Pressurized irrigation meters
Retrofitting older pressurized irrigation connections with AMI-ready meters. Phase 1 (about 3,400 meters, estimated $3,018,385) is half-funded by a $1.5 million Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART grant approved Oct. 12, 2021; the city sought state grants for the rest and chose a radio network of 41-47 towers.
- Where it stands
- Under construction
- Type
- Public project
- Location
- Citywide
- Applicant
- American Fork City
Every hearing and vote
February 27, 2020 · City Council work session
Capital project status and requests
Discussed
Art Dye Park improvements, due mid-May, were about $600,000 over budget, mainly for the scorekeeper's tower, with change orders still to come. Requests total about $67 million, including Fire Station 52 and land for Station 53, a police shooting range, trail expansion to Rotary Park, 200 South improvements with phase 1 of the water line, the 36-inch water line in five phases, and PI meters with a $1.5 million matching grant.
March 10, 2020 · City Council
2020 Pressurized Irrigation Master Plan and IFFP
Approved with conditions · 4-0
Resolution 2020-03-04R, including a future facility to reuse treated TSSD wastewater for irrigation and $7 million in meter installation (2024-25). Shelton said the PI fund runs about $1 million short a year and asked that metering and TSSD reuse costs be re-evaluated.
April 21, 2020 · City Council work session
FY2021 water, sewer, perpetual care, capital, broadband and IT budgets
Discussed
Culinary water: an $18.34 million water line, 85% funded by a state loan applied for with the rest from water impact fees; 20% of debt service ($161,000) from the water fund; a city engineer added; 3% raises; no CDBG grant expected. Secondary water: a $1.5 million Bureau of Reclamation grant for PI meters with a $1.6 million city match (phase one $3.1 million, covering 25-30% of meters); culinary water subsidizes secondary water by $870,000, which Shelton said should be treated as a loan. Reserves after targets: culinary $13.3 million, secondary $7.8 million. Capital: $8.4 million public safety (bonds closing May 6 at about 1.8%; $6.4 million for a fire station and shooting range plus $2 million for land), $4.8 million parks (200 South bike/pedestrian path, MAG-funded), $4.22 million public works including $1.96 million pavement management (of $2.2 million requested) and $1.098 million for the 700 North connection; the Art Dye roundabout budget was cut $150,000 because estimates came in under $500,000. Shelton wanted the $500,000 he recalled from the 2007 property tax increase for roads; staff calculated $252,000.
June 2, 2020 · City Council work session
FY2021 city budget review
Discussed
Total budget $102 million; General Fund just over $23 million (revenue $22.7 million, with a $2 million transfer back from capital projects to cover COVID-19 shortfalls); all-fund revenue $85.45 million; capital projects over $55 million. Highlights: culinary water line about $28-29.5 million (state loan), fire station $8.4 million (bonds), road plan $2.093 million (Class B/C, $500,000 property tax and transportation sales tax), 700 North connection $1.923 million (MAG grant), 200 South bike/pedestrian path $4.1 million (MAG grant), pressurized irrigation meters $3 million with a $1.5 million matching grant, and a $2 million placeholder for a PI pump and land to recapture TSSD water pending a study (water rights legal work $30,000-$50,000; study a couple hundred thousand dollars). New positions: three firefighters, a battalion chief, a police officer, a sergeant, two part-time records clerks and a civil engineer. Shelton objected to cutting water line repairs from $300,000 to $100,000 (staff had recommended $500,000) with about $13 million in the water fund, and said the city was not following its published road plan; Carroll wanted every possible dollar on roads.
