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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-04 UC MINi 1 INki ater THE OIRTHELACE OF MINNESOTA UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING November 4, 2021 8:00 A.M. Utilities Superintendent Benson called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Present: Chairman Speedling, Commissioners Hudak (arrived at 8:10 a.m.) Whitcomb, Councilmember Polehna Absent: Commissioners Hutter and Jensen Staff: Utilities Superintendent Benson, Public Works Director Sanders APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of minutes of August 12. 2021 meeting No vote taken due to lack of a quorum. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. NEW BUSINESS White Bear Lake Court Case Update - David Sienko - Levander Gillen Miller PA Attorney David Sienko, Levander Gillen & Miller, updated the Commission on the White Bear Lake court case. He said that at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) the judge granted the homeowner associations full party status in the current litigation against the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for water appropriation permit amendments. Commissioner Whitcomb asked if there is any way to get the City of Stillwater removed from this case by either shutting down one of its wells or re -drilling a well outside the five -mile perimeter. Mr. Sienko said he will talk about that option last. Another issue is the DNR, in a letter dated 10-21-21, requested a voluntary irrigation ban because the level of White Bear Lake dropped below the trigger elevation. The consensus amongst lawyers in this case who are acting on behalf of other communities whose permits were amended, is to not enact a voluntary ban. However, an unrelated ordinance amendment will go to the City Council this Tuesday enacting an odd -even restriction during summer months. He anticipates a closed session soon with the City Council to discuss a Common Interest Agreement circulating among lawyers involved in the case, allowing them to discuss the case and protecting those communications from discovery by other parties like the homeowner associations. He will recommend that the City sign off on this agreement to protect the attorney -to -attorney communications. Public Works Director Sanders stated that the DNR has done modeling showing that if every city within the five -mile radius enacts an irrigation ban, it would not do anything to keep or raise the lake level of White Bear Lake. The DNR has determined that if cities reduce their water usage by 40%, that would keep White Bear Lake at adequate levels. Reducing water usage by almost half would significantly impact the City of Stillwater. He said to keep in mind that an irrigation ban would only be for residential users. Big industrial users will be able to continue watering like there was no ban. Mr. Sienko continued. The DNR started holding meetings a few weeks ago regarding communities outside the five -mile radius including Woodbury, Lake Elmo and Oakdale and all the permits they Utilities Commission Meeting November 4, 2021 believe have an impact on White Bear Lake. They are looking at reducing current actual water usage (not the appropriate permit amount) by 40%. The big unknown is how the DNR will try to split this pie among all the municipalities. This group of permit holders is much bigger and more complex than those in the litigation. It appears that the DNR is looking for a legislative solution. The City of Stillwater may want to start talking to legislators to figure out how to solve this. It would take a lot of funding to come up with a system to solve the problem. Commissioner Hudak asked if Mr. Sienko has seen the models to determine if Stillwater is really impacting White Bear Lake. Mr. Sienko replied the DNR has only shared the powerpoint in the packet but the City will ultimately acquire the models that the DNR is using in the context of the litigation. The next step may be to hire a hydrogeology firm to help the involved cities do their own modeling. Commissioner Hudak remarked the DNR's actions could be viewed as posturing for additional revenue from the legislature or fees from cities. Regarding the question of whether or not to relocate Well #11, the well that is within five feet of the original five -mile radius, Mr. Sanders explained that it would cost $600,000-650,000 to drill a new well, plus the cost of capping or sealing the existing well. The TKDA engineer recommended getting at least 5-10 feet outside the boundary. Mr. Sienko added that the problem is, it is not known if doing that will solve the litigation problem. The original litigation involves the City's whole permit even though only one well is within the radius. So it might not matter whether the City moves Well #11. Discussion on Late Payment Fee Mr. Sanders explained that the Finance Department has been working on combining the sewer and water billing into one statement. Under the water department billing, late payments incur a $10 penalty, and under the City utility billing (sewer storm and signs and lighting), late payments incur a $25 penalty. With one billing statement, the finance department has recommended that the flat fee be eliminated and a late payment of 10% be charged on the balance. Once charged the late payment would then be divided equally and placed into the appropriate fund account. This new late payment would go into effect after the first of the year when the combined billing begins. Staff recommends that the Commission approve the late payment fee recommended by the Finance department. Motion by Commissioner Whitcomb seconded by Chairman Speedling to recommend that the City add a straight 10% fee for late payment onto utility bills. and explore administrative fees that would be added at the point where it would have to be added to property taxes. All in favor. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Superintendent Benson stated that two bids of $17,800 and $15,000 were received to insulate the water service of Roger Ryan, who came before the Commission in March. Mr. Ryan will come back to December meeting for further discussion. DIRECTOR/SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE Monthly Update - Gallons Pumped Mr. Benson stated there were 49,781 gallons pumped in October, 663 million gallons this year to date. Commercial versus Residential Rates Mr. Sanders said the Finance Department pointed out that residential properties are on a tiered system for water use but commercial properties have a rate based on the time of year. With the new billing system the months don't jive with the quarterly billing system. A rate study for commercial Page 2 of 3 Utilities Commission Meeting November 4, 2021 properties may be a good idea. The other thing they brought up is that the commercial properties don't have a base fee like residential properties have. Commissioner Hudak remarked he would advocate for a tiered program based on usage for commercial users. Mr. Sanders said staff also would like to explore ways to save for eventual replacement of aging infrastructure. Perhaps the City can set aside an allotment out of the reserve fund every year to create a mechanism to help fund these replacements. He will bring info on this to the next meeting. COMMISSIONER ITEMS Chairman Speedling noted that the next meeting is December 9. Councilmember Polehna asked what is the security at the pump stations? Mr. Benson replied with the SCADA system upgrade next year will come improved security. A couple of the newer stations have alarms that go off when the door opens. Commissioner Hudak asked the rationale behind sidewalk replacement in varying widths. He noticed some motorized wheelchairs have to go into the street in places due to narrow sidewalks. Mr. Sanders answered it is a cost issue to replace all the sidewalks and not all the sidewalks are deteriorated. The City replaces sidewalks to match existing as much as possible. There is no special funding for meeting ADA requirements, which require only a 3' width. The City standard is 5' for new construction. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Whitcomb, seconded by Chairman Speedling, to adjourn. All in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 9:07 a.m. ATTEST: E, Robert Benson, Utilities Superintendent t udak, Vice Cha Page 3 of 3