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CONTRACT K-1920-25: A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE NORMAN UTILITIES AUTHORITY, THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA MASTER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT (COMCD) CONCURRING IN THE FINANCING FOR THE DEL CITY AQUEDUCT REPLACEMENT PROJECT.
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BACKGROUND: Lake Thunderbird, the dam, and the associated property, easements and appurtenant water delivery systems (the "Norman project") were constructed by the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation in the early 1960's to address drinking water needs for Norman, Midwest City and Del City. The Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District ("COMCD") was created under the Conservancy Act of Oklahoma (82 Okla. Stat. ?531 et. seq.) for the operation of the Norman Project. COMCD subsequently entered into contracts in 1961 with the Cities of Norman, Midwest City, and Del City to share in the repayment of the construction costs of the Norman Project, and related operation, maintenance and replacement costs, in exchange for proportional shares of water. Each city is represented on the Board of Directors for COMCD. Norman's proportional share of costs and water is 43.8%. The 1961 contract was renewed for twenty-five year terms in 1991 and 2017. The current contract expires on December 31, 2041.
DISCUSSION: The Del City aqueduct is part of the Norman Project and includes a deteriorating pipeline that provides water to Del City. As maintenance and repairs of the line became more costly, COMCD began looking at the possibility of replacing the line. Based on preliminary estimates, COMCD requested a low interest loan through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund ("DWSRF") loan program administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, in a maximum amount of $11 million. Ultimately, once the project was bid, the lowest responsive bid was from Matthews Trenching in the amount of $5,643,680.
Although not required by the contract with COMCD, COMCD requested input from the three cities regarding the t...
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