A. Upon receipt of the applicant's fully completed Latecomers Agreement proposal, the Department staff will review and provide comment on the proposal to the Director. If the Director determines that a Latecomers Agreement is appropriate, negotiations regarding the specific terms of the agreement in accordance with this Chapter will continue until they have been completed.

B. The Department staff shall not forward the final draft of the Latecomers Agreement to the Director until the Sewer Facility Plan for the Improvements has been approved by the Department.

C. The Latecomers Agreement shall be approved by the Director and, if necessary, by the Pierce County Executive. The sewer line extension permit for the construction of the Improvements shall not be issued until the Latecomers Agreement has been approved by all necessary signatories. The Latecomers Agreement and any amendments thereto shall be recorded at the Pierce County Auditor's Office.

D. Upon execution of the Latecomers Agreement, the applicant must proceed with obtaining the sewer line extension permit for the construction of the Improvements and commence construction prior to the expiration of the approved Sewer Facility Plan. Should the applicant's approved Sewer Facility Plan expire prior to the initiation of construction of the Improvements, then the Latecomers Agreement shall be null and void. Should the applicant's approved Sewer Facility Plan expire due to inactivity for one year, then the Latecomers Agreement shall be null and void.

E. Upon completion of construction, inspection approval, and final acceptance of the Improvements by the Department, the applicant shall transfer the sewer facilities to the County, free and clear of all liens and debts, for inclusion into the public sewer system.

F. Following the completion of construction of the Improvements and within 120 days after acceptance by the Department, the applicant shall provide complete and itemized copies of all invoices for costs related to construction of the Improvements. The cost information provided by the applicant shall be reviewed by the Department to determine the Total Eligible Construction Cost. Certification of the costs and authentication of the copies shall be made by the party providing the services and the applicant. Costs not evidenced by an invoice shall not be included in the Total Eligible Construction Cost. Any costs not previously identified in the approved Engineer's Estimate shall not be included in the Total Eligible Construction Cost unless written authorization is received from the Department. Construction costs which exceed those identified in the approved Engineer's Estimate shall not be included in the Total Eligible Construction Cost unless written authorization is received from the Department.

G. Once the Total Eligible Construction Cost has been finalized, Department staff will draft an amendment to the executed Latecomers Agreement which will finalize the Total Eligible Construction Cost, the Pro Rata Share, and the Total Reimbursable Construction Cost. No reimbursement or connection charge credits toward the applicant's Total Reimbursable Construction Cost shall be made by the County before the Improvements are accepted by the Department and the Latecomers Agreement has been amended to reflect the actual construction costs.

H. The County agrees to reimburse the applicant up to their proportional share of the Total Reimbursable Construction Cost from the eligible portion of connection charges collected from the properties within the Tributary Service Area until the Total Reimbursable Construction Cost has been paid in full or until the term of the Agreement expires. Reimbursement payments made from the eligible portion of the connection charges collected from the Tributary Properties shall be made to the applicant within 60 days following collection of the connection charges by the County or within 60 days following the execution of the amended Latecomers Agreement, whichever is later. No latecomers charges shall be collected by the County from the properties within the Tributary Service Area that pay their connection charges and are issued permits to connect to the Improvements before the Latecomers Agreement has been amended to reflect the actual construction costs.