Florence council passes water lease
Staff writer
After a yearlong process, Florence City Council unanimously approved a lease agreement Monday for use of Crystal Springs from the DeForest family.
The approved lease is for 50 years, but the city maintains the right to cancel with 90 days of notice, pending unforeseen circumstances.
The city will pay $4,000 per year on the anniversary of the signing, and escalation of payment is tied to population decrease and water-rate increases.
No drilling for oil or gas will be allowed within 1,000 feet of the springs on any DeForest property.
“It would have been nice to have done this a different way, but the end result
lease
from page one
is so much better than what we started with,” Florence mayor Bob Gayle said. “This is truly a win-win for both sides.”
The council’s acceptance of the lease is conditional on the DeForests signing, 14-day limit to get the signatures back, and approval by the Department of Water Resources.
Bill Hendricks, of Insurance Planning Center, Inc., presented council members a new insurance plan for city properties, which will be discussed at a work meeting. The new policy is comparable to the council’s current $22,833 quote from EMC Insurance, Inc., Hendricks said.
Hendricks informed the council at a January meeting that EMC would not be renewing the plan, effective April 1.
The city’s fire pack insurance policy through Continental Western was unanimously approved, covering items like fire department vehicles. The policy was quoted at $6,497, a $455 increase, due to the city temporarily having two fire trucks.