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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20190225 UC Minutes UTILITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES February 25, 2019 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 February 25, 2019, at 5:32 p.m. in the Upper Conference Room, City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. Commissioner Demuth called meeting to order with Commissioners Cahn and Nelson, Mayor Droste, City Administrator Martin, Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson, Recording Secretary Barikmo, and GreenCorps Member Jes Braun. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA None AUDIENCE INPUT APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Nelson Second by Cahn Motion to approve the minutes of the January 14, 2019 Utility Commission meeting with a change to the section “Other Updates”. Staff and Commissioners are only aware of the City of Northfield utilizing the second meters within the metro area. Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS 7.a. Rain Garden Policy Recommendation Jes Braun, Green Corps Member, gave presentation to commissioners and staff on rain gardens. Braun informed how many rain gardens that are currently in Rosemount. In 2014, there was a restoration project with Flint Hills that included installation of a rain garden. Three other rain gardens were recently put in along Danbury Way. Braun is also working with the Rosemount High School to put in a raingarden with their outdoor classroom. Braun wanted to see what the commissioners thoughts were about introducing a policy to residents to credit their utility bill for installing a qualifying raingarden, rain barrel, or native plantings. All of the options would slow the influx of storm water on the stormwater system. Commissioner Cahn explained that the City of Eagan took an active role with promoting raingardens. The City of Eagan mailed letters to residents telling them that if the resident would like a raingarden, the City would come and complete the curb cuts where the garden would go. The resident would then be responsible for planting the garden. Braun mentioned that there is a program with Dakota County. She is currently working on promoting the program within the City. Landowners would receive a $250 Landscaping for Clean Water grant as well as technical assistance provided by the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District. Commissioners and Braun discussed the idea of working with developers and planning where raingardens would go during the planning stages. The most effective part of raingardens is the wood chips. The wood chips collect the salts. There are some studies that show salt is found within the raingarden, especially ones located next to a highway. In this case, plants and wood chips would need to be replaced periodically. Raingardens can tolerate salts for a long time due to the woodchips. On average, it takes about 3 years for a raingarden to be self-sufficient. Maintenance includes weeding and making sure your plants develop an adequate root system. Erickson explained that this was a discussion-only item to see if the commission would support the idea. Since commissioners are in favor of the item, staff and Braun will look into the idea further and draft a policy. Mayor Droste recommended promoting the rain gardens with the Arbor Day event in the beginning of May 2019. 7.b. Mayor’s Water Challenge Erickson gave brief overview of the 8th Annual Mayor’s Water Challenge. The Water Challenge is an educational opportunity for residents on water usage. To participate in the challenge, residents have a month to sign up (April 1 through April 30). City Administrator Martin explained that if Mayor Droste and a representative from the Utility Commission would like, the Cable Commission would be able to be to create a short promotional video. Videos are better received by viewers on social media. Commissioners would like to make a recommendation to Alan Cox, Communications Coordinator, to publish this on social media. Commissioners discussed attending the Arbor Day event in the beginning of May to promote the Water Challenge, smart meters, and rain barrels. The event typically starts at 9AM and lasts about 90 minutes. 7.c. Water Supply, Sewer & Surface Water Comprehensive Plan Discussion Demuth questioned why the Surface Water Plan is not listed with the other Comprehensive Plans on the City’s website. Erickson will work with the Senior Planner in Community Development to have the website updated to include the Surface Water Plan. Demuth mentioned that she tested the water at her home faucet for manganese. She mentioned that there is a health concern with manganese. Droste stated that when City staff tests the water, it is sampled directly from the well. At the well, the water meets the standards. If the City of Rosemount had a treatment plant, the water would be at appropriate levels. Demuth and Droste briefly discussed if there is a type of treatment plant that would do best in Rosemount. Droste recommended to Demuth to put together a document for Council showing them the water levels that are not meeting standards. Droste explained with the Umore Development coming