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explained that the life expectancy of a reconstructed street is 60 years so staff wanted to assure <br />due diligence relating to installation of utilities. In addition, it is known those homes were <br />constructed decades ago and the septic systems may be failing. <br />Councilmember Riley stated the City has an existing Policy relating to connection to water and <br />sewer. <br />City Engineer Westby stated the City cannot force residents to connect to City water and sewer <br />but there is a Charter provision if they choose to connect. <br />Mayor Strommen asked how the utility assessments come in or if the City fronts the cost until <br />connections are made. <br />City Engineer Westby stated the City would pay for the utilities out of the Enterprise Fund and <br />when residents connect, they would pay trunk and lateral fees. <br />Mayor Strommen asked how that would create an urgency to include a Utility Assessments <br />Policy within this document. <br />City Engineer Westby explained that depending on the health of the Enterprise Funds, that may <br />be an issue. He stated he thinks the Charter does not restrict the City from assessing for the <br />construction of utilities. <br />Mayor Strommen asked if the property would be assessed for construction of utilities and pay <br />when connection is made. <br />City Administrator Ulrich stated it is fairly common to have a sewer availability fee at the time <br />of connection plus a percentage of the construction cost. <br />Mayor Strommen stated this has to be resolved if utilities are installed under Garnet Street but if <br />properties are not charged until connection, that would be a different issue. <br />Councilmember Kuzma stated at the Public Works Committee meeting, it was discussed that if <br />the street is tom up, the City would offer a discount if connection was made at that time. <br />Mayor Strommen stated that is different from paying a construction assessment plus a <br />connection fee. <br />Councilmember Kuzma stated a potential problem with Garnet Street is that the special <br />assessment has to be a minimum of 20% to bond for the project but the reconstruction of Garnet <br />Street will be expensive and since there are only five houses, residents will easily reach the 60% <br />petition to kill the project. <br />Mayor Strommen requested clarity about when it is assessed versus the connection fees. She <br />suggested that once the Policy is determined, then the Garnet Street project can be discussed and <br />determined if it is an outlier. <br />City Council Work Session / October 14, 2014 <br />Page 7 of 10 <br />