[Added 7-10-1989 by TOR-89-9]
A.
The water system of the Town of Agawam has been designed
and constructed to provide service to buildings and land at or below
the elevation of 270 feet above mean sea level. Any extension of the
water system above this elevation will require the installation of
a water pumping system and/or elevated tank, hereinafter referred
to as pressure improvement systems, to provide adequate pressure and
flows in accordance with standards of the Department of Environmental
Quality Engineering, the Agawam Department of Public Works and the
Agawam Fire Department. All such pressure improvement systems shall
meet with the approval of the Agawam Department of Public Works.
B.
In the case of individual buildings where the water
system can provide a minimum of 20 pounds per square inch of intake
pressure at normal operation of a pressure improvement system under
all conditions, including fire flow, the system shall be installed,
operated, maintained, repaired and replaced by the owner of the building.
C.
In the case of a multibuilding or multilot development
where there will be individual owners, the Agawam Department of Public
Works shall install a pressure improvement system. The cost of such
system, including construction, engineering, inspection, administration,
operation and maintenance, and depreciation shall be assessed against
all property that will or may in the future be served or benefited
by the pressure improvement system. Any such pressure improvement
system shall be designed and constructed to provide service to all
contiguous land at or above the elevation of 270 feet above mean sea
level.
A.
In making assessments for water pressure improvement
systems, the Town shall use the following procedure with regard to
public notice and assessments orders:
(1)
Whenever the Town Council determines that a pressure
system shall be constructed by the Town, the Council shall, by a majority
vote, pass an order stating that betterments are to be assessed. This
order of public notice shall contain a description of the service
area and serviced property, a locus map and the estimated maximum
amount of the assessment. Failure to give notice under this section
shall not affect the Council's authority to make assessments at a
later date.
(2)
After the installation of the pressure improvement
system is completed, the Superintendent of Public Works shall calculate
the rates of assessment in accordance with this article. A majority
vote of the Town Council shall be required to make an order of assessment.
The order of assessment shall contain the name of each owner and the
amount of the assessment on each parcel, as well as a reference to
the book and page where the deed for each parcel is recorded.
B.
The Town Clerk shall record public notices and assessment
orders in the Hampden County Registry of Deeds within 30 days after
the adoption of the order.
A.
A proportionate cost of each pressure improvement system, including all costs enumerated in § 175-16, shall be distributed in an equitable manner among the serviced property in the service area of the pressure improvement system. The distribution shall be on the basis of dwelling units, business units and potential units all as defined herein. [1] The total cost of the pressure improvement system shall
be divided equally among the total number of units within the serviced
property of the service area. The assessment shall be made against
all developed and undeveloped land within the serviced property of
the service area. Assessments on each parcel shall, in the absence
of any approved subdivision or development plans, be based on the
maximum total number of units that could be directly served by the
pressure improvement system calculated on the basis of zoning in effect
at the time of assessment.
B.
The total cost of the pressure improvement system
which is to be assessed shall be determined by the Superintendent
of Public Works and include the following:
(1)
Land costs, including interest on any borrowing, unless
the land occupied by the pressure improvement system is within a public
way or has been granted to the Town.
(2)
Construction costs, including interest on any borrowing,
which includes all costs for the construction of the pressure improvement
system and its appurtenances incurred by the Town.
(3)
Engineering costs, including interest on any borrowing,
which includes all design, permit acquisition, construction inspection
and contract administration costs incurred by the Town in the construction
of the pressure improvement system.
(4)
Operation, maintenance and repair costs, which shall
be a sum of money the interest income from which at a rate of return
available to the Town on its money market accounts at the time of
assessment determination, but not greater than 7%, will be sufficient
to cover the average yearly operation, maintenance and repair costs
over the useful life of the system. These costs shall be determined
by the Superintendent of Public Works.
(5)
Depreciation costs, which shall be a sum of money
the interest income from which at the rate of return available to
the Town on its money market accounts at the time of assessment, but
not greater than 7%, will, over the useful life of the system, accumulate
sufficient interest without use of the principal to replace the system.
This cost shall be determined by the Superintendent of Public Works.
A.
All assessments arising from the expansion of the
water system and installation of a pressure improvement system shall
become liens against the properties to which they apply in accordance
with the provisions of the General Laws. The owner of any parcel within
a service area of a pressure improvement system shall pay theassessment
or proportional part thereof in full at the time of application for
a building permit for a dwelling or business unit(s) or, in the case
of an existing dwelling or business unit(s), the assessment or proportional
part thereof shall be paid in full upon connection to the water system,
unless the full assessment has already been paid or apportioned as
provided herein.
B.
The property owner shall pay the full assessment as
a lump sum payment or a portion of the assessment in a lump sum payment
and the balance in annual payments, with interest for any given calendar
year at a rate of 1/2% above the prime rate as published in the Wall
Street Journal for the first day of business following January 1 of
the year for which interest is being applied. The Assessor may apportion
the balance of the assessment into equal principal payments, not exceeding
20, for a term running with any bond issue for the project, or for
any other period allowed under the provisions of MGL c. 80, § 13.
[Amended 11-16-1991 by TOR-91-11]
C.
All moneys collected from the assessment for a water system expansion and pressure improvement system shall be placed in a special interest-bearing account under the direction of the Superintendent of Public Works, and such moneys and interest earned therefrom shall be used solely for the costs enumerated in § 175-18 for each particular pressure improvement system.
A.
In the event that a zone change is granted, a variance
is granted by the Board of Appeals or a special permit is issued by
a Town agency that allows for the construction on a parcel of more
units than could have been built upon the basis of zoning in effect
at the time of assessment, the Town Council may redetermine the assessment
with interest.
B.
In the event that fewer units are constructed on a parcel than were determined could have been built under the zoning at the time of assessment, then the total assessment on the parcel shall hold and the payment for each dwelling or business unit under § 175-19 shall be increased in inverse proportion to the decreased number of units.
A.
Any land or parcel under conservation or agricultural
preservation restriction as defined in MGL c. 184, § 31,
shall be exempt from assessment under this article, except for the
portion of said land or parcels occupied by existing buildings, which
shall be required to pay a proportional assessment based on the actual
number of dwelling or business units served. Undeveloped public land,
including all Town, county, state and federal land, shall not be assessed
under this article.
B.
An owner may, within six months after an assessment
is made, make application to the Town Council for an extension of
time for payment of all or a portion of his land that is not built
upon in accordance with the conditions provided hereinafter:
(1)
All of the assessments on potential units within a
parcel of undeveloped land or existing units not served by the Town's
water system may be extended. If such extension is granted, the assessment
amount so extended shall be subject to an eight-percent annual interest
charge compounded. This interest need not be paid annually but shall
accumulate as a lien against the property. A condition of a grant
of any extension shall be that the assessment plus accumulated interest
must be paid in full upon development of the land at the time of building
permit application or upon connection of an existing unit to the water
system.
