Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2025-15: An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, authorizing the acquisition of real property interests for the Wildcat Interceptor Sewer Upsizing Project; providing for delegation of authority, providing for severability, authority for clerical corrections, and establishing an effective date
 

1. Read Ordinance No. 2025-15 by title only for the final time
2. City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2025-15 by title only (if approved above)
3. Adopt Ordinance No. 2025-15

The Wildcat Sewer Interceptor Project will construct approximately 5,900 feet of new sewer main from the Wildcat Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant to the south side of Interstate 40. This will increase capacity in the sewer collection system and replace a critical piece of aging infrastructure. The new sewer main will be constructed adjacent to existing infrastructure and mostly within existing public utility easements. Portions of the new construction will require additional easements beyond existing easements. 

This ordinance authorizes staff to acquire these outstanding easements needed in order to construct the project. City staff will be offering to pay just compensation to the property owner for purchase of the real property, based on an appraised value or a market analysis. If the City is unable to reach an agreement with the property owner despite good faith negotiations, City Council will have the opportunity at a future public meeting to decide whether to adopt a resolution authorizing condemnation of the interests needed for the project.

This Project is funded through Water Services in both Wastewater and Reclaimed Water in the following accounts:

• Account # 203-08-375-3441-0 with a budget of $6,000,000 in FY2025-26 and $2,000,000 in FY2026-27.
• Account #203-08-375-3558-0 with a budget of $2,000,300 in FY2025-26
• Account #204-08-380-3558-0 with a budget of $970,136 in FY2025-26

No

• On June 16, 2024, the City Council approved a Professional Services Contract with Ardurra Group, Inc. to design the Wildcat Sewer Interceptor Upsizing Project. Ardurra has completed the engineering design documents up to the 90% level.
• On May 27, 2025, the City entered into a Design Phase Services Agreement with EMC in the amount of $78,750.00 for basic design phase service
• Construction Phase Services Agreement Phase 1 for the project was approved on July 1, 2025.

Do not acquire the rights necessary for the project and do not construct the project as designed. 

In 1971, the City of Flagstaff constructed the Wildcat Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant and a new large diameter sewer interceptor to transport wastewater from the then current treatment plant to the new treatment plant. In a recent Water and Sewer Impact Analysis, the City of Flagstaff’s consultant identified a deficiency in the wastewater collection system in this sewer interceptor. This Project was also identified in the City of Flagstaff’s 2015 Sewer Master Plan as the second highest priority project. The pipeline is currently undersized to meet the additional developments that have been proposed. This Project will replace a portion of the undersized pipeline identified in the water and sewer impact analysis with a new larger wastewater interceptor. The new pipeline will allow the City to properly serve the wastewater needs of the new proposed developments.

Safe & Healthy Community: Foster a safe, secure, and healthy community. Sustainable, Innovative Infrastructure: Deliver outstanding services to residents through a healthy, well maintained infrastructure system.

• Goal WR.3: Satisfy current and future human water demands and the needs of the natural environment through sustainable and renewable water resources and strategic conservation measure.
• Goal WR.4. Logically enhance and extend the City’s public water, wastewater, and reclaimed water services including their treatment, distribution, and collection systems in both urbanized and newly developed areas of the City to provide an efficient delivery of services.
• Goal WR.6: Protect, preserve, and improve the quality of surface water, groundwater, and reclaimed water in the region.
• Goal CD.1. Improve the City and County financial systems to provide for needed infrastructure development and rehabilitation, including maintenance and enhancement of existing infrastructure.

N/A

This Project will increase the capacity of the sewer collection system which will provide capacity for additional housing.