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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

City of Hollywood Septic-to-Sewer Workshop - October 22, 2025

Hollywood Public Meetings — Wednesday, October 22, 2025

BodyHollywood, Florida

SessionHollywood Public Meetings

DateWednesday, October 22, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:20:28

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:57

All right, good morning, everyone.

0:59

Uh welcome to City Hall here in the city of Hollywood.

1:02

Today is October 22nd, 2025.

1:04

We are here, of course, for a city commission workshop on the subject of the city's septic to sewer program.

1:11

Uh certainly a priority that the city commission and the administration have uh have been working on for many, many years.

1:18

Uh and welcome some uh legislative action at the state level that we uh pursued and the initiative of the city commission administration to really uh start addressing this uh issue uh that's important environmentally and also benefits our property owners in many ways to help convert uh the city's legacy septic systems uh ultimately uh in the future to a full uh sewer and uh treated wastewater program.

1:47

And so uh I know the city commission's uh very uh uh eager to get through this uh workshop and uh make some uh decisions uh and provide some direction so that ultimately we can have some items come to the city commission for uh for uh resolutions and um and action.

2:02

And so with that, I'd like to invite our uh city manager to uh begin the workshop.

2:07

Thank you.

2:08

Thank you, Mayor Vice Mayor Commissioners and to all the members of the uh the public and staff in attendance.

2:12

Well that that pretty much captures it uh literally for decades this issue has been in the making and uh has had uh efforts in the past to move forward, but now we're really moving forward.

2:24

And so the uh the presentation and the information today um is is fairly extensive.

2:30

We'll move it through as quickly as possible if it's possible to kind of get that in a chunk of information and its continuity um and save questions and answers for the end.

2:40

Promise there'll be plenty of time for that.

2:43

It's literally one of the driving forces along with the the whole stormwater issue, infrastructure, some of the city's finances, um those handful of issues are the issues that are turning the city around and driving it for the next generation.

2:58

So this will be a major issue and of course um a big price tag attached to it as well.

3:04

Um the benefits as you mentioned, Mayor, in terms of people with their property values, environmental issues, economic development, um the help with commercial corridors, um very, very important.

3:15

So with that I'll turn it over to Vin and uh and then our um our consultants will be able to go through some of the details for you.

3:22

Thank you.

3:24

Good morning, Vin Morello Department of Utilities.

3:27

Um thank you for this opportunity to present the material in this workshop.

3:32

Uh I want to thank our partners that have worked so hard on the presentation, Hazen and Sawyer, Arcadis, Stantec, and Brizaga that have put a lot of work uh into this presentation.

3:44

And uh the other day I had the opportunity to see the uh the CMED's uh time capsule.

3:51

And I reflected that in many ways.

3:54

Actually, the optimum way.

3:56

The infrastructure we're contemplating today is the quintessential time capsule.

4:01

This will be the foundation, as George said, for the next generation.

4:05

And so very pleased to be part of that effort this day.

4:11

The septic to source program is a subset of the overall water and wastewater master plan.

4:18

And although we're focused on the septic to sewer program, the rates discussed today capture the entire water and wastewater master plan.

4:26

We've had the opportunity with having both plans in hand to overlay all of the all of the infrastructure proposed infrastructure projects onto the GIS system in order to prioritize the septic to sour uh pro basins.

4:42

And in doing so, we've been able to program out at a high level uh for your consideration a multi-phase approach over the next uh thirty years.

4:53

Um principally it's a two and a half billion dollar water and wastewater program.

5:00

Um 1.3 billion of that is the sanitary SOAR portion of the septic to SOAR program, and another uh 300 million or 200 million rather is in the water mains, which are so the whole program is also coordinated.

5:14

Well, although stormwater is not shown on this table, is also coordinated with the stormwater program.

5:20

The intent being that we would go into an area, handle all of the utilities at once so to minimize disruption and come out with a finished project and not having recurring excavations in the same area.

