Agenda - Council - 11/10/2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Engineer Jankowski stated that staff will explore the closing of 142 d and opening Mallard Ponds, get traffic counts on the frontage road as well as costs for improving the frontage road, Case #3; Update on Water Meter Exchange Program Utilities Director Nelson stated that in late February 2008, the Council approved a 5-year replacement project for all the water meters in the City. He stated that this comes to 744 meters per year and will eliminate the contracted services for reading meters, He stated that staff has exchanged 502 meters so far his year and staff has read all the meters 3 times which took less than 2 hours each time, He stated that the new meters will also alert the City of any leaks and noted that the City sent out 23 letters to residents informing them of a leak. Chairperson Elvig asked if this set the City up if there is a leak and a resident says that they never got a letter, He asked if the letters should be certified letters. Council-member Dchen stated that he didn't think the City had any legal duty in this situation to inform people of the leaks. He stated that he thinks it is a good policy, and I more of a good Samaritan situation that in no way obligates the City, Chairperson Elvig stated that perhaps including language in the letter that says the City is in no 4 way obligated could help the situation. He reviewed a past situation where a homeowner had a 3 million gallon leak'and legal action ensued where the City ended up paying a few thousand dollars. Councilmember Olson asked how often the City bills and what happens if the City sees there is a leakage at a same house. Utilities Supervisor Nelson stated that the City bills quarterly. He noted that a second letter could be sent and marked 2 nd notice. Councilmember Olson suggested that second notice be stamped on the outside of the envelope, City Administrator Ulrich asked how the City would handle a situation, for example, a burst pipe, and how quickly the City would have a response. Utilities Supervisor Nelson stated that since the City currently bills quarterly, there would be a 3- month long leak before anyone would notice, Public Works Director Olson stated that, there have been situations where the City has noticed water coming out of a house and has shut off the water at the street. He noted that the situation Chairperson Elvig was referring to was a situation where there was a sprinkler line that had broken and it leaked tinder the snow all winter, Councilmember Dehen stated that he feels this is homeowner responsibility, not the City. Public Works Committee / September 16, 2008 Page 12 of 17 —91—