with other area costs when adjusted to 2023 dollars.  Also, all homeowners will have the option of paying the assessment in a single lump sum or paying it off over 20, 25 or 30 years.

Please keep in mind that North 1 is completely in the NE section of Cape Coral.

UEP Master Plan

The UEP Master Plan is necessary to prioritize future areas for utility expansion, to identify existing infrastructure needs necessary to accommodate future expansion, to establish realistic schedules, and to establish preliminary cost estimates.  Please note that the dates presented below are from the UEP Master Plan and will likely be adjusted due to Hurricane Ian's impacts.

The following is brief summary of the findings and recommended improvements within future service areas. 

  • North 3 will be the next area to receive utilities after North 1. This area is west of Burnt Store Road, north of the recently completed North 2 area, and extends north to Kismet Parkway.  North 3 is expected to be complete by 2025.
  • Also expected to be complete by 2025 is an expansion of utilities north on Burnt Store Road to the city line. This allows the planned Hudson Creek development to move forward and will spur commercial development along Burn Store Road.  Much of this expansion may be funded by the Hudson Creek project.  Finally, by 2025 a new 22,000 linear foot sewer main on Veteran’s Parkway will be constructed which is necessary for future sewer expansion.
  • By 2027, the existing North reverse osmosis water plant on Kismet Parkway needs to be expanded from 6 to 18 million gallons per day.
  • By 2030, the city intends to construct utilities in the North 4 and North 5 areas. Also, a new water storage tank will be constructed in the northeast section of the city.
  • By 2035, the city intends to construct utilities in North 6 and North 7 areas. The city also intends to build a new water reclamation facility (wastewater treatment plant) in the northwest.  The site is adjacent to the existing reverse osmosis water plant on Kismet Parkway near Chiquita Boulevard. 
  • By 2040, the city intends to construct utilities in North 8 and North 9 areas.
  • North 10 through North 12 areas are planned for 2045.

Design of North 3

The City is in the process of hiring an engineer to design utilities in the North 3 area. This effort is approximately 5 months behind schedule due to Hurricane Ian.  The design is expected to be complete in approximately 1 year with construction commencing in 2024.  Assessment costs for North 3 will likely be in line with those for North 1 west but will be refined as the design progresses.

The City is progressing well on the UEP, although recent weather impacts have certainly impacted the planned schedule.  If you have comments or questions on work completed or on planned work, please contact me at publicworks@nwcape.com. 

Don Freeman, P.E.

NWNA Public Works Committee

UEP Progress by the City of Cape Coral – 2022

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This past year saw the City of Cape Coral make considerable progress of the Utility Expansion Program (UEP).  Unfortunately, Hurricane Ian has slowed progress and the UEP has taken a backseat to repairing other critical infrastructure needs within the City.  Rest assured; the project will move forward. 

Work completed in 2022 included the following:

  • Completion of construction and most punch-list items related to construction of utilities in North 2.
  • Completion of much of the design of utilities in North 1 and bidding of several of the construction contracts.
  • Completion of the overall City-wide UEP Master Plan.

A map detailing the utility areas is as follows:

Map of UEP expansion Project

Each of the above completed tasks is discussed briefly below.

Completion of North 2

While there are still some minor items to be repaired, installation of utilities in North 2 was essentially completed in 2022. Water, sewer and reclaimed water lines were brought to all residential and commercial properties within North 2.  Roads have been reconstructed, landscaping repaired, and currently there has been a good response from homeowners required to hook up to the new utilities.  For practical purposes, we are calling North 2 complete.

Completion of Design of Area 1

The City used much of what was learned in design and construction of North 2 and incorporated much of that into the design of North 1.  North 1 will be broken into 12 different construction contracts, all of which will be considerably smaller than those of North 2.  To date several construction contracts in North 1 have already been bid and the remaining ones will be shortly after the new year.  Construction in North 1 can be expected to be in full force in 2023. Please keep in mind that North 1 is completely in the NE section of Cape Coral.

UEP Master Plan

The UEP Master Plan is necessary to prioritize future areas for utility expansion, to identify existing infrastructure needs necessary to accommodate future expansion, to establish realistic schedules, and to establish preliminary cost estimate.  Please note that dates presented below are from the UEP Master Plan and will likely be adjusted due to Hurricane Ian impacts.

The following is brief summary of the findings and recommended improvements within future service areas. 

  • North 3 will be the next area to receive utilities after North 1. This area is west of Burnt Store Road, north of the recently completed North 2 area, and extends north to Kismet Parkway.  North 3 is expected to be complete by 2025.