5:33

We looked at not now knowing the cost of the programming, having updated it and we'll address that in the presentation.

5:39

Uh we looked at uh stretching out the program over different periods of years.

5:45

Fort Lauderdale back using Fort Lauderdale as a benchmark, they addressed 14,000 properties.

5:51

Uh and they did their program between 2004 and 2011.

5:55

They had no other competing projects, they didn't have a consent order, they didn't have any other master programs going on, so they were able to do it rat relatively aggressively.

6:04

And back then, of course, at a much lower cost.

6:07

So they were able to accomplish their 14,000 property program in seven years.

6:12

We have 17,000 properties, and we looked at a 10-year, 20, 30-year, and 40-year program.

6:20

And for the intensive analysis, we we did the financial analysis for 30 years and back.

6:29

So uh so although this the rest of this pro um presentation will be kind of centered on a 30-year program because uh the evaluation looked like that was the least aggressive water and rate to impose on the public.

6:42

We have a detailed analysis for the 20, we have a detailed analysis for the 25, 20, and 15 and 10 year programs, should this commission want to uh look into those in further detail.

6:56

So the objectives of today, similar to how we structured the stormwater workshop, is uh we're going to try to reach a consensus or I'm I'm going to try to ascertain a consensus from the commission on uh to adopt the water and wastewater master plans.

7:12

That's fairly straightforward.

7:13

And the benefit of that is that from time to time we'll come to the commission with uh state revolving fund loan applications and a companion reserve with that will be to update the facilities plan by and we have to do that because we do not have an adopted water and wastewater master plan.

7:30

So in doing adopting it, um it allows us to save a reso going forward and just shows the state that we have a uh cohesive plan.

7:40

Uh secondly, a consensus to adopt the septic to source program.

7:43

That would be the multi-phase.

7:44

That would be we're going to present to you six phases of work and show you the areas that will be working in each phase in a relative time scale, and just looking for a general acceptance of that proposed program, which is driven by uh the prioritized water main replacement.

8:00

That was done in the water master plan.

8:03

And then uh consensus on the funding level and fee structure.

8:07

Where we've uh a lot of work uh went into getting House Bill 1123 passed thanks to Adam Reichbeck and Phyllis Shaw in the city attorney's office and outside council, and that's making all of this possible.

8:21

So uh we uh that the way that LAR is written, it's a conventional funding uh built into the water and racewater structure.

8:30

That's what we'll be presenting.

8:32

Uh we also have a flat fee structure that we were asked to look into, and we'll we have some discussion about that and just to get some general feedback on that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████65%

Engineering And Infrastructure███████10%

Public Engagement█████7%

Fiscal Sustainability███5%

Procurement███4%

Environmental Protection██3%

Technology and Innovation██3%

Budget Equity Analysis█1%

Racial Equity█1%

Summary of Proceedings

City of Hollywood Septic-to-Sewer Workshop - October 22, 2025

The City Commission held a workshop on October 22, 2025, to discuss the Septic-to-Sewer Master Plan, funding, and implementation. The workshop focused on the $2.5 billion water and wastewater program, with $1.3 billion allocated to the septic-to-sewer expansion for 17,000 properties. Commissioners discussed timelines, rate impacts, in-house construction, and enforcement of connection ordinances.

