Agenda - Public Works Committee - 09/16/2014

Home

City Engineer Bruce Westby reviewed the staff report. He presented the Special Assessments Policy in draft form for the Committee to review. The policy was developed from the model prepared by Ehlers and Associates. Acting Chairperson Riley commented the draft document is very useful. It answers a lot of questions within the document. He noted that since there are only two members present to discuss this issue now, this will need to be introduced at a meeting in the near future to a committee in its entirety. Councilmember Johns asked if City Engineer Bruce Westby had worked with different methods and if he prefers any certain method. City Engineer Bruce Westby responded he has worked in cities that use components of several methods. He commented the unit and lot method is good, if projects can be broken up into areas of similar size and configurations. He stated the more unique lots that can be listed in a policy, the better. Acting Chairperson Riley stated he would like to see the language on oversized lots be eliminated. He questioned how MSA streets would be treated. City Engineer Bruce Westby replied some cities address MSA streets in their policies. Most apply assessments on those streets. Some cities will apply the MSA funds to the city's share. However, it will still be a 25% cost for the property owners. Acting Chairperson Riley asked if the residents are charged based on the streets in the area and not due to a few of them being MSA streets. City Engineer Bruce Westby answered that was correct. He noted there is a guideline that the amount assessed cannot be more than the benefit of the home. This brings in the consideration of home appraisals. Councilmember Johns expressed concern that homes could be double assessed if they are sold. City Engineer Bruce Westby explained what expenses are included in the assessment costs. He said there are guidelines in place to make sure assessments are not billed twice. Councilmember Johns asked about financing. City Engineer Bruce Westby noted the typical financing is 15 years or less. He said conversations could begin if the resident feels their assessment should be calculated differently. Because the city has such a wide range of property sizes and configurations, it would be difficult to come up with a blanket policy. This is what led to this agenda item and discussion. Discussion took place on whether assessments should apply to trails and sidewalks. Acting Chairperson Riley pointed out there is a trails plan in place and it is working well for now. Public Works Committee / August 14, 2014 Page 5 of 6