Title
A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood, Florida, Approving And Authorizing The Appropriate City Officials To Execute An Interlocal Agreement With Broward County To Provide Cost Share Support Of A Naturescape Irrigation Service And Oversight Of The Resident Irrigation Rebate Program In A Total Amount Not To Exceed $102,982.47 Over A Five Year Period; Approving An Amendment To The Fiscal Year 2020 Capital Improvement Program.
Strategic Plan Focus
Resilience & Sustainability
Body
Staff Recommends: Approval of the attached Resolution.
Explanation:
Resilience and sustainability goals are often best served through partnerships. To this end, and in the belief that we achieve more by acting together, the City has long partnered with Broward County on various water conservation and water quality preservation initiatives. The attached resolution proposes a renewal of one such long-standing partnership, the Naturescape Irrigation Service (NIS) for an additional five (5) years. The current NIS Agreement (“Agreement”) was executed via Resolution No. R-2014-347 and in effect from April 13, 2015 through April 12, 2020. This resolution proposes a renewal and enhancement of those services provided by prior NIS agreements.
The NIS Program provides the City with specialized water efficiency expertise via Broward County field audits of the City’s irrigation system. The Broward County staff that performs these audits do so for multiple municipalities within the county and have pointed out numerous efficiency improvement options to our systems over the years. As irrigation technology changes and our irrigation systems age, some larger irrigated areas are audited multiple times and City staff has input in the locations selected for these annual audits. Location options are included in the attached agreement. Past audits have led to significant water conservation improvements to the City’s irrigation systems.
In addition to the pre-existing NIS irrigation audits for city-owned systems, Broward County has now established a Residential Irrigation Rebate Program. In essence, this program offers Hollywood residents the chance to reap the conservation rewards that the City has long gained from the NIS program. Through this program Hollywood residents and businesses will be eligible to apply for audits of their irrigation systems with recommendations for conservation and landscape planning improvements. Those residents may then apply to Broward County for various rebates to fund implementation of the County-suggested irrigation system improvements.
The aforementioned programs factor into a number of city permits and activities, including the Water Treatment Plant’s Consumptive User Permit from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). The NIS and resident rebate programs will also help fulfill other conservation requirements and recommendations, e.g. Florida Administrative Code Section 62-40.412 and the Department of Public Utilities Water Supply Plan.
The Department of Public Utilities recommends that the City Commission approve and authorize the appropriate City Officials to execute the attached Interlocal Agreement for the cost share support of a NatureScape Irrigation Service and Residential Irrigation Rebate Program within the Water Utility Service Area as more specifically set forth in the attached Inter-local Agreement.
If the City Commission authorizes this Agreement with Broward County, it shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its passage and adoption and will expire on April 12, 2025.
Fiscal Impact:
In order to share the benefits of the results from the evaluation, all the municipalities involved will divide the estimated cost of the program, and each of the municipalities, including the City of Hollywood, must enter into an Interlocal agreement with Broward County.
The overall cost-sharing support cost for the NIS and Residential Irrigation Rebate Program is in the estimated amount of $102,982.47 over a five year period as more specifically set forth in the attached Exhibits “B” and “C” of the Agreement with the cost broken down as follows: (1) Rebate Program in an annual amount not to exceed $11,002.04; and (2) Landscape and Irrigation evaluations in an annual amount not to exceed $11,817.84.
It is necessary to amend the approved FY 2020 Capital Improvements Program as set forth in the attached Exhibit “A”.
As with prior NIS Agreements, the Department of Public Utilities and Department of Public Works will share program oversite. The Resident Rebate Program will be managed by Broward County with oversite by the Department of Public Utilities. No additional staff is needed for this agreement.
Recommended for inclusion on the agenda by:
Vivek Galav, Director, Department of Public Utilities
Gus Zambrano, Assistant City Manager/Sustainable Development