Discussion Items

Presentation of the Septic-to-Sewer Master Plan: The Department of Public Utilities and consultants (Hazen and Sawyer, Stantec, Arcadis, Brizaga) presented a 30-year, six-phase program. The plan integrates water main replacements, stormwater upgrades, and sewer expansion to minimize disruption. The first phase targets Boulevard Heights and areas near Dixie Highway, with an estimated cost of $71 million for 1,100 properties plus $17 million for water infrastructure.
Cost and Timeline: The 30-year plan was presented as the least aggressive on rates, but commissioners expressed interest in accelerating to 10 or 15 years. The estimated cost per account is $33,000, with homeowner responsibility for private laterals and septic abandonment estimated at $7,230 per account. Rate increases for a 30-year plan were proposed at 9% per year for water and 12.5% for sewer (a 3.5% adder for septic-to-sewer). Accelerated plans would require higher rates, e.g., a 10-year plan would require a 28.5% sewer adder in the first three years, leading to a 176% cumulative bill increase.
In-House Construction: Several commissioners supported exploring a city-run utility construction division to reduce reliance on contractors and control costs. The city manager suggested a phased approach: pre-qualify contractors initially while building internal capability for emergency repairs and eventually taking over some neighborhood work. A preliminary estimate showed a pipeline crew costs about $15,000 per day and a pump station crew $40,000 per day, with about $2 million in equipment needed.
Equity Fee for Unsewered Customers: A concept was introduced to charge unsewered customers a monthly sewer admin fee (starting at $3.50) to generate revenue for potential homeowner cost offsets. This fee would escalate with sewer rate increases. The Vice Mayor opposed the fee without a direct benefit, and the Commissioner noted that the state law (HB 1123) allows charging only existing sewer customers for the expansion, not all customers.
Enforcement of Connection Ordinance: Currently, only 24% of property owners with sewer available have connected. The city has an ordinance requiring connection within 90 days and a $250/day fine, but it has not been enforced. Staff proposed a phased notification process for completed projects, giving residents 180 days notice before the 90-day connection requirement. Commissioners supported immediate enforcement and suggested adding the reserve capacity fee ($2,130) as an assessment to encourage compliance.
Infiltration and Plant Capacity: The wastewater plant is rated at 55.5 million gallons per day, with 21.8 million reserved for Hollywood. Current flows have increased to 20 million gallons per day, partly due to infiltration. The 17,000 new connections would add 6 million gallons per day, exceeding capacity by 2035. Reducing infiltration by 50% could extend capacity to 2060. Commissioners expressed concern about the 30-year timeline given sea level rise and groundwater impacts.
Public Outreach and Education: Commissioners emphasized the need for a robust education campaign to explain the program to residents, especially given the high costs and potential ballot questions.

