Minturn’s $12 million water plant upgrade nearing final design

With the design for Minturn’s long-planned water treatment plant upgrade now 90% complete, town officials are turning their attention to how best to pay for the estimated $12 million project.

At a Town Council meeting on Wednesday, consultant Troy Bernberg with Northland Securities outlined financing scenarios that will shape construction timing, long-term borrowing costs and, ultimately, the monthly bills paid by water users.

Those monthly bills, and the rate increases therein, were the primary focus of the Town Council during the discussion, with elected officials stressing that the town should use all methods at its disposal to soften the blow for Minturn residents, who are expected to see substantial increases in monthly water bills to fund the improvements.

An increase of $90 to $124 per month has been projected, depending on the financing method, interest rate at closing, term length and construction cost fluctuations.

But another, seemingly unrelated issue also discussed on Wednesday could provide some relief in that area. The Town Council also approved a listing agreement with Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate to market the town-owned Highlands parcels, a pair of large, undeveloped properties that Minturn received as part of a settlement with developers in town that was litigated for several years beginning in 2021. The town, in negotiating that settlement, alleged that the developers had agreed to construct a new water treatment plant for the town as part of their development plan.

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The sale of the Highlands parcels could provide some relief to the rate payers who will fund the construction of the new water treatment plant, with Bernberg penciling a potential $3 million influx into the town coffers, which could be used to offset the cost of the construction.

“That is a conservative number I was provided for a potential asset sale of the town’s,” Bernberg said. “One way you could use that one-time cash infusion is you can use those funds to help stabilize the rate impact to users.”

The town has a $1 million federal grant, secured by Sen. Michael Bennet and Sen. John Hickenlooper in 2022, which was not factored into the cost.

Council member Gusty Kanakis encouraged Minturn Town Manager Rob Gutierrez to apply for more grants.

“I think we owe it to our residents to try to find every possible dollar we can, besides just putting the increase on their bill,” Kanakis said. “I just think we need to turn over every stone we possibly can to find money to pay for this.”

Gutierrez did not express optimism, given the timing and Minturn being late in the process at this point, as to the possibility of receiving those grants, but Kanakis said the “shovel-ready” status of the project could make the town an attractive candidate for a grant.

“The landscape is just not good for us right now,” Gutierrez said. “We’ll keep looking.

The other major issue that could affect the total cost of the project is the timing of the project’s approval. The town has submitted its near-final design package to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which must approve the project before construction can begin. The timing of that approval could also affect the project’s final cost.

Mayor Earle Bidez expressed concern about the status of the CDPHE review.

“Last time we checked in, they hadn’t even looked at it,” Bidez said.

Bernberg said he will conduct follow-up inquiries as to the status of the application.