Minutes - Council - 02/06/2012 - Special

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Councilmember Elvig stated that one of the things he is concerned with is the talk about the water that's available. Maybe the restricted growth in Ramsey might be the supply of water rather than the septic system. They may figure out this is a regional problem, but if not, Ramsey will be very restricted. If we are going to support growth in Ramsey, it should be more focused on water rather than sewer. Director of Public Works Olson stated we did think about that when we did the 2004 Comp Plan amendment — a much more cost - effective solution to expand this ground water system — but we do not want to get into the cost of this system yet. We want to know what Council's idea is with regard to the ultimate service area — we want to capitalize on infrastructure. We will get into the cost discussions later. City Engineer Himmer stated that the 2030 Comprehensive Plan shows 450 units per year to meet projections. In 2004, the Utility Comp Plan projected 360 units per year through the year 2020. Historically it shows that since 1990, there have been 220 units per year. It goes back to the number of people paying into the system and the tax base. Councilmember McGlone stated he wants to know what's in the ground (pipe) and what the usage is. Mr. Olson stated we are talking theory right now — we cannot talk cost until we know the ultimate area. Councilmember McGlone stated we have to factor in where we are today to which Mr. Olson assured him staff would. Councilmember Strommen stated we have a Comp Plan showing the ultimate service area. She did not get changing that — but what's clear is growth and population — we should be focusing our adjustments on how fast our growth is. She stated they should pick a reasonable number on that and then stick with the service area. City Administrator Ulrich stated we are defining the supply and we will build infrastructure. The projecting population is the building demand. If you do not get the growth, you will not build the system. Councilmember Strommen stated we do not have to change this. It's just that the rate at which we will get there is much slower. Councilmember Elvig talked about developers paying for the infrastructure. Mr. Ulrich stated that the fees that are paid now should be used for the existing system. Mr. Himmer stated that discussions have been how we get rates low to encourage development. Deputy City Administrator Nelson stated that we looked at where we were in comparison with other cities' development costs. Some of our development costs are higher but our rates are City Council — Special Meeting - February 6, 2012 Page 5 of 11