February 11, 2021 · City Council work session
FY2021 capital projects and budget status
Discussed
Finance Director Anna Montoya reported May 2020 bonds of $8.5 million for Fire Station 52 (land negotiations underway), $25.9 million secured from the Board of Water Resources for water line projects (financing of $22 million secured November 2020; 600 East work underway), a pressurized irrigation meter project estimated at $10 million with $3 million budgeted this year, sales and property tax revenue above expectations, the PARC tax fund up 19% giving $829,431 for May 2021 awards, and the final payment on the 2011 Station 51 bonds due June 2021. If the PARC tax is not renewed the city would have to subsidize $350,000 a year in Art Dye Park bond payments from 2024. A traffic signal at 620 South and 600 East will be paid with impact fees. TSSD phosphate limits could require a $12 million sewer plant change.
- Capital projects revenue: $500,000 property tax, about $1.2 million Class B/C road funds, about $900,000 transportation sales tax, plus grants for 200 South bike/pedestrian path and 700 North connection
- Fire Station 52 bond annual debt service $580,000
March 30, 2021 · City Council work session
Drought outlook and irrigation conservation
Discussed
Consultants Ernie John and John Schiess said Utah County is in exceptional drought, snowpack is 40-50% of normal and canyon flows could be the lowest in 92 years; the city used about 12,500 acre-feet of irrigation water in 2020 and expects only about half its 1,300 acre-feet of Deer Creek water, though full CUP water. The PI system was designed for 6 gallons per minute per acre and residents use about 8. Staff and consultants said metering is the only real fix, along with aquifer recharge and reuse water from the sewer plant. Council members agreed to ask residents and large users to voluntarily hold off watering until May 1, backed by a public campaign; staff is drafting a five-level water shortage plan. Staff described smart meters with a $100 rebate for smart controllers.
March 30, 2021 · City Council work session
Fiscal 2022 utility fund budgets
Discussed
Finance Officer Anna Montoya previewed utility budgets with no rate increases except sanitation. Culinary water: $15 million of the water bond drawn and about $7 million carried forward, $8.5 million for water projects and $1.2 million for annual improvements; the bond is 30 years at 1%. Pressurized irrigation: $3 million approved for metering carried into FY22 plus $3 million more (about 60% of total cost), and a $1.5 million Bureau of Reclamation grant carried forward. Sewer: about $800,000 held for replacement. Storm drain: equity is negative against a rate study's $1.4 million-a-year recommendation. Sanitation: a 2% increase under the contract's CPI cap, plus an extra garbage pass punch (about $100,000) because the Timpanogos Special Service District stopped taking green waste, leaving about a $90,000 deficit.
May 4, 2021 · City Council work session
American Rescue Plan Act funds
Discussed
City Administrator David Bunker said American Fork expects about $3.7 million in federal ARPA money in two roughly $1.8 million installments, to be spent by about 2025, usable for lost revenue, worker premiums, small business grants and water, sewer, broadband and transportation infrastructure. Staff listed pressurized irrigation metering, water recycling, broadband, well generators, storm drains, 200 South and roads. Councilmembers Taylor and Barnes favored long-lasting water or broadband projects, Shelton roads or broadband; the consensus was to hold the money in a separate account and decide later. Bunker noted the city's $1.5 million Bureau of Reclamation matching grant for the first leg of PI metering, with the city's $1.5 million match already in the proposed budget.
May 18, 2021 · City Council work session
Water shortage contingency plan draft
Discussed
Public Works Director Scott Sensanbaugher presented draft pressurized irrigation shortage plans with drought stages and a goal of never using culinary wells for irrigation; staff said culinary wells feed the PI system almost daily this season. Councilmember Shelton cited a 2006 voter pamphlet saying the PI system would use no culinary water and about $100,000 a year in well electricity, asked for exemptions for efficient watering systems, and urged enforcement against large users such as state land near North County Boulevard. Mayor Frost said a two-week push saved 160 million gallons in American Fork and 600 million across cities.