 

  • Also expected to be complete by 2025 is expansion of utilities north on Burnt Store Road to the city line. This allows the planned Hudson Creek development to move forward and will spur commercial development along Burn Store Road.  Much of this expansion may be funded by the Hudson Creek project.  Finally, by 2025 a new 22,000 linear foot sewer main on Veteran’s Parkway will be constructed which is necessary for future sewer expansion.

 

  • By 2027, the existing North reverse osmosis water plant on Kismet Parkway needs to be expanded from 6 to 18 million gallons per day.

 

  • By 2030, the city intends to construct utilities in the North 4 and North 5 areas. Also, a new water storage tank will be constructed in the northeast section of the city.

 

  • By 2035, the city intends to construct utilities in North 6 and North 7 areas. The city also intends to build a new water reclamation facility (wastewater treatment plant) in the northwest.  The site is adjacent to the existing reverse osmosis water plant on Kismet Parkway near Chiquita Boulevard. 

 

  • By 2040, the city intends to construct utilities in North 8 and North 9 areas.

 

  • North 10 through North 12 areas are planned for 2045.

 

The City is progressing well on the UEP, although recent weather impacts have certainly impacted the planned schedule.  If you have comments or questions on work completed or on planned work, please contact me at publicworks@NWNA.com. 

 

Don Freeman, P.E.

NWNA Public Works Committee

Cape Coral Capital Improvement Projects Update

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On May 25, 2022 the City Council was given an update on all major Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and Public Works projects currently ongoing in the City.  Attached is that presentation. 

This presentation touches on the project status of the Utilities Expansion Project; Parks Go Bond; Police, Fire and Fleet training and Maintenance Facilities; Road, Trail and Sidewalk programs; water quality projects, utility projects, and several other miscellaneous projects. We thought this was a thorough, albeit brief, update and worth sharing. The presentation is also available on the City's website.

Picture of Dock in Cape Coral, FL
CIP Project Status

Utility Expansion Project (UEP) Update

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Public Works Committee Hat

The City's UEP Project Master Plan Update

On February 23, 2022 City Council was updated by the Cape Coral Utilities Director on the final results of the ongoing Utility Expansion Project (UEP) Master Plan. If you remember from the November 2021 NWNA update on the UEP, City Council and the Mayor had requested that the engineers re-evaluate sequencing and scheduling of some of the areas planned for utility expansion.  This re-evaluation is now complete and the Master Plan is being finalized.  This memo gives you a summary of this Master Plan which will be the guidance document that the City uses for the entire UEP going forward.

All service areas are presented in the graphic below along with anticipated operational dates.  The second graphic depicts all projects expected to be complete by 2027.  Following the graphics is a brief summary of the Master Plan:

Service Areas and Anticipated Schedule

Mape of sections of a city

Projects Anticipated to be Complete by 2027

Map of cape coral
1.      North 2 is complete.

2.      North 1 is the next area to receive utilities. This area is currently under design and construction is expected to begin in late 2022. Construction will take approximately 2 years.

3.      North 3 will be the next area to receive utilities after North 1. This area is west of Burnt Store Road, north of the recently completed North 2 area, and extends north to Kismet Parkway. Design is expected to start this coming summer. Construction will likely start in late 2023 and be complete approximately 2 years later.

4.      Also expected to be completed by 2027 is an expansion of utilities north on Burnt Store Road to the city line. This allows the planned Hudson Creek development to move forward and will spur commercial development along Burnt Store Road and the western portion of Pine Island Road. Much of this expansion may be funded by the Hudson Creek project. Additionally, a new 22,000-foot sewer main on Veteran’s Parkway will be constructed which is necessary for future sewer expansion.

5.      By 2027, the existing North Reverse Osmosis Water Plant (potable water) on Kismet Parkway will to be expanded from 6 to 18 million gallons per day (mgd) and the Southwest Water Reclamation Facility (wastewater) will be expanded to 20 mgd.

6.      Anticipated operational dates for the remaining service areas are as indicated in the top graphic. Additionally, a new Water Reclamation Facility (wastewater) will be constructed in the Northwest, adjacent to the existing North Reverse Osmosis Plant, to support sewer expansion in the years following 2027.

 

Costs for the above projects through 2027 are anticipated to exceed $1 billion (yes…billion). Some of this cost will be borne by developers, but much will be borne by the City and the users of the system. The Utilities Department is requesting an annual 3 percent increase to user rates starting in FY 2023.

 

Again, these costs are on a macro scale, and it's too early to speculate what each homeowner will pay, but it's likely that the users in North 1 and North 3 will be paying similar assessments as those paid in North 2.

If you have comments and questions that you believe are appropriate at this point in the planning process you may email me at publicworks@nwcape.com. I will prepare a consolidated response of appropriate comments to the city. You may certainly contact your City Council Member directly if you prefer.

 

Don Freeman, P.E.

NWNA Public Works Committee