along, it would be a good time to look into hiring a consultant for a water treatment facility. Commissioners and staff will look into touring a treatment facility. Demuth made a recommendation to staff to not drill so deep for the next well. The deeper the well, the higher the radium levels are. WATER SUPPLY PLAN In table 5 of the Water Supply Plan, Demuth questioned why 2017’s data isn’t entered. Erickson explained when the table was put together, they most likely did not have all of the data at the time. Staff will provide the numbers for Commissioners if data is available. Demuth would also like the column, “Average Day per Capita Use”, to be widened to see the entire text. On page 14 at the bottom of the page, it talks about the new well citing study completed in 2005. Cahn wanted to know when that should be done again. Erickson stated that once the Comp Plans are completed, staff plans on looking into the next well location. Drilling the next well will be development driven, there is not a firm time frame. In sections 5.2.2 and 6.4, Demuth would like staff to look further into the data and update sections. The City of Coates has received a grant from Dakota County to complete a feasibility study related to their nitrate levels. One of the options out of the study is to potentially connect to the City of Rosemount’s water supply. AE2S is completing the feasibility study for the City of Coates. Demuth would like to see a section written about how the MET Council spent $100,000 on a report from HDR to help with the declining aquifer levels. The MET Council has a map that shows the projected decline in the aquifer levels. HDR’s report provided alternatives for the City’s water supply. The City of Woodbury’s Water Plan has a section detailing how they will try to conserve water. Demuth would like to see a section in the City’s Water Plan that details water conservation. Demuth went through the City of Woodbury’s Water Plan and noted items she thought would be appropriate additions to the City of Rosemount’s Water Plan. Demuth would also like the City to pursue grants to help pay for water supply and quality issues. Mayor Droste recommended having Utility Billing include inserts in utility bills on how to get rebates. Commissioners discussed switching out the road salt section for the utility rebates on the current insert. Cahn discussed that more research needs to be completed on a water treatment facility. A water treatment facility will potentially come online in 2023. Erickson stated that no design work has been started. Some concept level planning has begun, but this not considered preliminary design. SURFACE WATER SECTION Demuth pointed out the outdated aquifer name in section two on the second page of the Surface Water Plan. The name should be updated to “Tunnel City”. In section 2.7.2., as part of the MS4 permit, Demuth would like to include testing for ortho phosphorus. In recent reports there are been high chloride levels (1,080 ml). Demuth would like the plan to state the issue and how it is going to be resolved. The data should be included in the plan as well. Section 2.7.3, the word “be” is missing in the sentence. The Wellhead Protection Plan needs to be updated every 10 years. Commissioners agreed whenever a new well is added, the wellhead protection plan needs to be updated. Demuth went through the City of Woodbury’s Plan and noted items, specifically on page 224, she thought would be appropriate additions to the City of Rosemount’s Surface Water Plan. SANITARY SEWER SECTION Commissioner Cahn mentioned on paged 2, the construction costs should be updated. According to the plan, they were last updated in 2007. Commissioners agreed that overall plan needs to be updated with current dates and information. Commissioner Cahn noted that the numbers on page 6 and page 10 are different for the ISTS (Individual Septic Treatment Systems). Demuth explained that they are now referred to as SSTS (subsurface sewage treatment systems). Acronym for should be updated in new plan. Commissioner Cahn questioned what the storm water utilities are built to withstand. Erickson verified that ponds are built for 100-year storm and pipes are built for 10-year storm. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT 8.a. City Projects Update Erickson gave an overview of some of the ongoing projects within the city. Developments looking to start up in the Spring:  Bonaire Path – Bids for project will be completed in Spring 2019. Plan set should be done soon. Pavement and water main will be extended.  Biscayne Ave – Project is anticipated for 2020. Infrastructure will be extended as part of the project.  UMore Development – PUD has been approved.  Meadow Ridge 2nd – Expecting designs to be submitted soon  Cliff Property - Lenar is looking to closing on the remaining Cliff parcel.  Dunmore 2 – This phase is on-hold by the Developer. o Developer has not sealed the well in old well house.  2019 Street Improvement Project 8.b. Set Next Meeting Agenda for March 18, 2019. Commissioners would like to discuss the second meter at a future meeting. OTHER UPDATES ADJOURNMENT Demuth adjourned the meeting at 7:51p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jessie Barikmo Public Works Secretary