City Council

Agenda Request

Agenda Of:

10/17/07

Agenda Request No:

III I

Initiated By:

Justin Bower, Water Resources Manager

Responsible Department:

utilities

Presented By:

Jessie Li, P.E., Assistant Utilities Director

Department Head:

SuEllen Staggs, Director of Utilities

 

 

Additional Department. Head (s):

 

Subject / Proceeding:

Authorize an Interlocal Agreement between the City of Sugar Land and the Fort bend Subsidence District for City sponsorship of the WaterWise Water Conservation Education program

Exhibits:

Interlocal Agreement

Clearances

Approval

Legal:

Eugenia Cano, asst City Attorney

Executive Director:

N/A

Purchasing:

Jennifer Montgomery 

Purchasing Manager

Asst. City Manager:

Karen H. Glynn

Budget:

Jennifer Brown

Assistant Fiscal Services Director

City Manager:

Allen Bogard/for AB

Budget

Expenditure Required:  $

50,000

Amount Budgeted/Reallocation:  $

50,000

Additional Appropriation:  $

0

Recommended Action

The Utilities Department recommends that City Council authorize the execution of an Interlocal Agreement with the Fort Bend Subsidence District for City sponsorship of the District’s WaterWise Water Conservation Education Program in an amount not to exceed $50,000.00

Executive Summary

The Fort Bend Subsidence District (FBSD), by whom the City’s surface water conversion process is mandated, offers its regulated entities the opportunity to sponsor water conservation education for 5th grade Fort Bend students through its WaterWise program. The WaterWise program provides each student with a multimedia water conservation materials kit, providing teachers a base for water conservation oriented curricula. In return for sponsorship, the District provides an 84,000 gallon conversion credit to the sponsoring entity for every student sponsored.  The FBSD signs interlocal agreements with participants to designate/reserve which schools that entity will sponsor.

 

The Interlocal Agreement with the FBSD is for a maximum cost of $50,000.00 during the 2007/2008 school year, with the option to renew at the end of each school year as long as the program is active. Any funds not used in the 2007/2008 school year would be applied to the start of the 2008/2009 school year until the end of our fiscal year. The cost per kit or child sponsored is $32.75, which would allow the City to sponsor 1,526 school children each year. The Agreement reserves the City the following FBISD schools in Sugar Land: Colony Meadows, Commonwealth, Cornerstone, Dulles, Highland, Lakeview, Settlers Way and Sugar Mill Elementary schools, along with Faith Lutheran and The Honor Roll School private schools. If additional funding is left after these schools are funded, the FBSD will apply our funds to other schools wishing to participate, with preference given to schools in Sugar Land first.

 

At 84,000 gallon credits per student, this expenditure would result in a yearly total credit of up to 128 million gallons of surface water credits. Based on our projections of cost, the program could result in yearly cost avoidance for our surface water conversion of up to approximately $230,000 dollars a year. Sponsoring this program also carries the benefit of a being a turn-key public water education solution to help bolster the City’s other education efforts.

 

With Council authorization of this Interlocal Agreement for sponsorship of the WaterWise program, the FBSD will begin to invoice us for schools we agree to sponsor for the fall semester, and will continue to do so through the year until we have reached the maximum amount.

 

Funding for this program in the amount $50,000.00 has been budgeted in the FY07-08 Surface Water Operations program budget, in line 053-5301-55-21-55.

 

Exhibits

 

 

Exhibit A: Interlocal Agreement with the Fort Bend Subsidence District for sponsorship of the WaterWise water conservation program.