Loading...
03-09-98 CCCITY OF OTSEGO WRIGHT COUNTY, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING 6:30 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS OTSEGO CITY HALL MARCH 9, 1998 1. Mayor Larry Fournier will call meeting to order: Mayor Fournier called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM a_ Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Fournier led in the Pledge of Allegiance h. Roll Call: Mayor Larry Fournier; Councilmembers: Mark Berning, Vern Heidner, Virginia Wendel, Suzanne Ackerman. Staff: Mike Robertson, City Administrator; Elaine Beatty, City Clerk/Zoning Administrator; Judy Hudson, Deputy Clerk; Andrew MacArthur, City Attorney; John Harwood, City Engineer; Mayor Fournier requested the following: Add under Item 7.4. NAC Letter on Moratorium Exemption Remove Item 9.4. and place under Item 7.5.b. Add under Item 9.3. Sub -grant agreement for FEMA CM Heidner motioned adoption of the March 9, 1998 City Council Agenda as amended. Seconded by CM Ackerman. All in favor. Motion carried. a. City Council Workshop of February 19, 1998_ CM Berning motioned adoption of February 19, 1998 City Council Workshop Minutes. Seconded by CM Heidner. All in favor. Motion carried. b. Regular Council Meeting of February 23, 1998_ Mayor Fournier motioned adoption of the February 23, 1998 City Council Meeting Minutes. Seconded by CM Berning All in favor. Motion carried. 4. Open Forum: 4.1. Special presentation& A- Leo Offerman, Key Account Executive, Wright -Hennepin Electric Discussion of Wright -Hennepin Electric items. The primary reason Leo Offerman attended the meeting was to explain the possible electric deregulation. This possible deregulation will give consumers a choice of a power suppliers. This will may happen by year 2000 or 2001. Mr. Offerman stated that Wright Hennepin supports deregulation. But, he said consumers should use caution. He briefly explained how deregulation might work. SEWER COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, FEB. 26,1998 DAYTON SENIOR CENTER 6:00 P.M. PAGE 2 MPCA LETTER Mayor Forseth opened up the discussion regarding the letter. Mike Robertson stated that he had talked to Ted Fields of Bonestroo & Assoc., and David Sahli of the MPCA about this letter. (This letter is attached to the end of the minutes). Mike Robertson then went through every point in the letter as it was explained to him and understood by him. Item Number: 1. Otsego will probably not be seeking a loan for this project. The loans would be more geared towards the cities that are servicing existing developments. Otesgo will be primarily serving new developments. However, Dayton will be primarily servicing an existing development. This would mean that Dayton would be more likely to be placed higher on the priority list for the loans that are available for sanitary sewer projects. Dayton should apply separately according to Otsego. Anne Ziebell asked if Dayton's chances of receiving a loan will decrease because Otsego will not be applying for the same loan being that this is a joint project between the two cities. Mike Robertson answered that it was his understanding that it would not decrease Dayton's chances at all. The loan would take into consideration new development vs. existing development. Dayton will be servicing existing development, therefore Dayton has a better chance of receiving a loan than Otsego. Mayor Forseth asked what the percentage rate on a loan like this one would be to the residents. Mike Robertson said that it would be between '/z to 3/4 of a percent. Councilmember Heidner stated that it would not be worth it for Otsego to apply for this loan because of the way they would fall in the ranking classification. Councilmember Hartman stated that if Dayton was awarded this loan, Dayton could then bond for other projects. Mayor Fournier added that there is a 18 month interest free period on this loan. 2. & 3. These items do not really apply to Otsego anymore because they relate to the state loan program. Mark Hanson stated that Dan Hartman of Springsted. Inc., is putting together the financial numbers for Dayton on a worst case scenario basis. 4. It was stated that Otsego would not allow future developments to build their own package plants to service their developments without approval of their site plans. All future development is to be serviced by the municipal plant where applicable. 5. Otsego is in the process of updating their Comprehensive Plan. During this process, they will be looking at the issues that are presented as a result of this sewer plant. 6. It is to be performed under a contract agreement, or a user agreement. 7. Revolving Loan Fund. SEWER COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, FEB. 26,1998 DAYTON SENIOR CENTER 6:00 P.M. PAGE 3 8.& 9. Mike said that Ted Fields has already addressed the issues under 8 & 9. Mark Hanson stated that he did discuss this letter with Ted Fields. Apparently a worksheet was never sent out. Mark added that under #9, Yes the plant will be required to have those features. The costs for these features are in the plans. Redundancy will continue in the 2nd phase. 10. This item is related to the loan program. It will apply in Dayton's favor because of the environmental need. Otsego will be servicing only a small portion that would be classified as environmental need. Mayor Forseth added that this need basis would be similar to the need basis that was used to bring sanitary sewer to Diamond Lake in Dayton. Mark Hanson stated that it would be an identical process to Diamond Lake. Mayor Fournier asked Mike Robertson if he could provide some kind of documentation of his conversation with the MPCA. Mike replied that he has already put it in writing and that a copy has been mailed to Dayton. 