Quincy Solar Array project moves to construction phase – Commissioners express concerns that project may cause rising utility rates

During a recent meeting of the Quincy City Commission, the commission voted to approve a resolution and agreement relating to a loan and grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the city’s Solar Array Project.

The project was initially approved so the city could generate its own solar energy, which the city believed would lower electrical rates for city residents.

Now, some commissioners are concerned the project may instead cause rates to increase.

On November 20, 2018, the city commission approved Resolution 1383-2018, which approved a loan from The Department of Environmental Protection for the planning activities of the Solar Array Project.

On July 28, 2020, the commission approved Resolution 1408-2020 which approved a loan from the Department of Environmental Protection for the design activities of the solar array project.

Pursuant to the agreement, the city received grant funds in the amount of $224,097 in the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2020.

On May 18, 2021, after review of the city’s continued viability and progress, the department has requested that the city enter into an agreement between the city and the department, to the resolution, to provide for the construction of the solar array project.

The city’s Finance Director Maria Carty said that this will be the final step to proceed with the construction of the solar project.

The construction period will take six to eight months.

Carty said the planning and design portion of the project have been completed, which combined cost the city about $25,000.

While providing background information on the resolution, Carty said the city will end up spending about $3.5 million, which includes $715,00 in loans.

“Loan” to me means we have to pay it back,” Commissioner Keith Dowdell commented.

Dowdell asked Carty how much will the city have to pay back, and where will the money to pay the loan back come from.

Carty said there is a loan financing fee of $71,537, which means the city will have to pay back at least $786,911.

City Manager Jack McClean said the $786,911 will be paid back out of the wastewater plant revenues; McLean added that the city’s wastewater plant is solar operated.

According to McLean the city will be able to save money by purchasing energy at a cheaper rate.

“So, you’re asking us to approve this tonight and it’s going to cost us for the next 20 years?” Dowdell said. McLean said that the project has been an ongoing process and that the commission approved the grant application for the loan for about $3 million.

“You then approved after that, basically the loan forgiveness because we brought in a particular company to come in and satisfy the consent order that we had,” McLean said.

“What you’re approving now is a change in the resolution because they wanted to identify, it started because they wanted to make sure - because the loan that was taken out in terms of Hurricane Michael to pay those lenders - that was not disclosed to the department during their process, but we did bring it to their attention that we had the loan, so this resolution addresses how we’re going to make sure we pay off that loan,” McLean added.

Carty said the city has already paid off $1 million of the loan.

“I know every year we have an increase in our water rates to cover other Department of Environmental

Protection loans that we have, my question is are we anticipating increasing those increases?” Commissioner Freida Bass-Prieto asked.

McLean said rates are not projected to increase at this time.

“Those rates get adjusted annually around the budget time, I think it’s about two percent,” McLean said, adding that the city is regularly budgeting money for the maintenance of the system.

McLean said the city had a study performed that identifies what the city needs to do to maintain the system.

“Then there is the other portion of this, the collection of revenues, it requires us to put liens on people’s properties that have not paid, do we do that?” Bass-Prieto asked.

McLean said the city already had the authority to put liens on people who haven’t paid their electric bills, but had not acted on that ability in the past.

According to McLean, all liens must be brought before the commission and approved before being placed on a resident’s property.

“See the issue I have is we’re signing this saying we’ll do all these things, and this loan is tied to our sewer system, and our water system, and that is the collateral for it,” Bass-Prieto said.

McLean said the city already is already obligated to most of the terms in the resolution, because of previous agreements for the project.

“This is an update to a resolution that you signed a year and a half ago to two years ago,” McLean said.

McLean also said the city has never defaulted on any loans.

“We have never, ever put ourselves in a position to where we would lose the income producing things of this city,” said McLean.

Commissioner Dowdell was also concerned about the funding of the project causing utility rates to increase.

“By us approving this, this is not going to cause us to increase anything in next year’s budget, such as water rate, sewer rate, electric rate?” Dowdell asked.

McLean said water and sewer rates will automatically increase by two or two-and-a-half percent each year, with or without the proposed agreement, but that in the past, the city had not been adjusting its rates appropriately.

“If we’re going to try to rely on them (the department) and use their money to expand and keep our system, then we have to make this automatic adjustment to our rates,” McLean said.

“I just wanted you to say that,” Dowdell responded. “You’ve got to stop bringing this to us, knowing when we get ready to do the budget, you’re going to come to us with an increase in utilities, and then you’re going to say ‘based on y’all’s approval of this’ but you didn’t tell us that when we approved it.”

McLean said the commission would not be asked to increase utility rates because of this particular resolution.

The commission approved the agreement with a 4-1 vote.

Dowdell was the only commissioner to vote against it.

Erin Hill - Gadsden County News Service

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Quincy man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison – 12 other Gadsden suspects arrested, sentenced in drug trafficking, dog fighting ring

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