Minutes - Public Works Committee - 01/20/2009

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Public Works Director Olson stated that he doesn't think they know how they will apply this yet. He stated that the City and DNR were completely caught off guard by these new MPCA standards. Civil Engineer II stated that he wanted to bring the Public Works Committee up to date on these changes and suggested that there could be additional discussion at a Council Work Session. Case #4: Initiate Discussion on a Residential Street Reconstruction Policy City Engineer Jankowski stated that the City will, at some point, need to reconstruct rather than overlay streets and there isn't a policy for this at the present time. He stated that last fall, at one of the Public Works meetings, there was discussion about doing something City-wide rather than having larger assessments. Chair Elvig stated that he feels this is more of a global conversation because if you talk about funding, it will be an ongoing issue that will need to be addressed. He suggested that this be done at a Work Session where there is a large block of time set aside. Councilmember Dehen stated that there is also the problem of people petitioning for a project and then people petitioning against it. He stated that he thinks the City should look long term and maybe the assessment process isn't the best idea because so much time is burned with the petitioning process. He stated that trusting staff to know what needs to be done and having a fund set aside where the funds can be accessed will take care of the road faster than through the petition process. He stated that he realizes that this will probably result in higher taxes, but he feels the current process wastes staff time. Councilmember McGlone stated that Moundsview brought the road standards up with concrete curb and gutter and asked City Administrator Ulrich to explain what they did. City Administrator Ulrich stated that was their plan but it was curtailed due to levy limits. Councilmember McGlone stated that other cities have instituted higher standards for the roadways and he is all for, "if you are going to do it, do it right" because everyone will save in the long run. Chair Elvig stated that most of the other areas where this has been done are developed and have sewer and water already in place and Ramsey is still transitioning into that phase. He stated that to put in curb and gutter and build a more powerful road without sewer and water in place would be foolish Councilmember McGlone stated that should all be part of the conversation. City Administrator Ulrich stated that one of the strategies in Moundsview was a citizen's task force which helped garner support from the community. Public Works Committee / January 20, 2009 Page 8 of 9