11. The MPCA is asking for sludge application sites. Mayor Forseth asked if there were any other questions or comments regarding the letter from the MPCA. Mark Hanson stated that it would be good to send a response from both cities to the MPCA stating that they received the letter and it is being discussed. SLABTOWN.• Mayor Forseth began by saying that there has been a lot of recent discussion about including Slabtown (Wright County portion of Dayton) in the sewer project. There has been a signed petition from all of the residents in Slabtown, except one, who want sewer extended to their neighborhood. Mayor Forseth asked if any of the Otsego residents near Slabtown would be interested in being included in the sewer project. Otsego did not plan on servicing their residents near and around the plant because there seemed to be no interest. Mayor Forseth stated that Dayton would be having meetings in the near future with the Slabtown residents. Mayor Fournier stated that providing sewer to Slabtown should probably not be a problem. Mayor Forseth asked if a gravity feed line could be used to service Slabtown. Councilmember Hartman asked if there were any maps to serve as visual aids for this meeting. At this time, Mark Hanson took out a map that showed the Old Village, Slabtown, and the portion of Otsego where the sewer plant will be built. Mark showed the map of the basic sewer plan for this project. There were three options on this map in which Slabtown could be serviced. First was the option to have a gravity line with one grinder pump. The second option was to have a lift station built to serve Slabtown. The third option was to create a siphon under the Crow River with a force main, then pump back to the plant. Mike Robertson informed Dayton that Otsego has changed their plans regarding the way SEWER COMMITTEE MEETING DAYTON SENIOR CENTER PAGE 4 THURSDAY, FEB. 26,1998 6:00 P.M. that they want to have the main pipe enter the plant. They want to use an 8 inch force main coming down along 165th Street. Mark Hanson said that Dayton may need to build two lift stations which would pump to the same force main. He then added that Dayton may want to look at building a telemeter system to monitor these lift stations. The lift stations could be monitored by either the public works department or the police department. Mark Hanson stated that some easements in Otsego for Dayton's sewer will be acquired by Otsego. Mayor Forseth asked if the main sewer lines could follow the road. Mark Hanson said that the plan would be to follow the road, then tie in with Otsego's line. The benefit of this option would have to be evaluated compared to other options which may benefit other parts of Dayton to be serviced in the future. Councilmember Heidner asked how far out is development to the south of the Old Village. Mark Hanson said that it could be up to 10 years before development occurred. Mayor Forseth stated that there will be a development sketch plan presented to the Dayton Planning Commission in April regarding development south of the Old Village. Mike Robertson said that all of their easements will be acquired by the 90 day quick tag method. Councilmember Hartman asked what easements were being referred to in earlier discussion. Mike Robertson said that all easements were being referred to. About 160 properties will be affected. The Otsego City Council is willing to negotiate with all land owners that are involved. Mark Hanson asked if the force main in Otsego would be built in 1999. Mike Robertson answered by saying that it would be up to the engineers on the timing. Mayor Fournier responded that he hopes the plant is equipped and running by August of 1999. Mayor Forseth stated that it may be the best long-term solution to provide gravity feed from the plant if development occurs. Mark Hanson agreed with Mayor Forseth's comment, coming from the east may be the most efficient. Mayor Fournier asked if Slabtown was to be served, would the Otsego residents have the choice whether or not to hook up to the sewer. Mayor Forseth relied yes, that decision would be left up to the Otsego City Council. Councilmember Hartman asked what the pink line on the map represented. Mark Hanson said that it was a crossing of the Crow River for future development. Mayor Forseth stated that it would not be fair if the residents of the old Village would have to pay for future development. The city should not subsidize future developers. Councilmember Hartman then said that Dayton should get the best deal possible and build the best possible system at this time. Mayor Forseth said that he didn't think that the residents of the Old Village should have to pay for the southern development. He also noted that they have a difference in opinion. Councilmember Ziebell said that costs would explode if the plant is built to service the future development. Councilmember Heidner added that the additional expense would be forced onto the Otsego residents and that he would object to this. Councilmember Hartman said that a second gravity line should be placed on the plans. Councilmember Heidner said that Otsego would not do this because Otsego has no SEWER COMMITTEE MEETING DAYTON SENIOR CENTER PAGE 5 THURSDAY, FEB. 26,1998 6:00 P.M. ' plans of developing near the site of the plant. Mayor Fournier added that the idea would cost too much and that option had been looked at. Otsego then looked at the second alternative, this is the one that they have been discussing. Mayor Forseth said that the current residents would be forced to pay the expense of future development and that Otsego does not want that. Councilmember