HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.a. November 16, 2015 Regular Meeting Minutes UTILITY COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
November 16, 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 November 16, 2015, at 5:31 p.m. in the Conference Room of the
City Hall, 2875 145 h Street West,Rosemount.
President Speich called the meeting to order with Commissioners Connolly and McDonald,
Rosemount Mayor Droste,Public Works Director Wrase, City Administrator Johnson, Council
Member DeMuth, and Recording Secretary Kladar attending.
ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA
None
AUDIENCE INPUT
None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Speich. Second by Connolly.
Motion to approve the minutes of the October 19,2015 Utility Commission meeting.
Ayes: 3.
Nays: 0. Absent: 0. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINES
5.a.
None
NEW BUSINESS
6.a. MCES Water Conservation Grant
Wrase provided an overview of the new MCES Water Conservation Grant Program. MCES has
$250,000 available to be awarded to municipalities making an effort to reduce potable water
consumption. Grant funding covers 75% of the program costs and municipalities would be
required to match 25% of the allocated amount. The 25% match would come from the Rosemount
Water Utility Fund. The funds may be used as rebates toward the purchase of low-flow toilets,
Energy Star-rated washing machines and WaterSense irrigation controllers. City Council approved
moving forward with this grant application at the recent work session and the item is on the
upcoming City Council agenda.
Wrase advised that he is modeling the program after Eden Prairie's existing program but more
research can be done before rolling out the program to adjust rebates if needed. The savings could
1
be substantial with the installation of the toilets,washing machines and irrigation controllers. Staff
estimates savings of 526,000 gallons of water annually. Total rebates payments estimated to be
$11,666 with $2,916 coming from the City Water Utility Fund.
McDonald inquired about ongoing administration of the program and whether additional staff
would be required. Wrase stated that the staff time is an estimate. Clearly there are initial steps to
set up the program and also potentially do random inspections. The 200 hours of estimated staff
time was based upon inspecting all submitted items rather than random inspections. Wrase hopes to
administer the program with existing staff.
There was a brief discussion about the City's portion of the rebates and Wrase advised that the
projected reserves would be well above the expected$3,000 contribution. While staff estimates
savings of 526,000 gallons, this is only a $750.00 reduction in potential revenue.
Wrase added that with the grant money available the program makes good sense,particularly when
the use of groundwater is currently under scrutiny. Vemuth doesn't think it would look good if we
didn't apply for the grant. Wrase noted that City would also apply for the grant in the second year
but after that the City would need to pick up e, e cost.
Motion by Speich. Second by McDonald.
Motion to direct staff to request City Council approval for application to the Metropolitan
Council Water Efficiency Grant Program
Ayes: 0. 40"16L A
Nays: 0. Absent: 3. Motion carried.
7. PRESIDENT'S REPORT
President Speich had nothing to report.z
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
8.a. City Projects Update
The attached project report was reviewed and Wrase provided a brief summary. Wrase advised that
there are 15 potential rain garden sites in the Danbury Way project. An open house was held last
week and was well attended. If the homeowner chooses to have a rain garden installed, they need to
sign an agreement stating that the City will waive their yearly storm fee if the rain garden is properly
maintained. Residents have until the end of November to return the agreement. A decision will
need to be made whether rain gardens will be installed if they only have a couple of people
interested.
Regarding the 1.5MG GST and Booster Wrase has received the 60%plans and project is moving
forward expecting a bid yet this year.
2
Wells 4 and 5 were bid a while ago but there was problem with Well 5. The City has now received
confirmation that Well 4 can potentially be used as an observation well and the award will only be
for sealing of Well 4. The MDH will assist in inspecting well and determine whether it can be used
as observation well. The City will come back to well number 5 on a future project after some
research whether that well can be sealed or abandoned using conventional methods.
The City is currently investigating and planning in detail for development in the area east of
Highway 52 and South of 140"' Street. Request for Proposals were distributed and the City intends
to award the utility study to SEH at the upcoming Council meetin
8.b. 2015 Well Pumping Report
The attached report was reviewed. It was noted that pumping was up for October and numbers are
in line with 2014.
8c. Set Next Meeting Agenda for December 14, 2015
The Mayor is requesting the splash pad usage numbers for 2015. Wrase will also i de the plans
for the 1.5MG ST and Booster.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to discuss the meeting wNadjournPresident Speich at 5:55
p.m.
epectfully submitted,
Karin Kladar
Recording Secretary
3