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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20150914 UC Minutes UTILITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES September 14, 2015 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 September 14, 2015, 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 Connolly and McDonald,Public Works Director Wrase, City Administrator Johnson, Finance Director Jeff May,Assistant City Engineer Olson,Public Works Coordinator Watson and Recording Secretary Kladar attending. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA None AUDIENCE INPUT None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by McDonald. Second by Connolly. Motion to approve the minutes of the July 20, 2015 Utility Commission meeting. Ayes: 3. Nays: 0. Absent: 0. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS 5.a. Water and Sewer Rate Update Last month the Utility Commission discussed the Water Utility Rate Update issue. The Commission requested that staff would put together different scenarios of changes to the rates and tiers for further review. Director Wrase briefly summarized the utility and sewer rate issue. Wrase advised the city needed to be in compliance with DNR requirements and staff had also looked various resources as to what is considered the basis for tiered rates. American Water Works Association (AWWA) M1 Principles of Water Rates and Fees establish the true cost of service to provide water. This guideline indicates that average winter quarter use is an acceptable method of the defining the first tier. It is typical practice to double each tier thereafter. This guideline was used to develop new tiers and rates for the City. Numerous scenarios were applied and several internal meetings were held to discuss the potential changes recognizing that commercial customers who use water as a necessary part of their business should not be unfairly penalized. The proposed rate structure includes a 1% increase on the base level with 25%increases between the lower tiers and a 50%increase for the highest residential tier. It is anticipated that there will now 1 be more people in the lowest tier and they will have a minimal increase. The users in the highest tier will have the largest increase which targets the right group. Overall the revenue is consistent with the original proposal from the July meeting. Regarding sewer rates Met Council recently advised there will be a 10%rate increase for Rosemount. MCES advised that the biggest reason for the rate increase is last year was a wet year and although Rosemount isn't a high I&I city, some cities paid a higher proportion of the system charges. This year has been drier and the expenses still must be covered so the rates were increased by 10%. Staff recommends a 4%annual rate increase and the model was adjusted to reflect a 5% annual increase for the Met Council charges. Motion by Speich. Second by Connolly. Motion to recommend City Council approval of Water and Sewer Utility Rate Changes for 2016. Ayes: 3. Nays: 0. Absent: 0. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS 6.a. Fluoride Variance Update Wrase summarized the MDH Fluoride Variance which he noted was brought to City Council last week. The Federal Department of Health and Human Services recommended a decrease from 1.2 to .7 in the fluoride level. While the State of Minnesota is in the process of changing its guidelines, the City applied for a variance to reduce the level down to .7 immediately which was recently approved by the Minnesota Department of Health. The Commission suggested that this information be posted on the City's website. 7. PRESIDENT'S REPORT President Speich had nothing to report. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT 8.a. City Projects Update The attached project report was reviewed and Olson provided a brief summary. It was noted that the Horseshoe Lake Lift Station Pre-Con is tomorrow and construction will begin soon. This fall they will install the wet well portion and do electrical work in the winter. The lift station should be up and running by July 2016. Ryan Contracting received the bid for the lift station. All other projects are wrapping up. Bella Vista 3rd and Prestwick Place 12th will both be paved within the next few weeks. 8.b. 2015 Well Pumping Report The attached report was reviewed. It was noted that the City is now even with last year's pumping records. 2 8c. Set Next Meeting Agenda for October 19, 2015 Wrase noted the current 1.5MG Ground Storage Tank project. Wrase has been meeting with Summit Environmental about advanced logging capabilities. There are other benefits including being able to plot the elevations in the wells vs. the run times so the pump times can be optimized and save energy. More information will be forthcoming in future meetings. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned by President Speich at 5:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karin Kladar Recording Secretary 3