The Water Department issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to seek a consultant with expertise in obtaining a wastewater Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) for the City of Fort Worth. The law firm of Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, PC (Lloyd Gosselink) submitted a response to the RFQ. Because of the law firm's extensive knowledge of the CCN process and experience in representing cities on CCN matters, the Water Department would like to hire Lloyd Gosselink to provide legal, technical and consulting services to acquire a wastewater CCN. Lloyd Gosselink will team up with Freese and Nichols as a subcontractor to provide the engineering and technical requirements of obtaining a CCN. Because the firm will be acting in a legal capacity as well as a consultant, the City Charter requires the outside counsel to be approved by resolution. The City of Fort Worth provides wastewater service to retail customers within the city, it's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and to 23 wholesale customers in the surrounding counties. The City's collection system consists of 12 sewer basins. As the City continues to grow, the system also demands necessary expansion and new facilities which are costly endeavors. CCNs are granted by the Public Utility Commission (PUC) through a lengthy and robust process that includes public notice, hearings and technical mapping. A CCN authorizes and requires utilities to provide continuous and adequate service to every customer who requests service in a certificated area. In turn, the CCN provides the City the exclusive right to service the certificated area, therefore protecting the City's investment. The City currently has a water CCN and would like to obtain the same for the protection of its wastewater system. Lloyd Gosselink would be required to provide required notice to all retail public utilities, districts and municipalities of the proposed CCN area; to create a meta data GIS sewer boundary of the existing sewer service area that meets the PUC requirements, as well as any other mapping requests by the PUC; and to prepare and submit the CCN application to the PUC. The City Attorney and the City Manager are requesting that the City Council approve the hiring of Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, PC, both as outside legal counsel and consultant, and to authorize payment to the firm in an amount not to exceed $150,000.00 for the firm's time spent on acquiring the wastewater CCN.
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