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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20140811 UC Minutes UTILITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES August 11, 2014 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof the regular Utility Commission meeting of the City of Rosemount was called to order on August 11, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. in the Conference Room of the City Hall,2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. President Speich called the meeting to order with Commissioners Mulhern and Harmsen, Council Member Vanessa DeMuth, City Administrator Johnson, Rosemount Mayor Droste, Finance Director Jeff May, Executive Director Brotzler, Public Works Coordinator Christine Watson,Jamie Wallerstedt with WSB &Associates, and Recording Secretary Kladar attending. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA None AUDIENCE INPUT None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Harmsen. Second by Mulhern. Motion to approve the minutes of the April 7, 2014 Utility Commission meeting. Ayes: 3. Nays: 0. Absent: 0. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS 5. Well 16 Update Executive Director Brotzler provided a brief summary of the staff report regarding Well 16 and outlined the options to reduce the radium level from proposed Well 16. Jamie Wallerstedt with WSB &Associates was present to provide a summary of the technical memorandum regarding Well 16. The first option is to blend the water from Well 15 and 16 to reduce radium levels. A well house would be constructed to connect the raw water main system for blending the water with Well 15 upstream of the distribution system. The cost of this option is estimated at$100,000. The second option is to develop 2.5 MG of new storage at the future water treatment plant site near Well 14 to blend water from Wells 14, 15 and 16 to reduce the radium levels. The additional storage would be necessary in the future to support additional growth and adding storage now would serve multiple purposes. 1 The third option is to develop a water treatment plant near Well 14 at an estimated cost of$2.5 to $3 million. The steps discussed are progressive and they will all need to be done at some point in the future. Staff is looking for the Utility Commission's input so the options can be presented to City Council. A handout was provided showing the development alternatives. Mulhem inquired what would be the course of action if Well 16 was put in and it showed continued unacceptable radium levels. Wallerstedt advised that the initial step would be to make a connection to the raw water lines to try to reduce radium level by blending. Wallerstedt that water is blended in the City of Wyoming which was approved by MDH. The MDH has advised that they will entertain this discussion of modeling in the pipe but will need to be shown some modeling before they can approve any plan. The City would need to show the pumping rate and radium levels as part of any plan. Harmson inquired how often water is tested for radium and wondered whether the radium level had increased. He was advised that the water is tested annually. The Mayor added that Well 12 was close on acceptable radium levels when it was first drilled but once it was into production the levels dropped to acceptable levels. Brotzler confirmed that the Test Well at 12 as 4.8 and dropped to 1.4 once production began. Harmsen stated he'd like the third option of the 2 MG reservoir as it will blend more resources. Brotzler advised that building the water treatment facility would still involve the $100,000 connection fees. The Mayor said that the Met Council may make decisions that will force cities to use surface water in the future. Mayor doesn't want to put a lot of money into wells if Rosemount is forced to close those down. Harmsen commented that the reservoir would be used for either surface or ground water. DeMuth stated that if Well 16 is drilled she would like to see an adequate buffer between the bottom of the well and the St. Lawrence formation because that is likely where radium is coming from. DeMuth suggested that a hydrogeologist be consulted. She also suggested grouting up 20 feet of well and taking another sample. Wallerstedt reported that sometimes DNR requires well not be grouted until approved and wasn't aware whether other wells have been grouted. Motion by Mulhern. Second by Speich. Motion to proceed with design of production well and well house for Well 16. Ayes: 3. Nays: 0. Absent: 0. Motion carried. 2 NEW BUSINESS 6.a. Water & Sewer Utility Rate Review Public Works Coordinator provided a summary of the staff report. Staff is recommending the Utility Commission recommend City Council approval of the water and sewer utility rate changes for 2015 which include a 5%rate increase. Brotzler noted that the current water model includes funding the construction of a water treatment facility in 2016. The main driver for the sewer model is the projected Met Council charges. Within the Sewer Utility Fund the annual payment to Met Council represents 75% of that amount. Public Works Coordinator Watson provided more specific information regarding the budget items. The Mayor raised the issue of the last resident survey. Specifically,is the City is collecting money unnecessarily as we don't have good data. Brotzler said we track complaints regarding water and they seem to be steady. Short of showing we need a water treatment facility for eliminating the radium, there is nothing showing we need one right now. Rather,it's a matter of cities choosing to improve the color, taste and odor of their water. Discussion was held about water conservation and whether the City is doing what it should be doing long term and being proactive in its policies. Brotzler said that if rates increase substantially it will make end users think about how much water they use. Until policies are put in place that limit the amount of water people can use,the City still needs to plan and build off the current use averages. Mayor said the power companies are able to show residents how their use compares to those of their neighbors which can be influential as people