Hartman asked why Otsego does not participate in the gravity line. Mayor Forseth stated that the Otsego City Council does not want to be involved with that right now. USER AGREEMENT: Mayor Forseth opened the discussion on the user agreement issue. Councilmember Heidner said that the mayors of both cities, administrators of both cities, and attorneys from both cites should develop a user agreement. Councilmember Ziebell agreed with that statement. All others were also in agreement. Councilmember Ziebell asked about future easements, and where they get put into the user agreement. Councilmember Heidner said that Dayton would have to pay for the easements at the time of future development. Otsego could get whatever easements Dayton needed in the future but Dayton would have to pay for them. There could be some restrictions, such as timing between the cities. OTHER: Mike Robertson said that Dayton's hook-up charges seem low. He wanted to make sure that Dayton was figuring the numbers correctly. Dayton is aware of all the costs, water will not be included in this price. Mayor Forseth said that there will be a $2,300 charge for plant connection and a $7,500 charge for other assessments including trunk/lateral sanitary sewer and street costs. Councilmember Heidner broke down the costs in Otsego; $2,766 sewer fee, $2,858 water fee, and $2,105 sewer main trunk charge. The developer would the be responsible for the cost of hooking up and running the lines from the sewer stub. Mayor Forseth stated that the numbers are not favorable in Dayton to provide water. The costs could potentially double. Councilmember Heidner stated that the costs in Otsego are low, because the pipes will be in the ground before the roads are built. Road improvements are not included in their costs, unlike the case in Dayton. Mayor Fournier thought that it would be a good idea for the two city administrators to set up a date for the user agreement committee to meet. Mike Robertson said that Otsego will bill Dayton for sanitary service, then Dayton could bill their residents. Mark Hanson asked how big the water tanks were going to be. Mike Robertson said that the first tower would be 400,000 gallons, when a second tower is built, it could potentially be 500,000 gallons. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Forseth opened the meeting for public comments. The first question was; If Slabtown is to be served, would the costs in the Old Village go up? Mark Hanson stated that the numbers may need to be re-examined. The next question was; Why is Slabtown even being SEWER COMMITTEE MEETING DAYTON SENIOR CENTER PAGE 6 THURSDAY, FEB. 26,1998 6:00 P.M. considered in this project? Mayor Forseth replied that it is a part of Dayton that is interested in being serviced and is part of the city's jurisdiction. The next question was; We thought that this sewer project was to be a done deal, why is development south of the Old Village being talked about? Mayor Forseth stated that development would probably only occur during the next phases of the plant expansion. Councilmember Hartman asked when development will be planned? Mayor Forseth stated during the next expansion. Councilmember Hartman stated that development should be planned for now and possibly even implemented during this first phase. Councilmember Heidner added that Dayton will not be able to obtain anymore capacity during phase one. He also added that some of the Otsego City Council did not think that Dayton should not even get that much capacity because of the length of time that Dayton has taken to made a decision about sewer. Councilmember Heidner asked what size lots are in Slabtown. Mark Hanson said that the lots are shaped just like the ones in the Old Village. Most of them are 40'x 100', some people own 2 or 3 lots, some even own a whole block. He also said that it would be hard to find a buildable lot without having sanitary sewer available. Another question was asked. Are the numbers for the Old village still on a worst case scenario basis? Mark Hanson said that it is still a fair number. It would include sewer and street patching. Another question was asked. When would this project begin? Mark Hanson said that the residents of the Old Village and Slabtown would need to have another meeting or two to go over the project plans. After that, a feasibility study would be requested within 2-3 months. Building could begin in May of 1999 and the sewer plant could be operational by August 1999. Mayor Fournier asked how soon would Dayton need to know the intentions of the Otsego residents near Slabtown. Mike Robertson said that Otsego would need to have a meeting with all residents that would be affected. The plant plans would then need to reviewed and possibly modified, but a decision to include Slabtown must first be made. Mayor Forseth said that Dayton will need to facilitate a meeting with the residents of Slabtown. Mike Robertson suggested that the Otsego representatives and residents could also attend that meeting. Councilmember Hartman asked if the costs for the right -of- way have been factored into the cost of the project for Dayton. Mark Hanson said that they have not. Each resident could expect to pay another $50.00 to cover those costs. Councilmember Hartman asked why Otsego is not willing to move the plant closer to Wright County Road 36. Councilmember Heidner stated that that location would not help serve the needs of the Otsego residents. Otsego would prefer to move the plant closer to State Highway 101 but they are helping Dayton's needs. Mayor Forseth asked if there were anymore questions or comments. Seeing none, Mayor Forseth closed the meeting. The meeting was then adjourned.