Leesburg city commissioners approved a resolution Monday night to increase the amount being paid to the South Sumter Utility Company in The Villages as reimbursement for wastewater and reclaimed water facility improvements near the Florida Turnpike.
Commissioners agreed to pay an additional $480,886 as part of the Turnpike Infrastructure Reimbursement Agreement the city signed with the utility company in February. The original agreement was for more than $7.88 million for installation of a wastewater main, a reclaimed water main, a reject bypass line, modifications to the south pond pumping station and removal of irrigation lines in a spray field.
City Manager Al Minner said the original engineering estimates in the agreement were based on site visits, preliminary routes, conceptual designs and design memorandums. But Minner said the actual costs based on final plans are higher due to material cost increases, refinement of the design to meet Florida Department of Environmental Protection requirements, a better understanding of existing conditions and a change in the responsibility for some of the work that was shifted from the city to the utility company.
The 6.1 percent increase brings the total bill for the project to a little more than $8.37 million, Minner added. The resolution becomes effective immediately.