will cut their consumption based on knowledge. Finance Director May was asked whether the City's utility bills can show neighbor's water usage. May does not think we currently have that information available to provide without some sort of software modification. It was noted that this type of information could be made available in the newsletter. The Mayor raised the topic of eliminating second irrigation meters and DeMuth discussed putting this item on City Council agenda to change the code. DeMuth also inquired whether an increased rate could be implemented on irrigation accounts. It was noted that irrigation only is charged to the school district,industrial, commercial,and townhomes with irrigation meters. Homeowners would not see that rate as they are being charged on the tiered rates. May noted that when the City went to a tiered rate one of largest complainers were the homeowners associations and they don't water nearly as much as they used to before the tiered rate was implemented. Discussion ensued about the how the 5%rate increase covers costs and the tiered rate has had an effect on water use. Brotzler said it's challenging with a year like this one with extremes of wet and dry months. Having the 10 year projection gives City flexibility in the budget. The 5%increase still has the City on plan and we can adjust next year if we are behind plan. The water used by the Splash Pad was also discussed. There is no fee associated with that water and it was noted that the City and school district use the most water. 3 Brotzler noted that the utility budgets are also included with this item and any questions should be addressed now as the budgets would now go to City Council. May added that the changes were fairly minor. There was discussion about upcoming water tower maintenance. May pointed out that this expense was included in the general water budget. Motion by Harmsen. Second by Speich. Motion to recommend City Council approval of water and sewer utility rate changes for 2015. Ayes: 3 Nays: 0. Absent: 0. Motion carried. 6.b. Frozen Water Service Procedure & Policy Review Executive Director Brotzler provided a summary of the staff report regarding frozen water service lines. Staff is seeking input from the Commission to draft a frozen water service line policy that can be approved by City Council by the end of the calendar year. Brotzler supported a policy so staff would have a clear understanding of how to proceed. In the past the City had a small number of frozen lines. This year the City reported 92 frozen lines and contracted with a welder to thaw the lines. Residents were also advised to run a small stream of water until the threat of freezing had passed. The current city code states the homeowner is responsible from curb stop to the house including frozen water service. Likely more than half of the frozen services this year were between the curb stop and the main. It was noted that the City clearly has more resources to thaw the lines than the homeowners. Given what occurred this year,Brotzler noted that the City would likely know the area that would be affected in the future if we have extreme temperatures. The City could put out information earlier to be proactive and request residents to run water to prevent freezes. Brotzler said the biggest challenge is the City spec standard is when a 1"copper water line is connected a gooseneck is used to allow for expansion and the tap is 45 degrees at the pipe. It is likely that most of them froze at the gooseneck which would be the City's responsibility. There has been discussion about changing the specs with a 90 degree gooseneck (parallel vs.vertical). Discussion ensued about the liability the City takes on by thawing lines. The City has more control but also more liability. The difficulty of providing a credit was also discussed. How can the City monitor who is running water so would it be necessary to give a flat credit to all? The reality is its less revenue and more water used. The Commissioners determined that it would be helpful to have a procedure in place for any future frozen service lines. The Utility Commission is comfortable in how the frozen water service lines were handled this year including not thawing commercial lines. Staff will draft a procedure policy to be discussed at a future meeting. 4 7. PRESIDENT'S REPORT President Speich did not have anything new to report. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT 8.a. City Projects Update The attached project report was reviewed and Executive Director Brotzler provided a quick summary. 8.b. 2014 Well Pumping Report The attached report was reviewed and it was noted that pumping is down 23%. 9.c. Set Next Meeting Agenda for September 8, 2014 Brotzler stated that a possible future agenda item is a proposal for a large scale water re-use system or an integrated water management system at UMore. The purpose of the system would be the reuse of storm water for non-potable use. The City is looking to identify a way to use storm water and treated effluent water for non-potable use. There is value to high quality groundwater for drinking water and a net zero water balance. UMore could have the potential to develop a cost- effective fourth utility system. The City should direct this project rather than UMore as the potential groundwater shortages could end up making the City look bad if we don't explore these options. If the City takes the Met Council effluent water, the City would also have an outlet for its excess water. Every year we export groundwater to the river. The City could reduce water usage by using storm water for non-potable use. Cities are starting to reuse storm water for irrigation so MDH and MPCA need to be involved. Brotzler advised that there was a meeting tomorrow about this topic and the City will approach UMore about a partnership and look for funding sources. The City currently has no outlet and no ability to retain storm water. It's a key component to balance and access the Met Council pipe to the river. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned by President Speich at 6:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karin Kladar Recording Secretary 5