June 1, 2021 · City Council work session
Fiscal 2022 strategic plan update
Discussed
Community Services Director Camden Bird reviewed goals from the February retreat: a property tax analysis by December; a resident survey on citywide fiber and its business models, with a fiber plan by the end of FY22; finishing 200 South design and taking bids in August once funding is secured, with construction in 2022 (if funding falls short, only the core through the TOD to about 1900 West would be built, and the city could use a special revenue bond); water conservation through metering, advanced meter infrastructure and a recycled water program; finishing Art Dye Park and moving the concrete and asphalt pile; and buying park land south of I-15 in the fall.
June 15, 2021 · City Council work session
Drought water conservation plan for pressurized irrigation
Discussed
Water Superintendent Jay Brems said the city had used 3,091 acre-feet of secondary water since April 15, about 848 acre-feet (276 million gallons) less than the same period of 2020, but is drawing 60 acre-feet a day and will have to run culinary wells around the clock next month; the Central Utah Project banked water (about 400 extra acre-feet) is untouched. Councilmember Shelton questioned spending about $100,000 a year in electricity pumping culinary well water into the irrigation system; Public Works Director Scott Sensanbaugher recommended a policy goal of never using culinary water for irrigation once meters and the recycled water project (at least two years out) are in place. The council debated watering stages, a two-day schedule urged by the governor, a religious exemption for Sunday watering and part-time non-police enforcement (current fines: warning, then $50, $100, $200 and possible lockout). Consensus: keep the three-day schedule and ask residents to cut watering 33%.
- Spring line now delivers about 2,300 gallons a minute, up from 1,600; spring supplies about half of culinary water
- City has seven water sources; river peaked at 17,000 gpm against 25,000 gpm night demand
- Northern Utah County Aquifer Council hired consultant Hansen Allen & Luce to study the aquifer
- Fox Hollow Golf Course is the only place the racetrack well can pump to
October 12, 2021 · City Council
Bureau of Reclamation grant for pressurized irrigation metering
Approved · 5-0
Approved the WaterSMART assistance agreement for phase 1 of metering older pressurized irrigation connections: about 3,400 AMI-compatible meters, total estimated cost $3,018,385, with $1.5 million federal and the rest city match. About 10% of the city was already metered. Staff chose a radio network over cellular, expecting 41-47 towers, starting in the older part of town; rates will not change until metering is complete. The city also applied for a state grant for the rest of the project.
- Resolution 2021-10-36R
- Total estimated cost: $3,018,385
- Federal share: $1,500,000 (49.7%)
- Meters: about 3,400
- Next: bid for phase 1 meter installation
January 25, 2022 · City Council
State of the City address
No action
Mayor Frost reported 1,180 building permits in 2021, about 30,000 police and 4,772 fire calls, nearly $10 million in grants, $3.4 million in ARPA money aimed at secondary water metering, a fully funded general fund reserve, almost a billion gallons of water saved, about $4.3 million spent on roads, and the purchase of 30 acres south of I-15 with park impact fees for a park and the third fire station. He cited a $43 million regional project to widen State Street into Pleasant Grove.
February 1, 2022 · City Council work session
2022 legislative bills
Discussed
Staff reviewed bills including H.B. 12 (public safety retirement), H.B. 23 (first responder mental health), H.B. 151 (limits on retail incentives), S.B. 34 (moderate-income housing and station area plans), the HTRZ amendments, S.B. 110 (water in general plans), H.B. 242 (secondary water meters required by 2030, with up to 70% grants; the city estimates its metering at about $12 million), H.B. 95 (no sod requirements), H.B. 135 (verbal public comment) and H.B. 232 (Utah Lake Authority). Councilmembers objected that American Fork had no seat on the proposed lake board and asked for a resolution opposing the bill.
February 10, 2022 · City Council work session
Community survey, goals and FY2022 status
Discussed
Camden Bird reported 1,476 survey responses: 90% rated quality of life good or excellent; top issues were poor roads, too much growth and internet access. 47% would support a fee or tax increase for roads (45% no). Updates: the 30-acre south-side park purchase was locked in; Fire Station 52 land bought and in design; Fire Station 53 land purchased; 36-inch water line segment 3 awarded; PI meter supplies ordered with a matching grant. Revenues were up 22.7% and sales tax 12.1%. $927,000 in PARC Tax is available for May awards.
