Agenda - Council - 08/11/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I I ! ! I CASE POLICY FOR ASSISTING INDIVIDUALS WITH HOOKUP i ICHARGES TO WATER AND SEWER UTILITIES RECEIVING AVAILABILITY FROM SUBDIVISION EXTENSIONS By: Steven Jankowski, City Engineer Background: At the City Coune~ meeting of June 23, 1992, it was pointed out that the installation of water and sewer service in R~nsey Meadows Addition would provide availability of water and sewer service to a propertyogtside,~ of that plat. It was acknowledged that similar occurrences will be likely as the City's Urban .~.e~e Area subdivisions continue to increase. Although the cost of the utilities themselves wi[l n~ be assessed to the parties receiving availability, such parties nonetheless are required to ll~k .~u~ within two years of the time the utilities become available. Consequently, normal hookU~ eha~ges would be due from residents at the time of mandatory connection. The City Council ~elt it would be important to establish a policy to assist such individuals with these chargas~ which could amount to as much as $9,000 in the case of the duplex receiving availability in!~the Ramsey Meadows subdivision. Enclosed is such a proposal for this policy. This policy iS ~irrd~l~ to that presented to the City Council at the meeting of July 14, 1992, with the exception thSta fi~al, paragraph has been added which would allow the City to recover the actual cost of installafion of the utilities in circumstances where the properties might be further subdivided or under whic~ a ~ore intensive use for a certain parcel might occur; for example, a single family residence being ~ and being replaced with a commercial establishment. At the CounCil me~ting of July 14, 1992, the City Council requested Staff to determine whether any alternatives .~'ght be available to the two year mandatory hookup period. City Staff has spoken with~a~reP~'esentative of Metropolitan Council regarding the time period within which connection to!!the ~nunicipal sewer must occur after it becomes available. We were told by Metropolitan ¢ou~il that it was a Metropolitan Waste Control Commission (M.W.C.C.) policy and rule to ¢onne¢~ within two years. In checking with M.W.C.C., we were told that the hookup ruling has bet~ri in ~lace as far back as December, 1971. We were informed that most communities have adopted the 2~-month period and that some have adopted a 12-month period. Additionally, one city has It [hr¢¢-year period. Another requires a permit for septic tank pumping and when a permit applicationli~ made to pump a system having availability, it is denied and mandatory hookup would be at that ti~e. So, while most communities are complying with the M.W.C.C. rule of hookup within! tw0~ years, it is also apparent that strong enforcement of this rule is not being undertaken by M.W.C.C. Should the City wish to deviate from the two-year hookup rule, it is quite likely the Metropolitan Council will View.th, is as a reason to deny further expansion of the MUSA, since it is Metropolitan Council's s~te~ g0al to encourage growth in areas currently served by sewer and water and to retard growth in farther outlying areas. Additionally, the City itself has a financial interest in seeing as many~: cuSlomers as possible continuing to support the existing utility infrastructure, since this will redu~ the Overall costs for all of the utility customers. In addition, City C4)uncil requested a listing of those properties currently having availability and not connected ~o ~e system. A review of our records indicate that there are approximately 15 properties that tnee~ this classification, all of which are in the industrial area.