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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20210125 UC Minutes UTILITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES January 25, 2021 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 January 25, 2021, at 5:31 p.m. virtually via Zoom. Commissioner Cahn called meeting to order with Commissioner Demuth, Commissioner Rome, Mayor Droste, City Administrator Martin, Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson, and Recording Secretary Paque. Guests attending the meeting included Johnny Anderson with Rachio. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA None AUDIENCE INPUT None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Demuth Second by Cahn Motion to approve the minutes of the November 23, 2020 Utility Commission meeting. Ayes: 3 Nays: 0. Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS None OLD BUSINESS 6.a. Water Efficiency and Stormwater Rebate Update Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson briefly went over the rebate activity. Commissioner Cahn requested an agenda item at the next meeting to discuss using up the grant money from Met Council. The current grant program runs until 2022. Commissioner Cahn stated that he would like to discontinue the stormwater rebate program due to the inactivity. Commissioner Demuth disagreed and would like to look at increasing the rebate dollar amounts and education for the residents on the options. There will be an agenda item at the next meeting to discuss the advertisement and increasing the stormwater rebate dollar amounts. Administrator Martin recommended inviting the City’s Communication s Coordinator, Lee Stoffel, to a future meeting to discuss advertisement tactics on the City’s social media pages. NEW BUSINESS 7.a. Smart Irrigation Controllers Presentation Commissioner Cahn introduced Johnny Anderson with Rachio. Mr. Anderson presented information to commissioners and staff on Rachio irrigation controllers and the conservation benefits. Rachio’s smart irrigation controllers have a weather intelligence feature that connects to over 300,000 personal weathers stations, satellite data, and radar data. That is one feature that will trigger to system to adjust the watering schedule and duration, saving water. Mr. Anderson briefly discussed 4 other Minnesota cities that have partnered with Rachio. The cities buy smart irrigation controllers in bulk and sell them to their residents at a reduced price. Anderson discussed other ways that Rachio could assist Rosemount as a future program. If residents currently have a Rachio Smart irrigation controller and are looking to find out if they have broken irrigation heads, they would have to install a flow meter. Flow meters generally cost $200-$250, not including installation costs. Commissioners asked Mr. Anderson questions on the pricing of the communications feature for reaching out the residents that are not following the water ing ordinance. 7.b. Stormwater Pond Maintenance Project Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson briefly discussed the current pond project. The contractor has started accessing the pond sites in preparation for the work. Commissioners requested to see the prioritized list of ponds that need maintenance at the March 2021 Utility Commission meeting. 7.c. Set Meeting Dates for 2021 -2022 Motion by Rome, Second by Demuth Motion to approve the meetings dates for 2021-2022 Ayes: 3 Nays: 0. Motion carried. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT 8.a. City Project Update Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson provided the Commission with a memo regarding ongoing projects. Commissioners and staff discussed the Autumn Fields development and the landscaping plans. 8.b. Well Pumping Report Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson presented the current well pumping records and called attention to the increase in water usage compared to 2019. In 2019, one of the well meters was not working properly so the usage was not tracked for part of the first quarter of the year. With more residents being home in 2020 due to COVID-19, this also reflected an increase in water usage for 2020. Mayor Droste suggested adjusting the 2019 numbers due to one of the wells being down in early 2019. Making this adjustment will decrease the difference to be more accurate. Commissioners and Mayor Droste requested to see the actual revenues verse the 2020 budget predictions. 8.c. Action Item / Issues List i. MET Council Well Assessment Staff will be reviewing information over the winter to establish the need for expanding the current well system. ii. Smart Meter Update Staff has been in contact with Apple Valley to discuss their experiences with smart meters. When time allows, staff will work on establishing a meter replacement program. iii. Water Usage for 2020 Staff will provide an update on the highest usages at the February 2021 meeting. iv. Tour of a Water Tower Erickson explained due to COVID-19 concerns, the tour will be postponed until spring 2021. v. Five Year Pond Maintenance Plan Plan will be presented at the March 2021 meeting as a separate item. Smart Well Field Commissioners requested that this additional item be added to the list to have an update on at future meetings. 8.d. Set Meeting Agenda for February 22, 2021 Commissioners requested that the following items be added to the next agenda: • Discuss ways to use up the Water Efficiency grant money from Met Council • Status update for the 5-Year Pond Plan with a completion date of the March 2021 meeting • Future Water Supply & Municipal Well Siting – Commissioner Demuth will be inviting a guest speaker for this item. • 2020 Water Quality Monitoring Program Report with Bill Alms as guest speaker. • 2020 Projected Water Revenue versus Actual ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Cahn adjourned the meeting at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jessie Paque Recording Secretary