February 10, 2022 · City Council work session
Capital outlook, critical needs and property tax
Discussed
Finance Director Anna Montoya listed future capital needs: $3.7 million for the infrastructure management plan, $25 million for 200 South, over $50 million for facilities, $12 million for PI metering and $2 million a year for vehicles. Critical timelines: police/courts building (court lease expires in September with a 5-year option), fitness center, public works expansion and a code rewrite (possibly six figures). Pegging the tax rate would add about $22/year per home; Shelton favored a .25% increase then pegging, Taylor .5%. The flyover at the Meadows was called critical.
March 22, 2022 · City Council work session
FY2023 water and sewer funds
Discussed
Culinary water revenue up $300,000 from previously adopted rate increases, the last planned on July 1; two maintenance workers proposed ($120,000). The last water line bond proceeds will be drawn in 2022. Pressurized irrigation capital of $6.4 million in 2022 and $3 million in 2023 is all for metering, partly from ARPA money and hoped-for grants of $1.5 million. Shelton questioned whether the water rate increase was needed. Bunker said the legislature requires metering by 2030.
March 29, 2022 · City Council
Pressurized irrigation meter project Phase 1 construction contract
Approved · 4-0
Awarded Hydro Vac Excavation $974,750 to install PI meters (Phase 1), partly funded by a Bureau of Reclamation grant; the bid came in below estimate. With city-purchased parts, Phase 1 totals about $3 million.
January 24, 2023 · City Council
State of the City address
No action
Frost said the city would improve about 5 million square feet of roadway in 2023; 200 South reconstruction would start spring 2023 and finish late 2024; the 700 North connection (100 East to 200 East, MAG-funded, signal and roundabout) would take 18-24 months; the $12 million PI meter project was paid almost entirely with grants, with 3,400 meters installed; the city partnered with Strata Networks on city-owned fiber; Fire Station 52 (16,500 sq. ft.) was due by July; Moody's upgraded the city's rating; PARC funded 24 projects totaling $1.2 million, including six lighted pickleball courts at Hindley Park.
February 16, 2023 · City Council work session
FY2023 capital projects and budget status
Discussed
Station 52 to finish this summer; up to $12 million in road improvements rolled over; 200 South funded; 700 North connection geotech 95% designed; signal materials bought for 620 South 600 East; water line Segment 3 done and Segment 4 out to bid; CDBG Phase 10 funded. Building permit revenue down. Outstanding bonds: PI (2035), Art Dye and cemetery (2028), Station 52 (2038), 36-inch waterline (2041), TOD 200 South (2047); bond rating AA-. PARC awards about $1.7 million in May, including $390,000 in reserves.
March 21, 2023 · City Council work session
FY2024 water, sewer and storm drain funds
Discussed
No water rate increase; the water line bond proceeds are fully received. New projects: State Street water main replacement with UDOT betterments, valve replacements, racetrack well improvements. Pressurized irrigation: no rate changes; $6.6 million state Division of Water Resources grant and $1.5 million federal grant for PI metering; 4,400 one-inch meters ordered six months earlier were arriving slowly. Water impact fee reserves about $2.6 million. Sewer: no rate increase; $700,000 for sewer lining and $800,000 for pipe bursting. Storm drain fee rising from $8.50 to $10.50 a month in January (already approved); $2.5 million in curb and gutter replacement requested. Bunker said the city will apply by Nov. 1 for water reuse with Timpanogos Special Service District.
June 27, 2023 · City Council
Pressurized irrigation meter project Phase II change order
Approved · 4-0
Change order to Hydro Vac Excavation's contract for installing secondary water meters. Shelton said lessons from Phase I showed communication with residents is vital.