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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20190617 UC Minutes UTILITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES June 17, 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 June 17, 2019, at 5:34 p.m. in the Upper Conference Room, City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. Commissioner Demuth called meeting to order with Commissioners Cahn and Rome, Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson, and Recording Secretary Barikmo. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA None AUDIENCE INPUT APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Rome Second by Cahn Motion to approve the minutes of the May 20, 2019 Utility Commission meeting. Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS 7.a. MS4 Scope of Services Erickson gave a brief summary of the MS4 services and the costs. The expenses are budgeted in the Storm Water Utility fund. Commissioner Rome questioned if the amount of $29,405 is standard. Erickson confirmed and added that some of it is reimbursable based on the actual cost incurred by WSB. Staff is looking to bring more of the tasks in house since the Storm Water Specialist has started. Motion by Cahn Second by Rome Motion to recommend City Council approval of the 2019 MS4 Scope of Services. Motion carried. 7.b. Streetlight Utility Erickson gave an introduction to the streetlight utility. Rosemount is one of the few cities in Dakota County that does not have a street light utility. Property owners would pay approximately $31 a year. It would fund what the city pays to Xcel and Dakota Electric for electricity and maintenance. There are about 171 city-owned street lights that would also be included. Cahn questioned what the disadvantages of streetlight utility would be. Erickson explained that there would be an additional fee on the utility bill. Rural residents may disagree with the fee if they don’t have a street light near their residence. Rural residents would benefit by driving through town and the promotion of safety in the community. 7.c. Drainage & Utility Easement Erickson gave a brief summary of the easement policy and provided examples of properties with larger easements. The City currently does not have a policy in place. Adopting the policy would provide guidance to Public Works staff to determine when obstructions to the City’s storm water and drainage and utility easements should be removed. Commissioner Cahn wondered how it will be handled if the property owner does not remove the obstruction within the 30 days of notice. Erickson explained that the City will remove it and charge the property owner. The City will then restore the area with top-soil and seed. The City will not install sod. The property owner is responsible for watering the new seed. Once the policy has been approved by Council, it will be available for viewing on the City’s website. Draft of policy will be going to City Council Work Session on July 2, 2019 for discussion. Motion by Cahn Second by Rome Motion to recommend City Council adopt the Private Obstructions within City Easements Policy. Motion carried. 7.c. Water Conservation Efforts Commissioner Cahn requested that staff look into implementing smart irrigation meters. Commissioner Demuth explained that the smart irrigation controllers are not as reliable as manufacturers claim. Demuth added that the University of Minnesota recommends that users operate the irrigation system manually. Some controllers will still irrigate yards after significant rainfall. Commissioner Rome expressed that there shouldn’t be irrigation meters. Residents should have to pay for full rates for water used to irrigate to promote conservation. Commissioner Demuth spoke with the City of Woodbury about their conservation efforts. The City of Woodbury’s goal is to not use any more water than they used in 2015, despite continued growth. Woodbury is also ticketing their residents and businesses for watering on the wrong day. Commissioner Demuth questioned what is being done to promote the current smart irrigation control rebate. Public Works Secretary Barikmo explained there have been a few applications received in 2019 and there is about $4,000 left in funds. Staff is not actively promoting the rebate at this time. Commissioners requested that the rebate information be posted on Facebook and Nextdoor. Commissioner Demuth inquired if Utility Billing could include the application as an insert for the next water bill. Demuth stated that the City of Woodbury is funding commercial irrigation audits but not residential. Demuth suggested that Rosemount conduct residential audits. The University of Minnesota suspects that every irrigation system has at least one broken sprinkler head. The City of Rosemount could add more information on their website about types of sprinkler heads with the pros and cons. Commissioners requested that staff to put together a list of the top 20% water users. Commissioner would like letters sent to the top users and include the irrigation controller rebate with it. Demuth requested to have the well pumping report at the next meeting to see the effects from the recent storms. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT 8.a. City Projects Update Erickson gave an overview of some of the ongoing projects within the city. - Meadow Ridge 1 and 2 (2018-08 & 2018-20) – Water main has been extended. - Bonaire Path (2018-03) – Project is underway and road is currently closed. Water main is being installed. - Greystone – Development finishing 2019. - Adalyn Avenue (2019-10) – Design is complete. Construction proposed to take place this fall. - McMenomy – Lot split has been completed. - Dunmore 2 & Dunmore Lift Station (2018-13 & 2019-12) – Utilities are being installed. Force main for lift station will be installed by the Dunmore contractor. 8.b. Wastewater Reuse Update Erickson gave brief summary of the wastewater facility. City Administrator Martin, Community Development Director Lindquist, and Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson have meeting with the Metropolitan Council the week of June 24th. 8.c. Set Next Meeting Agenda for July 15, 2019. OTHER UPDATES ADJOURNMENT Demuth adjourned the meeting at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jessie Barikmo Public Works Secretary