Laserfiche WebLink
City Engineer Himmer summarized the sanitary sewer rates and fees and asked the Council if it <br />was comfortable with the assumptions. <br />Councilmember Tossey asked if the maintenance costs for wells was part of this consideration. <br />City Engineer Himmer answered in the affirmative, noting maintenance and operation of existing <br />equipment is also included. <br />Mayor Ramsey asked if there is benefit to pulling the wells and using water from the Mississippi <br />River. <br />Public Works Director Olson stated the idea was to use the wells as the backup and during spring <br />time when river effluent is high. <br />Robert Schunicht, Landform, advised the best municipal water supplies have a variety of sources <br />(aquifers, wells, surface) so he would encourage the City to keep both options in case something <br />happens to one source, such as bad surface water conditions during spring time. <br />Mr. Dewolf completed his presentation by summarizing sanitary sewer user rates. <br />Councilmember Elvig raised the option of creating a fund that can be drawn upon, if approved <br />by the Council, when a resident has an emergency, an entire neighborhood is getting dry wells, <br />or septic systems are starting to fail and they cannot afford to rebuild a private system. <br />Councilmember Wise expressed concern with creating a government program to "help." <br />Councilmember McGlone stated he likes the current system, which has been exercised for <br />residents that need help, and the costs are put on their taxes. <br />City Engineer Himmer advised there was a recent resident inquiry for help with their septic <br />system. He agreed that reducing the connection fee may swing residents to connect instead of <br />installing a private system, if it is available in their area. <br />Councilmember Elvig stated he was considering how to encourage residents to connect to the <br />system. <br />Councilmember McGlone offered the option of a "hookup amnesty day" during which there <br />would be a reduced fee. <br />City Engineer Himmer asked if the assumptions used to develop these rates were supported by <br />the Council. <br />Councilmember Wise asked why Andover or Anoka were not used in the rate comparisons. <br />Mr. Dewolf answered they had used cities experiencing similar growth to Ramsey. <br />City Council Work Session / April 24, 2012 <br />Page 6 of 10 <br />