Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout20180618 UC Minutes UTILITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES June 18, 2018 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 June 18, 2018, at 5:30 p.m. in the Upper Conference Room, City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. Commissioner Demuth called meeting to order with Commissioner Cahn, Public Works Director/City Engineer Brian Erickson, Public Works Coordinator Christine Watson, and Recording Secretary Jessie Barikmo. Commissioner Ed Nelson was absent. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA Demuth added 2 items of discussion to the agenda:  Discussion of Splash Pad Water Reuse  Reopening an old item of business, Water Efficiency Rebate AUDIENCE INPUT APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Cahn Second by Demuth Motion to approve the minutes of the April 16, 2018, Utility Commission meeting. Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS OLD BUSINESS 6.a. Water Efficiency Rebate Watson provided a brief overview on the past water efficiency rebate program and how the city previously publicized it. The Metropolitan Council Environmental Services grant ended in June 2017. From July 2017 through December 2017, the city funded the program on its own. The city collected less revenue since the residents were receiving the rebate as a credit on their utility bill. Watson stated that if we were to continue the program, it would have to be fully funded by the city since the Met Council no longer offers the reimbursements. Demuth and Watson spoke about the smart irrigation controllers vs. basic irrigation controllers and noted that smart controllers monitor ground moisture levels and humidity. In order for the smart controllers to operate, Wi-Fi is required. Most smart irrigation controllers range in price from $150 to $200. Residents will be credited half of the cost of the controller up to $150. Staff will prepare a recommendation for the July 2 council meeting to reinstate the rebate program (fully funded by the City). Watson explained that this is a financial decision due to the matter of bringing in less revenue for the city. Promoting water conservation is a “double-edged sword” because the cost to run the water system is going to stay the same, but the city will be billing for less water usage, eventually causing the water rates to increase to accommodate for the drop in revenue. It came to the attention of Demuth that the Evermoor subdivision has been watering excessively and she questioned if the Evermoor Home Owners Association (HOA) has a watering exemption. City staff denied that the HOA has an exemption. Demuth explained that they are watering during the restricted times of day. From May 1 through August 31 each year, watering is prohibited between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm for all residents. Demuth requested that Erickson reach out the HOA. Erickson agreed. Watson has since passed this issue on to the Code Enforcement staff. Motion by Demuth Second by Cahn Motion to take recommendation of the Water Efficiency Program to Council. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS 7.a. Chippendale Water Tower Coating Project Erickson explained, as part of the 2018 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), the Chippendale Water Tower is due to be re-painted, internally and externally. Out of the $650,000 budgeted, $500,000 is for the exterior and $150,000 is for the interior. The standard expectation for water tank coating is a minimum of 10 years. After discussions with KLM Engineering Inc., they will use a design-build contract. With a design-build contract, it allows the designer to better coordinate work with an approved contractor. KLM will attend the next Utility Commission meeting on July 16, 2018, and will be available for questions. Erickson wants to get the contract in place as soon as possible so KLM can start the design process. Erickson projects the painting to start in 2019. Discussion of the city’s consulting pool prompted Demuth to question if the city has other consultants that are eligible to complete work on water towers. Erickson stated that there is also Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) and he will look into others that have designed water towers. Demuth asked how and why the city chose KLM to complete the designs. Erickson stated that KLM has done almost all of the City of Rosemount’s water towers, and has completed numerous other city water towers. Demuth requested that Erickson ask Mayor Droste if Council could weigh in on the color of the tower due to previous conflicts on the current color. Erickson will discuss with City Council. Cahn questioned the monopole next to the tower, and Erickson confirmed that the owner of the monopole is required to paint the pole whatever color the water tower is, according to the lease agreement. Erickson will have more information about the project at the next meeting, July 16, 2018. 7.b. Stormwater Pond Maintenance The city has a prioritized list of ponds that need to be dredged. Erickson and Watson had a discussion of what would happen to the ponds after dredging, such as; would it increase capacity and would it allow the ponds to infiltrate better. Cahn questioned whether or not this work would be completed by staff, and Erickson confirmed that pond dredging would be completed by a contractor. City staff was not aware of any history of ponds being dredged within the City of Rosemount. The city created a prioritized list of the ponds based off the designed functionality and where it rates now, the current capacity, and the inlets/outlets. There is a base score for all ponds, based on design, age, and the anticipated conditions. The base scores do not take into account visual inspections. Visual inspections have been performed by WSB & Associates on approximately 40-50 ponds over the past 5 years. Demuth inquired whether or not the materials that are dredged out of the ponds is considered hazardous and how the waste would be disposed of. Erickson stated that sampling will be completed ahead of time to know what will need to be done with the waste. A pond located in the Evermoor subdivision, located off of Danube Lane and Daffodil Path, is filling up with the chip rock from road maintenance and Demuth questioned if there is a solution to keep it out of the ponds. Watson explained that there is an alternate process called micro-seal but the city uses a process called chip-seal/sealcoat with small fragments of rock and oil to seal the roads. The City of Rosemount is part of a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with the City of Burnsville, and Erickson was unaware if micro-seal is an option included. Staff later confirmed that micro-seal is not part of the JPA. 7.c. Splash Pad Water Reuse The splash pad water uses 9-11 million gallons a year of potable city water. When the splash pad was constructed the plan was to reuse the discharged water for irrigation at Erickson Park. The engineering company, WSB, monitored the water levels in the pond and determined that this is no longer feasible due to the water infiltrating too quickly. The city had applied for grants from both the Metropolitan Council and the Vermillion River Watershed Joint Power Organization (VRWJPO) to assist financially to recirculate the splash pad water; neither of the grants were awarded. Demuth requested that the 2019 budget be modified to include the construction of a retro-fit recirculation system for the splash pad. Erickson and Watson explained that the 2019 budget had already been submitted and it would not be feasible to add it to 2019. The total cost of the project is projected to be $500,000, based on a 2016 estimate. Watson explained that the city completed a return on investment analysis, and it came back with a 12-year return on investment period even with a grant (nearly 20 years without the grant). The city would most likely not receive a reasonable return on investment in the recirculation system’s lifetime. Erickson expressed concern that if the recirculation system was installed, the splash pad would be out of service for a whole season and the residents would not be pleased. Demuth would like to make a recommendation that the city budget for 2020 include the splash pad modification to recirculate the water and the city to continue applying for grants as they become available. Motion by Demuth Second by Cahn Motion to take the recommendation to Council for it to be added to the 2020 budget in the amount of $300,000, hoping that the dollar amount will be matched with a grant. Motion carried. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT 8.a. City Projects Update Erickson gave an overview of all of the ongoing projects within the city.  Greystone 7th is a new project with an additional 46 single family homes.  Private Streets / Public Utilities development in the Harmony areas. Most of the utilities work is completed.  Meadow Ridge is planning to have 154 single family homes. The first phase will be in the range of 30-40 homes. This project will have a temporary lift station to address the needs for the north central area. The developer is responsible for the cost of the temporary lift station. Demuth questioned if the city has a calculation for the population capacity to maximum water available that shows when the next well will need to be built. Erickson stated that calculation has not been reviewed recently. For City Project Updates, Demuth requested to also see well updates. Erickson gave a brief overview of the current wells.  Well 4 has a new logger added; Erickson will be setting up a meeting with Summit to decide what the next step will be. Watson later confirmed the logger is working and we are getting usable data. 8.b. Set Next Meeting Agenda for July 16, 2018 No agenda discussed. OTHER UPDATES ADJOURNMENT Demuth adjourned the meeting at 7:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jessie Barikmo Public Works Secretary