Key Outcomes

Consensus on Accelerated Timeline: The commission generally favored a 10- to 15-year program over the proposed 30-year plan, with the Mayor noting that the program should be executed as quickly as feasible, aligning with stormwater and water main work. Staff will return with a revised plan integrating all underground utilities and a realistic timeline.
Consensus on In-House Construction: Commissioners supported studying the feasibility of a city-run utility construction division, with a phased approach starting with pre-qualified contractors and building internal capability. The city attorney noted that state statute allows in-house work if the governing body votes to do so following certain procedures.
Consensus on Enforcement: The commission agreed to immediately enforce the existing sewer connection ordinance, with a phased notification process for completed projects. The reserve capacity fee will be pursued as a mechanism to compel connections.
No Consensus on Equity Fee: The concept of charging unsewered customers a monthly fee was not supported; the Vice Mayor and others opposed it without a direct benefit.
Next Steps: Staff will develop a comprehensive plan combining septic-to-sewer, water main, and stormwater work, with a focus on a 10- to 15-year timeline. A second workshop may be needed to refine rate structures, financing (including bonds and grants), and in-house construction costs.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good morning, everyone. Uh welcome to City Hall here in the city of Hollywood. Today is October 22nd, 2025. We are here, of course, for a city commission workshop on the subject of the city's septic to sewer program. Uh certainly a priority that the city commission and the administration have uh have been working on for many, many years. Uh and welcome some uh legislative action at the state level that we uh pursued and the initiative of the city commission administration to really uh start addressing this uh issue uh that's important environmentally and also benefits our property owners in many ways to help convert uh the city's legacy septic systems uh ultimately uh in the future to a full uh sewer and uh treated wastewater program. And so uh I know the city commission's uh very uh uh eager to get through this uh workshop and uh make some uh decisions uh and provide some direction so that ultimately we can have some items come to the city commission for uh for uh resolutions and um and action. And so with that, I'd like to invite our uh city manager to uh begin the workshop. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Vice Mayor Commissioners and to all the members of the uh the public and staff in attendance. Well that that pretty much captures it uh literally for decades this issue has been in the making and uh has had uh efforts in the past to move forward, but now we're really moving forward. And so the uh the presentation and the information today um is is fairly extensive. We'll move it through as quickly as possible if it's possible to kind of get that in a chunk of information and its continuity um and save questions and answers for the end. Promise there'll be plenty of time for that. It's literally one of the driving forces along with the the whole stormwater issue, infrastructure, some of the city's finances, um those handful of issues are the issues that are turning the city around and driving it for the next generation. So this will be a major issue and of course um a big price tag attached to it as well. Um the benefits as you mentioned, Mayor, in terms of people with their property values, environmental issues, economic development, um the help with commercial corridors, um very, very important. So with that I'll turn it over to Vin and uh and then our um our consultants will be able to go through some of the details for you. Thank you. Good morning, Vin Morello Department of Utilities. Um thank you for this opportunity to present the material in this workshop. Uh I want to thank our partners that have worked so hard on the presentation, Hazen and Sawyer, Arcadis, Stantec, and Brizaga that have put a lot of work uh into this presentation. And uh the other day I had the opportunity to see the uh the CMED's uh time capsule. And I reflected that in many ways. Actually, the optimum way. The infrastructure we're contemplating today is the quintessential time capsule. This will be the foundation, as George said, for the next generation. And so very pleased to be part of that effort this day. The septic to source program is a subset of the overall water and wastewater master plan. And although we're focused on the septic to sewer program, the rates discussed today capture the entire water and wastewater master plan. We've had the opportunity with having both plans in hand to overlay all of the all of the infrastructure proposed infrastructure projects onto the GIS system in order to prioritize the septic to sour uh pro basins. And in doing so, we've been able to program out at a high level uh for your consideration a multi-phase approach over the next uh thirty years. Um principally it's a two and a half billion dollar water and wastewater program. Um 1.3 billion of that is the sanitary SOAR portion of the septic to SOAR program, and another uh 300 million or 200 million rather is in the water mains, which are so the whole program is also coordinated. Well, although stormwater is not shown on this table, is also coordinated with the stormwater program. The intent being that we would go into an area, handle all of the utilities at once so to minimize disruption and come out with a finished project and not having recurring excavations in the same area. We looked at not now knowing the cost of the programming, having updated it and we'll address that in the presentation. Uh we looked at uh stretching out the program over different periods of years. Fort Lauderdale back using Fort Lauderdale as a benchmark, they addressed 14,000 properties. Uh and they did their program between 2004 and 2011. They had no other competing projects, they didn't have a consent order, they didn't have any other master programs going on, so they were able to do it rat relatively aggressively. And back then, of course, at a much lower cost. So they were able to accomplish their 14,000 property program in seven years. We have 17,000 properties, and we looked at a 10-year, 20, 30-year, and 40-year program. And for the intensive analysis, we we did the financial analysis for 30 years and back. So uh so although this the rest of this pro um presentation will be kind of centered on a 30-year program because uh the evaluation looked like that was the least aggressive water and rate to impose on the public. We have a detailed analysis for the 20, we have a detailed analysis for the 25, 20, and 15 and 10 year programs, should this commission want to uh look into those in further detail. So the objectives of today, similar to how we structured the stormwater workshop, is uh we're going to try to reach a consensus or I'm I'm going to try to ascertain a consensus from the commission on uh to adopt the water and wastewater master plans. That's fairly straightforward. And the benefit of that is that from time to time we'll come to the commission with uh state revolving fund loan applications and a companion reserve with that will be to update the facilities plan by and we have to do that because we do not have an adopted water and wastewater master plan.

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